Mt. Kailash and The Parikrama Route

Mt. Kailash and The Parikrama Route

About Mount Kailash



Mount Kailash 6740mtrs, is situated to the North of Himalayan barrier, within Tibet. It is the perfect mountain with awesome beauty and 4 great faces.

It is also believed that when the two continental plates met (the big bang theory) it was here that the plates met hence Kailash was born. So it’s also considered to be the center of the universe or the navel of the world around which the world revolves.

Over the centuries pilgrims from various religions have faced in numerous hardships to reach Mount Kailash for enlightenment. Mt. Kailash is revered to Hindus, Jains, Buddhist and Bon religion alike.

Hindus
Hindus consider Mt Kailash to be the earthly manifestation of Mt. Meru, their spiritual centre of the universe. Kailash is decribed as a pillar whose roots are in deepest hell and its summit kissing the heaven above. On the top lives the most revered God, Shiva and his consort Parvati. Mt Kailash is isolated from other High mountain peaks in the area and is surrounded by small peaks. This exceptional isolation and its peculiar contours of black granite makes the Mountain to stand apart and give the appearance of Shivalinga. Also due to this isolation a parikrama is possible around the mountain.

Tibetans
For the Tibetans its also known as Kang Rinpoche or "the precious jewel of the snow" It’s said that from four faces of Kailash flows a river that finally flows in all 4 cardinal directions. Strangely enough 4 major rivers do originate around Kailash

1. North : - River Of Lion Mouth - Indus
2. East : - River Of Horse Mouth - Sutlej
3. South: - River Of Peacock Mouth - Karnali
4. West : - River Of Elephant Mouth - Brahmaputra or Yarlong Tsangpo

Jains
For the Jain's its the place where their first Prophet, Rishabhdeva achieved enlightenment.

Bon
For the Bon's (a part of Buddhism) it is considered that their founder, Shanrab, descended from heaven here. As opposed to the others, the followers of Bon religion do the parikrama around Kailash in an anti-clockwise direction

PARIKRAMA OR KORA OF MOUNT KAILASH

As mentioned earlier, due to its peculiar isolation, Parikrama or Kora as known in Tibetan, of the Holy Mountain is possible. It’s believed by the Tibetans that single Kora washes the sins of life time and after 108 Kora's one attains Nirvana. And after 21 Kora's one is eligible to do the inner Kora on the higher reaches of Kailash.

Usually pilgrims take 3 days to complete the 52kms of the Parikrama by foot or Pony. Some devout Tibetans do this in a single day.

It’s very important to know what’s in store, during the parikrama and then decided whether you are up to it before hand or not. Mental conditioning is a must.

So here is a bit about the parikrama before we actually started it.

Google Map View Depicting the Parikrama Route


Parikrama Day 1: Darchen to Derapuk 20kms

     

The first 8 kms of the parikrama is done by jeeps. The jeep will drop you at Tarboche and from there you trek the rest 12 kms to Derapuk Gompa. The route is a gradual ascend with some ups and down along the Lham Chu River. It takes approximately 4-5 hrs to do this journey.

If for some reason, anyone not interested in doing the Kailash parikrama can do the parikrama around Yam Dwaar at Tarboche and then return back to Darchen and wait for the rest of the group to return.

Parikrama Day 2: Derapuk To Zomzerbu / Zutupuk, 18kms

This is the most arduous of the days as this involves crossing The Dolma La at 5621mtrs. Even if you have done a pony the steep ascend of about 4kms before the Dolma La and the steep descend after, will have to be done on foot. It gets a bit tricky doing this on loose stones and boulders, but here the porters are of a great help

Also just after Dolma La you cross the highest fresh water lake, Gauri Kund 5608mtrs. Gauri Kund or The Emerald lake or The Lake of Compassion is believed to be the place where Ganesha acquired his elephant head.

Completing this treacherous trek of 18 km take 10-12 hrs and by evening you reach Zomzerbu / ZutulPuk camp

Parikrama Day3: Zomzerbu / ZutulPuk to Darchen 14kms

This is the simplest of the 3 days as is mostly done on plain lands. The total trek on foot or pony is of 10 kms and at the end there are the jeeps waiting for you and you cover the last of the 4 kms by road. This takes around 3-4 hrs

Next: Parikrama Day1