{"id":4556,"date":"2016-09-17T13:47:02","date_gmt":"2016-09-17T12:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/?p=4556"},"modified":"2016-09-17T13:47:02","modified_gmt":"2016-09-17T12:47:02","slug":"trek-mount-kailash-tibet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/trek-mount-kailash-tibet\/","title":{"rendered":"The Trek to Mount Kailash in Tibet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"andy\"<\/p>\n

The trek to Mount Kailash Tibet May 2002<\/span><\/h1>\n

Mount Kailash is the holiest mountain in Tibet and probably all Asia.\u00a0 It is situated in the Ngari region of western Tibet, which is one of the highest, loneliest and most desolate places on the planet.\u00a0 It rises perpetually snow capped 7,500 metres from the high desert plains which surrounds it.\u00a0 The shape of the mountain is a near perfect pyramid. The Buddhists believe is was the location where the Tibetan Buddhist saint Milarepa overcame the obstacles created by followers of the ancient Bon religion.\u00a0 Tibetans also called the mountain Kang Rinpoche which means precious snow mountain. Hindus consider Mount Kailash to be the mythical mount Meru; the world\u2019s spiritual centre. \u00a0Mount\u00a0Kailash is also the source of three of Asia\u2019s most important rivers; the Ganges, the Bramaputra and the Indus.<\/h2>\n

This trek circumambulates Mount Kailash and crosses the Drolma La pass which is 5,800 metres.\u00a0 Mount Kailash is not an easy place to get to.\u00a0 Since it is located 1,250 kilometres west of Lhasa.\u00a0 For the last 500 kilometres there is no road as such just a rock-strewn track with several rivers to cross and with no bridges.\u00a0 Our trek was organized by the Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Scotland UK together with an international adventure trekking company.\u00a0 This trek is a fund-raiser to help them construct a large Stupa at their monastery. \u00a0(A Stupa is a symbolic representation of Buddha\u2019s spiritual mind or Dharmakya.) \u00a0The physical shape of the stupa is based on the shape of Kailash itself.\u00a0 Each part of a stupa illustrates and represents different stages of Buddha\u2019s path to enlightenment.<\/h2>\n

Building a stupa is of great significance in Tibetan Buddhism because it is a very powerful way to purify negative karma and also a way of accumulating great merit.\u00a0 Stupas can be of almost any size ranging from a few centimetres to the stupa on the Indonesian Island of Java called Borododur which is 200 metres in height.<\/h2>\n

This trek took place in the Tibetan year of the wind horse [2002].\u00a0 It is the\u00a0year which Tibetans believe is the most beneficial year in which to do the Kailash trek.\u00a0 The reason for this is that to do this pilgrimage in any year will wash away the sins of a lifetime.\u00a0 But to do this trek in the year of the wind horse will wash away the sins of several lifetimes. The end of our trek around mount Kailash is also planned to coincide with Sawa Daga at Tarboche.\u00a0 This is the date [the varies because of the lunar calendar but it happens around the 15th<\/sup> May each year] which commemorates the Buddha\u2019s birth and attainment of enlightenment.<\/h2>\n

\"kailash-1\"<\/p>\n

There were 15 of us on the trek excluding guides, drivers, porters and cooks.\u00a0 In addition to cost of our trek, we each donated at least 1,000 $US towards the construction of the Stupa at Samye Ling Scotland.\u00a0 Our guide was Bradley Rowe a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a very experienced Tibet expert with an international reputation.\u00a0 Our group comprised of myself [from Thailand], 1 German, 2 from the US, 2 from Canada, 9 from the UK.\u00a0 Our ages ranged from 19 to 69 years old.\u00a0 We all flew from different parts of the world and met up in Kathmandhu Nepal for the departure to Tibet.\u00a0 The complete trek lasted 6 weeks in all, firstly flying to Lhasa, Tibet to acclimatize and sight-see for a few days.\u00a0 Then on to the oldest Buddhist monastery in Tibet; the Samye monastery.\u00a0 From the Samye monastery we went by jeep 1,000 kilometres to the foot of Mount Kailash.\u00a0 Then we returned overland from Kailash to Kathmandhu by jeep.<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0This trek proved to be one of the most memorable events of my life so far.\u00a0 The journey was full of both highs and lows.\u00a0 The lowest point was the sudden and untimely death due to the acute on set of altitude sickness of one of our Nepalese cooks.\u00a0 He was only 28 years old and leaves behind a wife and two sons.\u00a0 He died within 5 hours of experiencing the first symptoms.\u00a0 He did have a very peaceful death and it happened on the shores of lake Manasaraovar in Tibet whilst helping others to complete their pilgrimage.\u00a0 This is equally scared to Hindus and Buddhists alike.\u00a0 It is said by both Hindus and Buddhists that to die on a pilgrimage is one of the best ways to end one\u2019s life.\u00a0 I have written to the travel company which organized this trek telling them that they must change their ways of treating Nepalis who come to Tibet in open trucks sitting on fuel drums.<\/h2>\n

