Kailash

The Precious Snow Mountain Of Tibet

In the far western reaches of the Tibetan plateau stands an extraordinary mountain: shaped like a pyramid with four sides that face the four cardinal directions, from which emerge four rivers that flow in each direction, it’s no wonder that Mount Kailash has become the inspiring setting for mythology and legends for over a thousand years.

According to Hindu mythology, the god Shiva resides at the peak of Mount Kailasa with his wife, Parvati. The mountain represents a pillar of the earth at the centre of a lotus, around which other mountain ranges form the petals.

In Jain legends, Mount Kailash represents Mount Meru, the mythical mountain at the centre of the universe around which all of the planets and the sun revolve.

Both Buddhist and Bon (the ancient shamanistic religion of Tibet before the introduction of Buddhism) mythology associates Mount Kailash with their own deities, but it was also the stage for a great legendary battle between the religions: a Buddhist saint and a Bon magician competed for days for the privilege of having their religion be the primary religion of Tibet.

Finally, their last challenge was to reach the summit of the mountain as quickly as possible. The Bon magician sat on a magic drum and began flying toward the summit, meanwhile the Buddhist saint remained relaxed on the ground, worrying his followers. At last, as the Bon magician was about to reach the summit of Mount Kailash and win for his religion, the sun came up and the Buddhist saint rode on a ray of sunlight to reach the peak first and win the battle for Tibet. Since this time, followers of the Bon religion have walked anti-clockwise when visiting the sacred mountain, against the common clockwise route that is used by Buddhists, Hindus and Jains.  

In modern times, pilgrims from Tibet and India are joined by curious or pious tourists from around the world in paying a visit to the sacred mountain.

Mount Kailash is closer to the border with India than to the Tibetan capital city of Lhasa, but that’s not to say it’s close to anywhere, in fact. To reach the legendary mountain requires days of long drives across barren desert-like terrain and high passes, whichever direction you are coming from. But they say that the harder the journey, the greater the reward, right?

The small town at the southern foot of Mount Kailash, Darchen, is the base from which pilgrims and trekkers begin their circumambulation of the mountain. Climbing the mountain is forbidden due to its holy status, but the one- to three-day trek around it allows you to appreciate the unique geography of it and connect with the pilgrims along the way.

Tibetan Buddhists will often set off from Darchen in the early hours of the morning, around 2 or 3am, and aim to walk the entire 52km kora (Tibetan: circumambulation path) in a single day, returning to Darchen exhausted just before midnight. The rough terrain, patches of snow even in summer, and high altitude – the highest point is the Drolma La pass at 5,600 metres above sea level – mean this is no easy feat.

Some particularly devout Tibetan pilgrims will even prostrate for the entire route. Prostration is a form of offering of the body, in which the devotee lowers their body to the ground and lies out flat on their front, marks the point where their fingers reach to with a small object, then stands and walks to their small object to repeat the process all over again – essentially, they travel the entire trail one body length at a time.

Between these two extremes is the more common method for experiencing the sacred mountain’s kora: a three day trek, staying in monastery guesthouses along the way and picnicking with nomads. It’s a once in a lifetime journey that allows you to truly experience the Himalayan spirituality and way of life, unlike anywhere else.

It may be the centre of the universe, home to Shiva and Parvati, or site of a legendary battle to rule Tibet’s religious hearts, but the Precious Snow Mountain is also undeniably a place you have to see once, and perhaps you too will start to believe it.

Interested in visiting Mount Kailash? See our itinerary for a tour here, or contact us to start discussing a tailor-made trip to suit you.