Kailash Yatra

Mount Kailash Pilgrimage

The Sacred Mount Kailash

According to Hindu myth, the most sacred Mt. Kailash formed six million years ago when the mountains were in their formative stage. Mt. Kailash is the youngest mountain that lies in the Karakoram Range and Naga Parvat.

Mount Kailash, known as “Kang Rimpoche,” is the sacred pilgrimage of Asia that lies in the southwest of the Tibetan autonomous region of China-Nagri. It is accessible through four routes: two via Nepal, one via India, and one via Pakistan.

Despite being a sacred and venerated pilgrimage site for billions of Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, and practitioners of the Bon religion, not more than a thousand to fifteen hundred people from outside Tibet make the trip each year. Mt. Kailash is a unique and the most venerated destination, yet it is the least visited among the world’s major holy places.

Although it is possible to reach Mt. Kailash from Pakistan via the Kajerba Pass, very few tourists take that route. The Government of India, through a lottery system, allows a couple of hundred pilgrims to enter Tibet from Darchula in India. From the Nepalese side, more than a thousand tourists, mostly Indians, Europeans, and a few US citizens, undertake the demanding yet fulfilling land journey of more than 800 kilometers each year.

Religious Significance

Hindus believe Mt. Kailash to be the abode of Lord Shiva. According to legend, the immortal Shiva lives on the top of Kailash Parbat, where he spends most of his time practicing yogic austerities, making joyous love with his divine companion Parvati. For a Hindu, making the laborious pilgrimage to Kailash and having Darshan (divine view) of Shiva's abode is to attain release from the clutches of ignorance and disillusion.

The Jains call the mountain Astapada and believe it to be the place where Risabha Dev, the first of the twenty-four Tirthankars, attained liberation. Followers of Bon, Tibet’s pre-Buddhist Shamanistic religion, call the mountain Sipai Man (Sky Goddess). Additionally, Bon myths regard Tise as the site of a legendary 12th-century battle of sorcery between the Buddhist sage Milarepa and the Bon-Shaman Naro-Bon-Chug. Milarepa’s victory over the shaman displaced Bon as the primary religion of Tibet, firmly establishing Buddhism into prominence.

Although Buddha is believed to have magically visited Kailash in the 5th century BC, the religion of Buddhism only entered Tibet via Nepal and India in the 7th century AD. Tibetan Buddhists call the mountain Kang Rimpoche, “the precious one of Glacial Snow,” and regard it as the dwelling place of Demchog (also known as Chakra Samvara) and his consort, Dorsephagmo. Three hills rising near Kang Rimpoche are believed to be the homes of the Bodhisattvas Manjushree, Virapani, and Avalokiteshvara.

The Journey and Pilgrimage

The journey to the foot of Mt. Kailash is arduous, but the task of circumnavigating the sacred peak is even more challenging. This round of Mt. Kailash is called Kora or Parikrama and normally takes three days. In hopes of gaining extra merit or psychic powers, some pilgrims complete the journey in just a day, which is considered a miracle. Others take two to three weeks for the Kora, making full-body prostrations throughout the entire way. Buddhists and Hindus round the peak clockwise while Bons route it anticlockwise.

Mt. Kailash, a glittering dome of snow towering 6,714 meters (22,022 ft) above the windswept landscape of the Tibetan Plateau, is a mesmerizing jewel. West of Mt. Kailash lie the ruins of the “lost cities” of Tsaprang and Tholing, once the capitals of the powerful kingdom of Guge, where some of the finest and earliest Buddhist murals still stand.

Skylark Adventure Itinerary

Skylark Adventure, India, offers the easiest and least troublesome itinerary for this pilgrimage. The first part of this tour involves a bus ride from Kathmandu through the Nepal border at Kodari to Naylam (160 km). The second part of the journey starts from Zangmu to Darchen in rugged four-wheel Land Cruisers for four days. The third and final part is the three-day Parikrama from Darchen. This part holds the optimum passion of the pilgrimage.

The first day's trek takes you from Driaphuk through Dolma-la Pass (5,600 meters) to Zuthulphuk Gompa. The third and final day of the Parikrama is a short one of 8 km. After that, four-wheelers take over for the return journey via the same route.

The Tibetan side of the journey is extremely difficult. The route from Naylam to Lake Mansarover through the Tibetan Plateau is a rough dirt road with no petrol stations or wayside amenities. This route’s altitude averages between 3,700-4,500 meters (above 14,000 ft). The hardest part of the journey is the three-day Parikrama around Mt. Kailash, where you have to cross Dolma-La Pass at an altitude of 5,600 meters.

Challenges and Precautions

At Dolma-La Pass, the temperature has been recorded as low as -16 degrees Celsius. The main problems during this entire Yatra are altitude sickness (mild nausea and loss of appetite) and cold. To minimize altitude sickness, a high intake of fluids and water is recommended, while proper selection of clothing and equipment is important to avoid cold.

Skylark Journeys, India, has a perfect blend of professional manpower who have dealt with these challenges several times successfully. They have been mediators for more than twenty-five hundred pilgrims, ensuring their safe and successful Yatra of Mt. Kailash and Lake Mansarovar, the home of Lord Shiva. If you have any inquiries regarding this venerable Yatra, you are always welcome to contact us.