The road from Kathmandhu to Tibet is well known for inducing altitude sickness because the road is not a gradual increase in gradient from Kathmanhdu\u2019s 500 metres to Tibet\u2019s 3,500 plus metres.\u00a0 This road undulates over four high passes all of which are over 4,000 metres and then plunges to 2,000 metres.\u00a0 It is this continual undulation between these heights which makes acclimatizing to high altitude very difficult.\u00a0 Unlike the Nepalis, our group of westerners flew direct to Lhasa (Tibet\u2019s capital) at 3,700 metres.\u00a0 Any altitude problem we only experienced once and had the time to adjust to this problem.<\/h2>\n

\"kailash-2\"<\/h2>\n

The high point of the trek was the day we successfully crossed over the 5,700 metre Drolma La pass on mount Kailash.<\/h2>\n

The pilgrimage began in Kathmandhu Nepal where we all met up.\u00a0 Prior to starting the trek I arrived a few days before the rest in order meet up with my friend and my teacher\u2019s (Ringu Tulku Rinpoche’s) elder brother Salga who lives in Kathmandhu.\u00a0 The day before went to Tibet we went to see the recently recognized reincarnation of the Kagyu Regent Jamgon Kuntrul who now resides in the Polahari monastery 20 kilometres from Kathmandhu.\u00a0 The monastery was set high on a mountain, which has commanding views of the entire Kathmandhu valley and the snow capped Tibetan Himalayas in the distance.\u00a0 Jamgon Kuntrul is a 6 year old boy.\u00a0 In the Tibetan Kagyupa Buddhist tradition, when an important teacher dies it is believed that they deliberately reincarnate some years after their death in order not loose their accumulation of wisdom so that they can pass on this benefit to others.\u00a0 These reincarnate lamas or Rinpoches are identified by a series of elaborate searches followed by complicated interrogation processes.\u00a0 Once it is believed that an incarnate Rinpoche has been discovered then the candidate is taken to see the current head of lineage (in the Kaguypa\u2019s case the Karmapa) to verify – or not – the claim.\u00a0 When the Karmapa, the head of the lineage, dies finding his reincarnation is also a political as well as a spiritual mission.<\/h2>\n

The head of a Tibetan lineage has access to tens\u00a0of thousands of believers as well as several global bank A\/cs.\u00a0 It is the Dalai Lama who then intervenes on such occasions and makes the final decision.\u00a0 When the Dalai Lama dies then the heads of all of the four different Tibetan Buddhist lineages make the decision in conjunction with the Dreplung Orcacle (But that is an entirely different story).<\/h2>\n

\"kailash-3\"<\/h2>\n

After receiving the blessings from Jamgon Kuntrul Rinpoche, our group then boarded our one hour South West China Airlines flight from Kathmandhu to Lhasa Tibet. The route flies directly over mount Everest and was clearly visible not that far below us.<\/h2>\n

On arrival at Lhasa\u2019s Gongar airport, one of our party was questioned by the immigration officials about a book he had in his possession.\u00a0 It was a copy of Heinrich Harrier’s \u201cSeven Years in Tibet\u201d.\u00a0 This book is banned in Tibet and our group member was lucky only to have his book confiscated.\u00a0 Although it was a three hour journey from the airport to Lhasa the Potala of Lhasa could be clearly seen 70 kilometres away.\u00a0 The Potala is a 17 story building constructed by the 4th<\/sup> Dalai Lama on a very large granite rock some making its total elevation 3,700 metres high.\u00a0 When it was built about 350 hundred years ago it was the world\u2019s tallest building.\u00a0 It was four years since I had last been in Lhasa so I was intrigued to see what had changed.\u00a0 There were\u00a0both good and bad news. \u00a0The good news was that local people looked much better fed and physically stronger.\u00a0 One of the reasons I discovered later that the locals were looking healthier was because of the newly introduced local fruit and vegetables.\u00a0 The Chinese have introduced several high tech green houses which use a combination of solar power and hydroponics to produce large quantities of excellent fruit and vegetables.\u00a0 Prior to this all fruit and vegetables would have to be imported via a 6 day truck route from Chendhu.\u00a0 The bad news was that the city of Lhasa was now only Tibetan in two sections of the city; the Potala and Jokang.\u00a0 The rest of the place was full of grotesque modern China concrete based architecture.<\/h2>\n

On arrival at our hotel, we were greeted by our Tibetan guide Sayang.\u00a0 In Lhasa we spent three very pleasant days relaxing and sightseeing.\u00a0 All of us were well apart from one German lady who had quite severe altitude sickness.\u00a0 She finally recovered on day three.\u00a0 Throughout the entire trek I never had suffered from altitude sickness because I took a daily dose of 500mg of the drug Diamox.\u00a0 This is controversial regime of treatment because it acts as a palliative and in some cases could be quite dangerous.\u00a0 The main symptoms are masked without the person fully realizing it.\u00a0 It should not be taken by people with ill health or kidney problems.<\/h2>\n

\"kailash-4\"<\/h2>\n

After Lhasa the next stage of our journey was to visit Samye monastery.\u00a0 This place can only be reached by a 3 hour jeep ride from Lhasa and then a 2 hour crossing by ferry of the Tsangpo or Bramaputra river.\u00a0 Then there is another 1 hour ride on a truck across mud flats and sand dunes.\u00a0 The reason the ferry takes so long is because this river is extremely wide with treacherous currents and shifting sand bars.\u00a0 These ferries are flat bottomed and carry supplies, animals and the occasional tourists.\u00a0 They do not operate to any predetermined schedule; instead they only go when they are full.\u00a0 Consequently we had wait an hour or so before the ferry set out.\u00a0 The river valley has been created by the Tsangpo and is about 20 kilometres wide bordered by majestic snow capped mountains on each side.<\/h2>\n

Whilst we were crossing this river a storm started and just finished as we arrived at the other side of the river.\u00a0 Whereupon the skies cleared with a double rainbow revealing the ancient 2,000 year old Samye monastery.\u00a0 Since this was the very first Tibetan monastery to be created it is a very special place and avoids the sectarianism to be found in some Tibetan monasteries which are founded by one or other of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism (Kaygupa, Ningmapa, Gelupa and Sakya).\u00a0 In fact all schools were equally represented and performed each other\u2019s pujas and rituals on a rotation basis.\u00a0 We spent two days in and around this monastery and on the second we climbed a 500 metre hill above the monastery to see the amazing vista which before us.<\/h2>\n

\"kailash-5\"<\/h2>\n

The next stage of our journey was from Samye to Zhigaste, a distance of about 350 kilometres.\u00a0 After retracing our steps across the Tsangpo river we rejoined out jeeps and set off west along well maintained roads.\u00a0 I did notice that since my last visit some 4 years ago the Chinese had planted 1,000s of trees to prevent soil erosion.\u00a0 From now on we would gradually gain height on each day of our journey until we reached the foothills of mount Kailash.<\/h2>\n

Zhigatse is 3,700 metres and apart from the very impressive Tashilumpo monastery is completely Chinese.\u00a0 We arrived after dark and enjoyed our last night in an hotel for at least 4\u00a0 weeks.\u00a0 In the morning we visited the Tashilumpo monastery (the seat of the Panchen Lama).\u00a0 Although it was very well maintained the atmosphere was more like a museum than a place of worship.\u00a0 The Chinese had driven out most of the monks and no actual worship was carried out any more: \u00a0they said it was for security reasons.\u00a0 However, the ceilings and walls were decorated in authentic and traditional Tibetan Buddhist style.<\/h2>\n

Later that day we set out for our rendezvous with the supply trucks which had come overland from Nepal to meet us at Lhaste (4,000 metres). The distance between Zhigaste and Lhaste was about 250 kilometres. After Zhigaste, the road began to deteriorate rapidly until when we arrived it was just a rock strewn track.\u00a0 The trucks failed to materialize by nightfall.\u00a0 Since these trucks contained all our camping gear we were compelled to overnight in a disgustingly dirty hostel.\u00a0 At dawn the trucks arrived and they explained that they had been delayed by mechanical problems with one of the trucks.<\/h2>\n

<\/h2>\n

Later that morning we set forth on our next leg of the journey to Salga (4,300 metres and 150 kilometres from Lhaste).\u00a0 For here on we were to experience the worst traveling conditions so far. This was our first night under canvas and it was really great to wander away from the camp site at night and look up in amazement at the wonderful sight of all the stars.\u00a0 In addition to this, there were many shooting stars sweeping across the sky.<\/h2>\n

The next day we set off on the long and difficult rubble-strewn track which would lead us to Paryang 200 kilometres away.\u00a0 If the track had been bad the day before this was much worse.\u00a0 En route we had to cross sand dunes and avoid large rocks which had partly blocked the track caused by rock falls.\u00a0 Despite this we were able to meet several nomads along the route.\u00a0 This happened when we stopped for a rest in what appeared to be empty wilderness.\u00a0 Then out of nowhere a small group of 4 or 6 nomads gradually came to get a closer look at us.\u00a0 On occasion they would invite us back to their tents to have some Yak butter tea.\u00a0 In one tent we saw that the nomads had rigged a satellite dish and solar panel on the top of the tent and inside was a TV set complete with powerful batteries.\u00a0 Night was falling as we arrived at Paryang.\u00a0 This was a desolate place in the middle of a vast plain same 4,200 metres high.\u00a0 As the sun set we could see the wonderful panorama of the snow capped Nepalese Himalayas with peaks such as Annapurna (8,000 metres) in view some 500 kilometres away.\u00a0 The\u00a0 place where we pitched our tents was on the edge of Paryang and soon we were visited by packs of very large very wild dogs.\u00a0 These dogs were both aggressive and enormous.\u00a0 During the night a pack of them were running around and crashed into the ropes holding my tent in place.\u00a0 We were very happy to leave Paryang and set off towards our next overnight stop, Lake Manasaraovar.<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\"m\"<\/h2>\n

This is the most holy lake in Tibet and is located at a height of 4,500 metres.\u00a0 This was to be our longest day so far because we had to cover a distance of 200 kilometres over even more difficult terrain.\u00a0 As we traveled westwards to these very remote parts of Tibet we began to encounter more and more wild life.\u00a0 These included herds Kyangs (wild horses), black necked cranes (very big birds the size of a man), Gazelles, Eagles, Bears and Wolves.<\/h2>\n

On this part of the journey we had to cross a few rivers without bridges.\u00a0 On one river our jeep got stuck so we had to climb out of the vehicle and swim ashore.\u00a0 Then the other jeeps in our party pulled it out.\u00a0 All this was to the great amusement of local nomads who were watching us all the time.<\/h2>\n

As afternoon was drawing on we began to go over one of the highest drivable tracks in the world – the Maryum La pass.\u00a0 This pass is 5,300 metres high and there is no actual track.\u00a0 Jeeps just simply drive over the mountain side as best they can.\u00a0 We were very fortunate because there was good clear weather.\u00a0 Had there been a snow storm we would not have been able to pass.<\/h2>\n

As the sun was setting we arrived on the shore side of lake Manasaraovar.\u00a0 Here we were greeted by 50 or more Tibetan pilgrims who had also crossed Tibet to go to Mount Kailash.\u00a0 Some of these Tibetans had actually walked over 2,000 kilometres and it had taken them between 2 to 3 years to accomplish this.\u00a0 Others had packed themselves into the back of open trucks taking several weeks to arrive here.\u00a0 There was a tremendous feeling of accomplishment amongst everyone.\u00a0 Raised on a ridge above the lake was a place aptly named Kailash View.\u00a0 From here we got our first sight of the holy mountain of Kailash some 200 kilometres due west, its snow-capped peak of 7,400 metres glimmering in the setting sun.<\/h2>\n

In our elation we had forgotten that our main support truck still had not arrived.\u00a0 We were traveling in modern 4 wheel drive Toyota Landcruisers and the support truck was a beat up Chinese Feng Dong truck.\u00a0 The truck had all our food, water, tents and other supplies.\u00a0 We were beginning to be very concerned as to what had happened to the truck.\u00a0 Just as darkness was falling the truck emerged out of the darkness with some very disturbing news. A terrible story about one of the Nepalese cooks began to unravel.\u00a0 When their truck crossed the Maryum La pass one of the Nepalese cooks complained of a serious headache and 30 minutes later he was semi-conscious.\u00a0 Although they had a portable Gama bag (decompression system) in the truck, the Nepali guy did not make any improvements despite spending an hour in it.\u00a0 They then decided to press on to Lake Manasaraova and hope that the slight drop in altitude might help him.\u00a0 When they arrived at the lake the Nepali guy had gone into a coma and was extremely cold.\u00a0 I gave him my \u201340C down duvet jacket in an attempt to stabilize his temperature.\u00a0 The group leader Bradley Rowe realizing the seriousness of the situation decided to travel through the night with the Nepali Siddar \u00a0to find the local Chinese military base in the hope that they might be able to offer medical assistance.\u00a0 This base turned out to be 50 kilometres away and when they arrived he was dead.<\/h2>\n

The Chinese authorities questioned them closely to make sure that no foul play had happened.\u00a0 When they had satisfied themselves that he had died of natural causes they allowed them to leave with the body.\u00a0 All this took about two days whilst we waited at our camp site on the shores of Lake Manasaraorva.\u00a0 Before Bradley left he asked me to take charge of the group.\u00a0 In his absence one of our group from London (Sharon) suddenly developed symptoms of a high temperature, shivering and vomiting.\u00a0 I was not sure whether this was another case of altitude sickness or something else.\u00a0 I assumed it was altitude sickness and got her inside the gamma bag and gave her some oxygen from a cylinder we had.\u00a0 This had little effect so I organized a rota for people to watch her through the night and gave her hot liquids with dehydration power.\u00a0 By morning she was no better so I decided that perhaps it was a bacterial infection so I gave her a course of Ibuprofen from my own medical kit.\u00a0 In two days, although weak,she seemed much better.\u00a0 I think she must have picked up some bug from the nomad children she keep on hugging whom\u00a0we had met en-route.<\/h2>\n

A shocked Bradley Rowe arrived back in camp two days after leaving with the news of the Nepali\u2019s death.\u00a0 Although Bradley had been to Tibet over 30 times before he had never witnessed a death by altitude sickness.\u00a0 The Nepali who died was a Hindu and they believe that you must not bury the dead but cremate them.\u00a0 This was another problem because the nearest tree was 2 days drive away each way.\u00a0 We were supposed to have been spending these days walking round the 150 kilometre circumference of this lake but instead we stayed put and did short excursions to local monasteries in the vicinity.<\/h2>\n

Four\u00a0days later Bradley Rowe came back with a truck-load of wood.\u00a0 But the Nepalis said more was needed.\u00a0 So the local Chinese army based came to the rescue and provided some kerosene to help the flames along.\u00a0 Whilst they were away we were concerned that the body of the Nepali guy, which rested in a spare tent near our camp, was not eaten by wolves or other predators.\u00a0 To prevent this from happening we kept a 24 hour vigil and lit fires. In the Hindu tradition lake Manasaraova is one of the most holy places in the world and have your ashes scattered on the lake is considered to be most auspicious.\u00a0 When the funeral pyre was lit there was a mixture of both great sadness and great joy.<\/h2>\n

Somehow these distressing events could not detract from the stunning and wild raw beauty of this location.\u00a0 Ever since we arrived the lake was completely frozen.\u00a0 This apparently is very unusual.\u00a0 To the south of the lake is massive Gurla Mandata mountain rising some 8,400 metres towards the sky.\u00a0\u00a0 To the north the pinnacle of Mount Kailash of 7,500 metres.\u00a0 Each night we camped on the lake shore. \u00a0It was very cold.\u00a0 An American guy in the party had a digital thermometer with him and he took great pleasure in announcing each morning how cold it has been the previous night.\u00a0 He recorded typical night time lows of \u201315C.\u00a0 Fortunately I had an excellent \u201330C down duvet.\u00a0 Our next camping site was on the opposite shore of the lake at Chiu Gompa. Gompa is the Tibetan word for monastery.\u00a0 It was at this Gompa that the saint (Padmasambava) who brought Buddhism from India to Tibet spent many months here.\u00a0 On this side of the lake the wind was especially strong causing very annoying sand storms.\u00a0 It was in one of these storms that we lost an entire tent which was blown high up into the air to be lost forever.\u00a0 Fortunately we had a spare tent.\u00a0 After a brief excursion to Gossul Gompa we headed off for the settlement of Darchen [some 100 kilometres away] which is the main starting point for the circumnambulation or kora of mount Kailash.\u00a0 Normally Darchen is a very sleepy small village with about 50 local inhabitants but when we arrived it was tent city.\u00a0 As far as the eye could see row upon row of every size of tent had been pitched.\u00a0 Army tents, nomad tents, first aid tents, tents constructed for Buddhism religious purposes and the occasional tent with westerners.\u00a0 We estimated that the normal population of 100 had swollen to around 30,000.\u00a0 It was decided not to stay in Darchen because of pollution worries and the shortage of safe water with all these visitors in residence.\u00a0 We had to visit Darchen to obtain permits from the Chinese and also the lady from the UK (Sharon) in our group who had been ill had been told not to do the trek because she was still rather frail.\u00a0 We found her lodgings and left her protected by a Nepali cook.\u00a0 At last the main trek was about to begin.\u00a0 Although the length of the trek was only 40 Kilometres it would take us four days to complete.<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\"darchan\"<\/h2>\n

