Mount Kailash

Mount Kailash, People's Republic of China

Mount Kailash reflecting in Lake Manasarovar at sunrise, framed by wet stones and prayer flags.

Go for a sacred mountain that four faiths revere, and for the chance to walk the full circuit around its base, weather and altitude permitting.

The place

Mount Kailash rises in Ngari Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, on the western edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Its summit stands at 6,638 metres, part of the Gangdise range, which Tibetans also call the Kailash Range. The peak is striking less for its height than for its shape: a near-symmetrical pyramid that stands out sharply above a high, dry plain. The clear air makes it look closer than it really is.

Four major rivers have their sources within a short distance of the mountain, among them the Indus, the Sutlej and the Brahmaputra, which becomes the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet. Two lakes lie nearby. Manasarovar, spread over about 320 square kilometres, is a freshwater lake of intense blue, and Rakshastal is a smaller neighbour. Their shores are where most visitors first see the mountain reflected.

The area is remote even by Tibetan standards. Roads are long and rough, services are basic, and the weather can change within an hour. Independent travel is not permitted, so access depends on licensed agencies. Climbing the peak is banned, and the region is valued mainly as a place to walk around the mountain rather than to scale it.

Many people travel in the warmer months, when the snow thins on the lower slopes and the paths are more open. Expect cold nights even then, and a sun that feels fierce at midday.

Its story

For a very long time Mount Kailash has been a place of pilgrimage. Four religions claim it, and each has its own account of why it matters. In Hindu belief the mountain is the home of Shiva and his consort Parvati, and devotees regard it as the axis of the cosmos. Jains associate it with Rishabhanatha, the first of their teachers, who is said to have reached liberation on its slopes. Tibetan Buddhists tie it to the poet-saint Milarepa, whose contest with a Bon master for the mountain became a well-known legend about which faith held it. The Bon tradition, older than the Buddhist presence in Tibet, treats the peak as a seat of its own sacred power.

The landscape around these stories is a record in its own right. Great ice sheets once covered the region, and the last of them withdrew roughly 10,000 years ago. The rock beneath the summit is layered and folded. Geologists have suggested the peak may be a block of older metamorphic rock resting on granite, a structure that helps explain its sharp, pyramidal profile.

Outsiders came later. Surveyors and explorers mapped the region in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and climbers have tried the mountain, though no successful ascent has ever been recorded. The authorities have since banned climbing because of the mountain's religious importance. Today the story of Kailash is told mostly through the walk around it, which pilgrims have made for centuries and which is now the main way most people experience the place.

What to see

Culture

Mount Kailash is sacred to Bon, Buddhist, Hindu and Jain communities, and the way people behave around it reflects that. Most of the activity you will see is devotional: pilgrims walking the circuit, turning prayer wheels and prostrating themselves full length at intervals along the route. Keep your voice low on the path and give walkers room to pass. Photographing prostrating worshippers without asking is a serious lapse. At the monasteries of Dirapuk and Zutulpuk, step out of your shoes before entering, do not touch altars or sacred objects, and ask before taking pictures inside. Dress modestly, especially around Lake Manasarovar, and follow your guide's instructions at every stage. Climbing the peak is forbidden, so do not talk about attempting it. Leave prayer flags, cairns and offerings exactly where they are, and never pick up stones from the circuit.

What to wear

Traditional dress around Mount Kailash follows the Tibetan pattern. Many men and women wear the chuba, a long robe belted at the waist with a sash, usually made from wool or a heavy woven cloth suited to the plateau's cold. Sleeves are often loose and can be tied at the waist when the day warms. Sheepskin-lined versions and felt-lined boots keep the wearer warm in winter. Women often wear coral and turquoise jewellery, sometimes as heirloom pieces. Pilgrims from other faiths tend to dress as they would at home, adding warm layers over whatever they have brought.

In daily life, people in Darchen and the surrounding area mix the traditional robe with modern down jackets, sports shoes and quilted jackets, especially younger people and traders. The look is practical rather than ceremonial, and the robe appears most often at festivals and religious occasions.

For a visitor, the plateau dictates the wardrobe. Dress in layers you can remove as the sun rises and add back as the wind drops, and pack a windproof outer shell, a warm hat and gloves. Sturdy boots with good grip suit the rocky kora track. Cover shoulders and knees around monasteries and Lake Manasarovar, and carry a scarf against dust and sun.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. Roughly May to October, when the high routes are more reliably passable and the ground is less frozen. Summer brings more rain and cloud, and the weather changes quickly on the plateau at any time of year, so build spare days into your schedule.

How long. 3–4

Getting there. Lhasa is the usual starting point, followed by a long road journey west to Darchen, which takes several days by hired vehicle. Routes from Kathmandu, Kashgar and Delhi also exist, but each has different permits and transport, and all of them run through a licensed agency.

Budget. high

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources