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Published: December 4th 2005
Hi,
Mt. Kailash is a holy mountain to more than just one religion. Asia is full of legends about a great mountain, which has four faces (Peacock, Elephant, Lion, and Horse), each composed of a different material (gold, crystal, ruby, and lapis lazuli), and from the mouth of each face flows a great river. Mt. Kailash is believed to be it. It is an amazing mountain, almost pyramid shaped with four faces, and four great rivers of the Indian sub-continent flow from its area: Karnali (which feeds the Ganges), Indus, Sutlej, and Brahmapurta.
The mountain is 6714m high, and has never been climbed, because people who got permits to climbed it were under international pressure not to do it because of the special nature of the mountain.
For the Hindus - it is the domain of Shiva, the Destroyer and the Transformer. To the Buddhist it is the kingdom of Demchok, a wrathful manifestation of Sakyamuni, the Historical Buddha. The Jains also believe their saints were emancipated here, and the Bon (the ancient religion in Tibet) believe that their founder alighted from heaven here.
Many pilgrims of all religions come to worship the mountain and to walk around it. The route
is 53 km long, starting at the town of Darchen just south of the mountain, going up the western valley, then crossing a high pass to the north of the mountain, and walking down the valley to the east of the mountain all the way back to Darchen. Buddhist and Hindus walk clockwise, Bon walk the other way around...
Normal people and pilgrims do it it three days. Tibetan hard-core pilgrims do it in one long day starting very early and finishing very late. Some real hard-core do the whole way prostrating - which takes about three weeks...
There is also the question of how many times to do it. For me once is enough, and it also wipes out the sins of a lifetime, but three is better, and thirteen is giving you a right to go through a short cut through another pass that is being guarded by some deity that will kill you if you didn't do thirteen regular koras before taking the short cut to the inner kora. The best thing to do is to circle the mountain 108 times, which guarantees instant nirvana and wipes out all your sins for all past and future lifetimes!!!
Darchen is a sleepy town at about 4750m. There are many pilgrims from different parts of Tibet (and India) and some tourists there. We arrived quite early so we had time to walk around a little bit. We met some pilgrims dressed in different traditional ways, sat in a local tea house for a drink, and in the evening I even climbed a hill to watch Kailash itself and the sunset over the mountains. It is possible to see several 7700m mountains to the south, spread on the plains of Tibet, Nepal, and India. The views at sunset were amazing, even though it was cloudy and Kailash was not all visible.
The next morning we set off for the trek. It felt great to trek at last, and in such a beautiful place. With us there were many pilgrims, some with children. There were also some Indian pilgrims, most of them riding yaks and horses rather than walking.
After a short walk the mountain came into view at the first prostration point (there are four, one at each direction of the mountain). The clouds cleared at that moment, and the impressive mountain stood there to gain his respect. Soon came
to sight the Tarbocje flagpole which is being replaced every year in a big festival called Saga Dawa. All around are prayer flags, mani walls, sky burial sites, and other Buddhist religious signs.
About half way through the first day, which is 20 km in total, I arrived to Chuku Monastery (4820m). The monastery is high on the side of the valley, so most people just pass by, but I climbed up. In there is a marble statue that is reputed to talk (I didn't hear it say even one word...), and a beautiful conch shell inlaid with silver. The pilgrims give donations and then a monk blows the shell and blesses them. Quite interesting to watch.
Along the way there were some tea houses for resting, with many colorful locals and pilgrims. One of them was located right at the view point of the west face of the mountain.
Later I arrived to the end point of the first day, about 20 km up the valley and 200 m higher in altitude. Not such a hard day. I had to cross the river to reach Dira-puk Monastery, but I missed the bridge and didn't really feel like back tracking
for 2-3 km. There was another bridge, but I found out about it only later. Me and a group of four Japanese tried to cross the river, and eventually I took off my shoes, put on my sandals, and just crossed in the cold water. My feet almost froze, but I made it through. Then the Japanese girl who didn't want to join the madness arrived and told the rest of us that there is another bridge just five minutes further up...
The weather got worst, and I put my tent on the river bank near the monastery, facing the north face of the mountain. It started raining. I discovered that my gas stove is broken and I have no way to boil water for cooking. I went to the monastery to get some boiled water for my instant noodles dinner, and had it in the tent. At that time the rain changed into snow. I sat in the tent for three more hours while the storm got stronger and stronger, with wind blowing and heavy snow fall. Right before it got too dark I reached the conclusion that I can't really trust my tent to survive this kind of
storm, since I've only used it a few times before and I just bought it in Lhasa so it's not the best brand in the world. I realized that it is my last chance to go to the monastery - so I packed all my stuff and ran to the monastery. I left the tent in its place. The monastery only had a few beds to offer, and the Japanese guys gave me a bed while two of them shared one (well, they were a couple, so it's OK...).