Although I had previous mountain trekking experience this was the first at high altitude.\u00a0 It was impossible to predict how my body would react.\u00a0 At about 12.00 noon we set off out of Darchen towards Tarboche about 8 kilometres away.\u00a0 This was an easy gently raising well defined track with many other Tibetan pilgrims along the path.\u00a0 One of our truck drivers had decided to run round the mountain and said he could do it about three times in the time it would take us to complete one.\u00a0 I was part of the advance team who would go on ahead and look for a suitable site to pitch the tents.\u00a0 Behind us was our intrepid guide Bradley who was negotiating the price of six Yaks, that\u00a0were to carry our heaviest gear.\u00a0 We just had light day packs.\u00a0 Tarboche is a very atmospheric place. \u00a0It is nestled under the snow capped Kailash at the entrance to the northern Kailash valley.\u00a0 It is here that we hoped to celebrate our kora in four days time.\u00a0 Already these people were beginning to organize for the Sawa Daga festival.\u00a0 The focus of the ceremony was the raising of a 100 metre high pole around which would be draped hundreds of Tibetan prayers flags by the returning Kailash pilgrims.\u00a0 Raised on a ridge high above Tarboche was an area set aside for sky burials.\u00a0 In this part of Tibet there is no topsoil so when people die their bodies are cut up into about 12 parts and fed to the Lamagyas (Tibetan Vultures).<\/h2>\n

Having surveyed Tarboche we set off into the mystical north Kailash valley. This part of the trek was easy walking with a good well-defined path.\u00a0 The scenery was spectacular.\u00a0 The wide valley at Tarboche suddenly begins narrow and the steep granite slopes on both sides of the valley starts to block out the sun light.\u00a0 After walking about 10 kilometres we find a very good place by the river to make camp just below the Chukku Gompa.\u00a0 Even though I had a good night\u2019s sleep I awoke before dawn to a rather strange sound.\u00a0 It was a kind of distant murmuring.\u00a0 As I awoke more I realized it was the sound of thousands of people chanting in Tibetan \u201cOm mane peme hum\u201d.\u00a0 This phrase in Tibetan has several meanings.\u00a0 It symbolizes the entire teachings of Buddha.\u00a0 When repeated 1,000s of times it takes on a powerful spiritual significance which benefits all in earshot. \u00a0When I did crawl out of the tent I saw an amazing sight.\u00a0 There were in the distance a long line of humanity. \u00a0As far as the eye could see thousands of Tibetan pilgrims chanting as they did their own koras of mount Kailash.\u00a0 It was at this moment that I began to feel part of a much larger even than a few westerns trekking in Tibet.\u00a0 These Tibetans had no creature comforts such as tents they must have walked from Darchen setting off about 3.00 am to arrive at Chukku Gompa\u00a0at dawn.\u00a0 As dawn came we estimated that at any one time there must have been about 15,000 Tibetan Pilgrims doing the Kailash kora at any one time.<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\"chukyu\"<\/h2>\n

The next day would be tough because we started to move 6 kilometres from an elevation of 4,500 metres to 5,000 metres.\u00a0 Although 500 metres might not seem much at high altitude every metre above 4,500 metres means an exponential loss in oxygen.\u00a0 The first part was quite easy through the winding valley giving awe -inspiring vistas of the north face of mount Kailash.\u00a0 I did alright until we got opposite Dirapuk Gompa at 4,900 metres.\u00a0 Then I was quite exhausted due to the lack oxygen.\u00a0 It became difficult under foot because of the snow and ice we were encountering.\u00a0 Eventually I arrived at our 5,100 altitude where the porters had already pitched our tents.\u00a0 I slept well and the night time temperature fell to \u201320C.\u00a0 It was with a little trepidation that I got out of my tent to figure out how I could do the final 400 metres to the Drolma La pass; the climax of out trek.\u00a0 Suddenly I heard the beautiful lilting tones of a Tibetan lady\u2019s singing as she made her way to the Drolma La pass.\u00a0 I never saw this lady because there were still many hundreds of pilgrims on the path but I never lost ear shot of her voice.\u00a0 In less that 2 hours I found my self at the Drolma La.\u00a0 Before getting to the Drolma La pass there is a special place called Shiwa Tsal.\u00a0 It is here that pilgrims leave items of clothes they have worn as a symbol of their life before crossing the Drolma La.\u00a0 To cross the Drolma La is the chance to leave behind past sins and indiscretions and begin a new life.\u00a0 I whilst I was wondering which item of clothing I should leave behind my climbing breaches unaccountably ripped.\u00a0 So I changed pants and left the old ones behind.<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\"drolma\"<\/h2>\n

