The Kailash Yatra

Tour members - Karthik, Sathish Raja, Rajendran and Kamal.
Tour dates - June 16 2018 to June 26 2018

The Kailash Yatra we went is a package trip. Kailash yatras begin by end of May and goes on till monsoon starts in Nepal by first/second week of July. We planned to go in June - the mid time of the season so as to avoid the early effects of first batch and the monsoon towards the end. And it proved right for us. We started out planning for this as early as February 2018. Mansarovar-Kailash yatra can be done only through licensed tour operators. We booked our yatra with Samrat travels, after meeting them in the Tourism fair in Chennai.

We planned to cover more spiritually and historically important places in Uttar Pradesh after returning from Yatra and  they are covered in next blog. With respect to Kailash yatra - there are 2 quick options.

1. One is to fly to Kathmandu, complete dharshan of Pashupathinath and Mukthinath and do Kailash yatra by flying to Nepalganj from Kathmandu.
2. Second is a road route to Nepalganj from Lucknow and the to the yatra from Nepalganj. We chose the second option because of leaves and budget reasons.

Either way the route from Nepalganj to Kailash is same.

Lucknow/Kathmandu - Nepalganj - Simikot - Hilsa - Purang (Taklakot) - Mansarovar - Darchen - Kailash - Dirapuk - Zuthulpuk - Darchen - Hilsa - Simikot - Nepalganj

Typically all the operators follow a similar itinerary and ours was as below:

• Day-1 of Yatra - Reach Nepalganj from Lucknow and stay overnight in Nepalganj
• Day-2 of Yatra - Start to Simikot by flight and then by helicopter to Hilsa; clear China immigration/customs and stay in Purang
• Day-3 of Yatra - Acclimatization in Purang and stay overnight
• Day-4 of Yatra - Visit Mansarovar, perform Masarovar bath and parikrama; stay in Mansarovar
• Day-5 of Yatra - Perform pooja in Mansarovar and drive to Darchen; acclimatization in Darchen
• Day-6 of Yatra - Start Parikrama from Yama dwar; complete day-1 of Parikrama and stay in Dirapuk - North face of Kailash
• Day-7 of Yatra - Day-2 of Parikrama - Dolma pass - Gourikund - Zuthulpuk
• Day-8 of Yatra - Day-3 of Parikrama - start from Darchen; clear Chinese immigration and overnight stay in Simikot or Hilsa (based on weather/timings)
• Day-9 of Yatra - Return to Nepalganj from Hilsa - Simikot
• Day-10 of Yatra - Goto Lucknow/Kathmandu for return journey

The above is the most optimistic itinerary as weather induced delays and delays in Chinese immigration and customs are absolutely inevitable and totally unpredictable.

Day-1

We started from Chennai by Saturday afternoon flight to Lucknow. There is a direct flight at 15:50 from Chennai and we reached Lucknow at 18:15. We had booked rooms at Hotel Ganga Maiya. This is a proper budget stay hotel and the rooms are ok with respect to cleanliness, spacious and accessibility to important places in city. There is no lift in the hotel and rooms are in first and second floors.

It was Ramzan day in Lucknow. Most of the popular Kebab eateries were closed and we had some local street food for dinner.

Day-2

The yatra package was suppose to start this day. We roamed around by 7 am for breakfast and located a local eatery which was getting ready to serve. We had hot piping kachoris, chenna, puri and jelabi with dahi. The local food was excellent wnd in no time people queued up for eating there as well as parcel. The vehicle from the operator came and picked us around 9 am. The plan was to reach Nepalganj and take rest. Nepalganj is around 189 kms from Lucknow and takes around 4-5 hours inclusive of tea and food breaks. We tried to cover Naimisaranya enroute but the car operator demanded unrealistic numbers. We sticked to the operator's plan and left to Nepalganj. It took around 20 minutes for the driver to get clearance in India checkpost and around 10 mins in Nepal customs. We had lunch on the way in a dhaba - pakodas, roti, paneer sabji and dhall. Lunch was ok.