I woke up in the morning to a different world - a white one. The tent survived the storm, even though it was empty and there was no weight to keep it on the ground. The inside was dry. I was proud of it. Next time I will stay inside!
I met a French guy in the monastery, one I met before in Darchen as well. He is a scout for Rainbow, which is an organization I have never heard of before, but they do all kinds of gatherings in nice places around the world and live a happy life. He decided to do the kora thirteen times, and I met
Kailash at dusk
A mountain witha lot of "respect".him on his 8th time!!! He was walking with almost no equipment, not food, half a liter of water, and he had a tent and a sleeping bag waiting for him right after the pass as a permanent camp. He usually does the kora in two days, but because of the storm he did this one in three.
He showed me the way through the snow, because the path wasn't always easy to spot. He was so acclimatized to the altitude, that he could walk backwards, talk to me all the way, and still walk faster than me. I told him that I would not answer him because I need to keep my breathing in order...
Along the way the Japanese group built a snow man to show that there is no real age for playing games...
The second day was a killer. The climb up the pass was hard. The air just refused to climb with us, and I had to stop for a rest every few minutes. My knees started to hurt, not used to the strenuous activity after almost half a year of buses and trains... It kept looking as if the climb is almost over, but
each time I saw another little hill in front.
At a place called Shiva-tsal there are many cloths stretched on rocks. Apparently pilgrims are supposed to go through a symbolic death here leaving their past lives behind, and they leave a piece of clothing to represent it. There are also some sin-testing stones where pilgrims squeeze themselves through narrow passages and make sure that they can pass - meaning that their sin quota is OK.
After a LONG climb I saw the prayer flags that marked the pass itself - Drolma-La, at 5630m. The storm was hard, it was cold, and snowy, so I don't even have a picture of the top.
Starting the decent on the other side we saw Gauri Kund, the Lake of Compassion, at 5608m. Hindu pilgrims are supposed to bath in it, and even break the ice if needed. I didn't see anybody in the water that day...
The way down was much easier, but sadly the low altitude caused the snow to change into rain. Rain is much more wet than snow... We found the camp site of the French guy and it was quite wet, so he took it with him and we
moved on to the next monastery - Zutul-puk, back at 4790m. The weather became clear and I put my tent again by the river.
We met a group of four rafting guides who work in Lhasa who came to trek and raft in the area. They had a huge Tibetan style tent for a dining room, and a lot of supply of great food. They also had quite a few porters that carried the whole thing for them. They invited us for tea and dinner, and along came some locals with their kids... It was quite a nice evening, while they were planning their next expedition to a Nepali peak next year.
I didn't see the mountain I was circling for the entire 19 km of the day, but I earned amazing views of snow mountains and valleys, and it was well worth it. I really enjoyed the day, unlike the strange Italian guy from my Land-Cruiser who kept complaining about it and shook his head from side to side whenever I met him on the trail.
Half of the night it was raining again, but the morning was dry, though cloudy. The last day is short, only 14 km
The Tarboche flagpole
Replaced every year at the main festival called Saga Dawa. of walking down the valley back to Darchen. Every time I turned back I had to take a picture of the valley with the mountains around it. The French guy didn't wake up by the time I left, and I found myself walking with an Indian man who lives in the US for the past 30 years, he is 62, and he insists on having a 3-4 week vacation every year. Seeing such a man still trekking made me feel real good. I wish I would be able to do such things at his age. Was really fun talking to him and hearing his views on life and the priorities he has for things.
After about three hours Darchen came to view, which is always a happy sight at the end of a trek - no matter how much you enjoyed it, spotting the end point makes you feel good.
I bought myself a coke and a red-bull to re-gain some energy before I went to have lunch, and then I waited for the rest of the people of my car before we could move on...
Until then,
R.
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John Shanahan
non-member comment
Well written and photographed visit to Mt. Kailash
I forwarded your URL to friends so that they could get to know something about Mt Kailash and the Tibetan people. Your text is very well written and the pictures capture Mount Kailash, the Tibetan People and the beauty of the Tibetan Plateau all the way down to the mountains in India. My friends enjoyed your travel documentary and were amazed that there is a place like this, so different from American way of life. We must never forget that the Chinese government is doing everything possible to minimize and destroy the Tibetan culture, language and people. It is a reminder of governments who try to dominate other people all over the world. I walked across the Himalayas and then the kora around Mt Kailash in 1999 with two Swiss friends. It will remain a special memory over my lifetime. Thanks for a great travel diary. John Shanahan Denver, Colorado e-mail: acorncreekco1@yahoo.com website: www.independencepeaks.com