Mt. Kailash is one of the most culturally significant mountains in Tibet. It is also a holy mountain in other religions including Jainism, Hinduism and Bon. Mt. Kailash is a holy pilgrimage destination for many groups of people around Himalayan Mountains. The mountain itself is at 6656m above sea level. It is unique contour layers by the mountain. It resembles many holy things in Tibetan Belief. The Tibetan word for Mt. Kailash is Kang Renpoche, meaning the saint of mountains. As one of the four greatest holy mountains in Tibetan world, Mt. Kailash is a unique one. The mountain has steep walls by almost all sides. Mt. Kailash is th e highest peak of Gandise Mountain Range north to Himalaya and south to the Kunlun.

Mt. Kailash

The walk around Mt. Kailash is a famous "kora" by many people including hikers. There are many pilgrims do the kora around Mt. Kailash every year, believing it will bring good fortune, clean sins from souls. A Kailash Kora Trek is one of the top treks to do in China. It is located in the west of Tibet and considerably far from major towns in Tibet but its significance in the culture can not be neglected.

Highlights of Mt. Kailash

The Holy Mountain

The Mountain Kailash is called Kang Renpoche in Tibetan. Kang means snow mountain or ice mountain, Renpoche means living buddha, or saint of monks, the holy virtue. It is a mountain that doesn’t allow climbing. As a widely worshipped mountain, Kailash itself is a good-looking mountain with a pyramid-shape from different sides and some with vertical walls. Snow on its top stays all year round. North of Kailash sees glaciers too. Mt. Kailash area is the origin of Sutlej, a main tributary river that feeds into Indus. Around Manasarovar and Kailash region are the originates big rivers such as Ganges and Brahmaptra.

Mt. Kailash

The Pilgrimage

IKailash kora is probably the most popular kora among Tibetan Buddhists. The kora walk around Kailash is around 55km that usually takes 2-3 days. The holy sites and gompas in Kailash Kora on the outer kora include Kangni Chorten, Chuku Gompa, Dirapuk Gompa, Zutulphuk Gompa. Gompas and shrines in the inner kora of Kailash include Gyangdrak Gompa, Selung Gompa. Normally pilgrims walk the outer kora of Kailash but one can also go in to the inner kora to see the other two temples. All pilgrimage walk starts by Darchen (Parga) and ends in Darchen too. Darchen is a small town (or a village) used by pilgrims and travelers as the stopover and supply place for trek and kora in Kailash. The kora is done in a clockwise route from west of the mountain to its north and then come out by its east.

Mt. Kailash Kora

Lake Manasarovar and Mt. Gurla Mandhata (Naimonanyi)

Lake Manasarovar (Mapam Yutso, the invincible one) and Lake Rakshastal (Lake of the Demon) are located by the south of Mt. Kailash. Lake Manasarovar is a holy lake that Buddhist pilgrims walk around the lake too as another kora. South of the two lakes is the mountain Gurla Mandhata (Mt. Naimonanyi) at 7649m. Southeast of the mountain is the border with Nepal. Lake Manasarovar is one of highest fresh-water lakes in the world. It was recorded as a legendary place in Tibetan books. The holy shrines and gompas around the lake include Lanb-na Gompa, Cherkip Gompa, Chiu Gompa, Gossul Gompa, Trugo Gompa, Yanggo Gompa and pilgrims walk around the lake every year.

Lake in Western Tibet

How to Get to Mt. Kailash

Mt. Kailash is located in western Tibet in Purang County in Ngari Prefecture. It is generally considered a far place to get to. It is 1200km west to Lhasa by driving it normally takes days plus the visit along the way. It is 200km east to Kunsa Airport in Ngari by driving takes around 3 hours. The flight from Lhasa to Ngari is available during travel seasons.

Mt. Kailash Trekking Season

The good seasons to trek Mt. Kailash is from May to October. Every year starting from April there are pilgrims coming in to do the kora already. April still has the chance of snow in Kailash and by the higher part of the trek one may see deep snow. From May you see more pilgrims and temperature starts to go up. Saga Dawa Festival is a main festival in Tibet. It is on the 15th day of the 4th month in Tibetan Lunar Calendar. It usually falls on end of May to mid June when the trail/lodges of Kailash becomes busy. From July to August we should see some rainfall. August usually has around 40% of whole year rainfall. July and August is a very busy season in Kailash Trek due to both the pilgrim season from India/Nepal as well as the summer vacation in China. From September we should start to have more stable weather that is usually clear. September is often a quiet season. First week of October should also see lots of travelers due to the golden week of China. After the first week the mountain starts to cool off with people. Before end of October the majority of both visitors and pilgrims are gone. From November the shops and lodges in Darchen start to close. Supply is not available from November to the next March in the villages, towns of Kailash when the higher part of the kora trek will usually be covered in heavy snow and temperature is low to -30.

Mt. Kailash Trek

Kailash Trek Planning

The classic trek around Kailash is 3 days. On first day start by Darchen and walk for 22km from 4700m to 4900m Dirapuk (Drirapuk Gompa). Second day from Dirapuk Gompa walk up to the 5600m Drolma La pass via Yakmo Tso Lake then drop down to Zutulphuk Gompa by around 4700m for 20km. On third day walk for around 11km to Darchen. The supply locations are fixed on this route.

The inner kora of Kailash is not an easy one. It requires using ropes and walking on very dangerous terrain with sometimes moving rocks underfoot. Highest location gets to around 5800m in inner kora trek and total 33km in one day without supplies. This inner kora trek is not recommended for trekking.

For a trekking trip to Kailash one usually starts from Lhasa either by driving or by flight. One normally doesn’t want to miss out the great views and places of interests along the drive way from Lhasa to Kailash including Everest north BC, Shigatse, as well as views of many lakes and mountains. A good way is to drive from Lhasa to Kailash and then fly out from Ngari. The nearby Guge Relics and Tsamda Landform are also recommended while in Ngari.

Mt. Kailash

Mt. Kailash Trekking Information

Any kind of travel including trekking in Tibet will require a special Tibet Travel Permit for any foreigner.

The trek of Mt. Kailash is walked by many people mostly the pilgrims. The trails are clear and recognizable. There are no steep or dangerous sections on this trek. Elevation is an issue but normally if one can travel this far into Tibet then it’s probably acclimatized already. Walking distance is long but doable.

There are no phone services along the trek. By the supply locations/gompas there are lodges and shared bunks available. You are recommended to bring your sleeping bags for sleeping by the basic lodges. You should be able to find lodges and food stalls by the supply locations during the pilgrimage season from April to October. Leave your luggage in Darchen where you will end your trek and pack light for your kora trek around kailash. You can always bring your own food for this trek but make sure they are light-weight if you want to carry them by yourself. Porter is available if you don’t want to carry your stuff. Riding a horse instead of walking is also available during busy season when tourists come in.

Mt. Kailash is a holy mountain. While walking around the mountain, drinking alcohol is not a good way to showing respect to local culture. Along the trek you will see prayer flags and stone piles, please pay respect to these holy sites. Taking photos of pilgrims has become a negative thing for the pilgrims themselves. Please do ask permission before you take their photos.

Border permit is required to do trekking in Kailash.