As I approached the Drolma La the atmosphere amongst the pilgrims became more intense.\u00a0 There was a complete cross section of people along the way ranging from 80 years plus women to six year old children.\u00a0 There was even a group of men carrying a very large 15 metre tree trunk.\u00a0 This was to be placed at the Drolma La from which Tibetan prayer flags would be attached.\u00a0 Arriving at the Drolma La was rather like being at an exotic carnival.\u00a0 There were hundreds perhaps thousand of people all congratulating themselves on their achievement.\u00a0 Then there were groups of pilgrims praying to mount Kailash and others enjoying picnics in the snow.\u00a0 The weather throughout the trek had been spectacular with pristine blue skies and very little wind.\u00a0 Once all of our group had arrived we all had a great celebration and felt a genuine sense of achievement.\u00a0 After taking many photographs and simply enjoying the moment we set off along the kora path down to our next overnight camp site at Shapje Datok.\u00a0 This day\u2019s trek was about 8 kilometres.<\/h2>\n

The next day was to be the longest part of the trek (24 kilometres) to Zhong Chu.\u00a0 This route was very different from what we had done previously.\u00a0 Not only was it all down hill, but we crossed into very arid almost desert like conditions.\u00a0 Along the way we stopped at the famous Zutulpuk Gompa where the Tibetan saint Milarepa had spent many years meditating in a cave.\u00a0 Then we had pass through the Transger canyon.\u00a0 This involved walking through a desert-like landscape with precipitous drops down to the river bed 2,000 metres below.\u00a0 Eventually we arrived safely at our campsite just 4 kilometres from our starting point at Darchen three days ago.\u00a0 After a night here we would move on to Tarboche by jeep to witness the Sawa Daga celebrations.\u00a0 We found a place just outside Tarboche to pitch the tents and went inspect the place where the celebrations were due to happen the next day.\u00a0 Tarboche normally is totally uninhabited apart from a few nomads and monks from the local Gompa.\u00a0 The topography of the place made it very suitable for the forthcoming Sawa Daga celebrations.\u00a0 First of all it had the awesome back drop of the snow capped mount Kailash itself.\u00a0 Secondly, there was a very wide flat space about the size of two full-sized soccer pitches.\u00a0 Thirdly there were steep slopes around this open space which formed a kind of natural amphitheater.\u00a0 In the middle of this space preparations where well in hand for erection of a massive tree stump upon which were already many hundreds of brightly coloured Tibetan prayer flags.\u00a0 The next day dozens of strong Tibetans would raise the pole and then thousands of people would parade in clockwise rotation around the pole.<\/h2>\n

The next day dawned on Sawa Daga and it started with Buddhist prayers led by a Tibetan Rinpoche.\u00a0 Then horsemen from Eastern Tibet some 2,000 kilometres away demonstrated their amazing prowess by daring acrobatic feats on their magnificent steeds. By this time every inch of space had been occupied by pilgrims from all over Tibet to watch the spectacle of raising the tree stump covered in Tibetan prayer flags.\u00a0 It was not unlike the Swedish ceremony of the midsummer festival in some ways.\u00a0 Here at Tarboche there was a crowd of at these 30,000 people gathered in this dramatic and remote spot of western Tibet to celebrate both there kora of Kailash and also to celebrate Buddhas birth and attainment of enlightenment.\u00a0 Whole family groups were in amongst the crowd enjoying frugal picnics of tsampa [roasted barley mixed with hot yak butter tea] and dry yak cheese.\u00a0 I had eaten tsampa every day of this trek and it had the twin benefits of filling my stomach and keeping me regular.\u00a0 The\u00a0 clothing the Tibetans were wearing indicated which part of Tibet they originated.\u00a0 Women from the Amdo region in the north had fantastic astrakhan wool hats which looked chic enough not to be out of place on a Parisienne cat walk.\u00a0 The men were no less spectacular with Kampas from Eastern Tibet with long hair adorned with semiprecious amber and coral stones tried together on scarlet ribbons.\u00a0 By comparison the few westerners that were there looked drab.\u00a0 In the early part of the afternoon we set off the five day jeep journey back to the Nepali border at .<\/h2>\n

\"kailash-6\"<\/h2>\n

We began our journey east across the vast dessert plains which surround Kailash.\u00a0 Retracing our outward journey we managed to cross the Maryum La pass just as nightfall was approaching.\u00a0 We found a sheltered place to pitch the tents by a tributary of the Tsangpo river.\u00a0 On day two of our back journey we camped just before a settlement called Saga.\u00a0 On the following day we crossed the now much larger Tsangpo river by a rather unusual cable ferry. It worked by having a large wooden raft (big enough to take 2 jeeps and 1 truck) which was attached to strong overhead wire cables which were operated by diesel engines.\u00a0 The forward thrust of the raft was partly achieved by the diesel engines but also partly by harnessing the sheer power of this big river.\u00a0 Once the\u00a05 jeeps and the truck were all safely across we began the ascent of the Kyirong mountains.\u00a0 These were even bleaker than we had previously experienced and the track was very difficult to navigate.\u00a0 All of our vehicles were becoming stuck along the way.<\/h2>\n

Having negotiated this obstacle we then descended to the valley on the edge of the Siling plain.\u00a0 We pitched tents and had our last meal under canvas in Tibet.\u00a0 The next day we embarked on day four of our return journey to Nepal.\u00a0 This day we had some of the finest scenery of the entire trip.\u00a0 All of the day was spend crossing the vast Siling plain skirted by the Pekhu So lake some 150 kilometres in diameter.\u00a0 This plain is larger than Scotland and is dominated by the massive single peak of mount Shishapangma (8,200 metres).\u00a0 After traveling over three weeks on rock-strewn tracks we arrived at a concrete highway.\u00a0 It was the so called \u201cfriendship highway\u201d which links Lhasa with Kathmandhu.\u00a0 We drove along this road until we reach our last overnight stop in Tibet at the frontier town of Zhangmo.\u00a0 Here we checked into a Chinese hotel for the night.<\/h2>\n

Arriving in Zhangmo was a very unpleasant experience.\u00a0 Like may far-flung border towns it was full of low life, drug dealers, prostitutes, smugglers and thieves.\u00a0 The hotel where we stayed was quite disgustingly dirty with no running water.\u00a0 Fortunately all this was only for one night.\u00a0 Zhangmo straddles the Tibetan-Nepali border and no non-Nepali vehicles are allowed in Tibet and no non-Chinese vehicles are allowed in Tibet.\u00a0 Consequently we were to loose our trusty jeep drivers here.\u00a0 We all collected a fair sized tip and which gratefully received.\u00a0 We all had multiple entry Nepali visas so no problems were anticipated at the border crossing.\u00a0 How wrong could we be!\u00a0 Crossing the Tibet Nepal border is a bizarre experience at the best of times.\u00a0 Having had our passports examined by the Chinese border guards we then were driven in the Chinese Jeeps to a sort of no mans land between Tibet and Nepal.\u00a0 Here we said our goodbyes to our Tibetan drives and guides and then walked the 500 metres to the Nepalese check post.\u00a0 Here they told us that we have to pay a special border tax of 100 US $ each.\u00a0 This was a rather obvious scam.\u00a0 So a 3 hour negotiation took place until they told us that this was the going rate for \u201cprotection\u201d against robbery by the Maoist rebels who were hiding in the forest just over the border.\u00a0 In the end we paid up and later claimed this back from the tour operator in Kathmandhu.\u00a0 We then all climbed onto a Nepali bus and headed down the valley on a 5 hour journey towards Kathmandhu.\u00a0 In Kathmandhu I paid another visit to Salga and commissioned a Tibetan Thanka painting of the Kalachakra mandala.\u00a0 This a one dimensional representation of the paths to enlightenment.\u00a0 Salga is a famous painter and is very busy.\u00a0 I had\u00a0to wait at least 18 months for the painting to be finished.<\/h2>\n

\"kala\"<\/p>\n

We then all departed and flew back to our various homes in the US, Canada, Germany, the UK and Thailand.<\/h2>\n

\"hrih\"<\/p>\n

\n

About the author Andy Lowe<\/em><\/p>\n

Andy, for the past 15 years has been resident in Bangkok Thailand living as a non-immigrant resident alien retired.<\/em><\/p>\n

He is devoted student of Ringu Tulku Rinpoche and in Bangkok he teaches meditation in a non-sectarian Buddhist group comprising of Theravadan, Zen and Tibetan Buddhist practitioners.\u00a0 Although Andy is retired he is a visiting professor at academic Institutions in Denmark, the Philippines and California where his expertise as Grounded Theory practitioner is appreciated.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The trek to Mount Kailash Tibet May 2002 Mount Kailash is the holiest mountain in Tibet and probably all Asia.\u00a0 It is situated in the Ngari region of western Tibet, which is one of the highest, loneliest and most desolate places on the planet.\u00a0 It rises perpetually snow capped 7,500 metres from the high desert […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":153,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[162,7],"tags":[185,369,368,367,366,365,364,374,372,371,132,370,373],"class_list":["post-4556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-personal-stories","tag-andy-lowe","tag-dreplung-orcacle","tag-jamgon-kuntrul","tag-manasaraovar","tag-meru","tag-milarepa","tag-mount-kailash","tag-shishapangma","tag-tarboche","tag-tashilumpo","tag-tibet","tag-tsangpo-river","tag-zutulpuk-gompa"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Trek to Mount Kailash in Tibet - 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