We reached Hotel Siddhartha in Nepalganj around 3 pm. It was around 42 degree celsius temperature and we decided to spend some time in the swimming pool. Around 4:45, we took a rickshaw to a sakthi peet temple in Nepalganj. Shri Bhageswari temple is the Sakthi peet in Nepalganj. It was around 4 kms from Hotel Siddhartha. We spent around 15 minutes in the temple and had pleasant dharshan. The temple has lot of shops around selling Rudraksha and very good affordable and negotiable prices. We did some shopping for our needs.

We then headed to the market area and had lassi, juices and momos. Returning back to the hotel, we had a briefing from the tour operator about the next day of the trip. We were instructed to carry only 2 sets of dresses and winter clothing. The flight that shall take us from Nepalganj to Simikot shall allow maximum of 12 kgs including hand baggage. The check-in baggage was benchmarked to 7 kgs only and we did several rounds of weighing to ensure we were within the mark. Went to bed with the expectations of entering into Himalayas next day.

Day-3

Day started at 6 am with tea and packed breakfast (juice, apple, banana, sandwich and paratha). We left the remaining luggage at Hotel Siddhartha cloak room. We reached Nepalganj airport, a small airport, at 7 am. Our tickets were in the third flight. There are several operators flying between Nepalganj and Simikot - Tara Air, Summit Air, Sita Air and few more. We flew through Summit air. All these airlines operate 15-20 seater and operate totally based on weather, visibility and wind conditions.

The air transfer from Nepalganj to Simikot is very interesting and an experience to cherish for long time. It was a 50-minute travel between deep valleys and high mountains. At few instances, one can see hills nearby on either side. One can get this experience only in these sort of flights. Enjoy by getting a window seat for these rides!

We got down in one of the different airports in the world - Simikot. It has a thin airstrip by the edge of a cliff and a set of choppers landing all around always. Such a scenic sight. We then need to goto Hilsa by chopper.

We waited for around 1 hour to get our turn to travel in the chopper. We are weighed along with the baggage as the helicopter can be allowed fly something around 500 kgs. Meanwhile, we just enjoyed the chill weather and scenic landing and takeoffs of aircrafts and helicopters. Again, there was another unique experience to travel in chopper with the pilot, in the front. The narrow valleys and hills started becoming high altitude deserts during the helicopter journey. We reached a high of 13850 feet during the journey and landed in Hilsa.

Hilsa is a very small village by the border of Nepal and China. The border is marked by fence across river Karnali. We had reached appreciable altitude on the same day and felt challenges with breath and comfort. After settling down a bit, we had lunch - rotis, sabjis, rice, dhall and papad. The food given was fresh and quite spicy. It was apt for the weather and refreshed us. We relaxed for almost an hour and got used to the altitude.

Around 2 pm local time, we all queued up to clear China entry. We crossed the Karnali river on a steel hanging bridge and cleared Nepal immigration with a stamp on the passport in few minutes. Then, shortly, Tibet buses came and took us to Chinese immigration office. Senior citizens had a difficult job to acclimatize to the altitude and they were finding it difficult to manage themselves. After all, it is nature vs health.

Our baggages were queued in the immigration office outside and were waiting for the immigration officers to come. They came after almost 30-45 minutes and searched all the bags - every tiny bit of it for pictures, books and papers for anything related to Dalai Lama and Buddhism (I guess). All our electronic gadgets - mobiles, cameras were totally checked. After the complete audit, we are let into the immigration building and made to sit for regular immigration clearance. Meanwhile, if some one wants to use restroom in Immigration office, please plan to avoid it. It is such a pity that the immigration office has toilets with no hygiene, water and poor cleanliness.

We then after clearing the time consuming immigration with finger prints and no stamping, we get on the bus and travel through the high altitude desert.  We end up into Chinese customs office and all our baggages go through scan. Toilets are far worse here and all senior yatris go through a very bad and strenuous day through this so many immigration and baggage checks. Really a very hard and physically demanding day. All across the Nepal Sherpas (our tour guides) help us with mobilizing our luggages. We never had the necessity to carry our baggage at any point of time till we returned to Nepalganj again.

We then checked into Hotel Himalaya Puran. The hotel rooms are quite spacious and comfortable. Hot water was not coming and we never got in the bathrooms. The beds and linens provided are quite good and helps us to beat the weather to some extent. Room heaters would have been better. The altitude and low oxygen starts showing on the body. We had Indian dinner arranged by our operator with super hot soup, starters, roti, dhall, sabzi, dal kichadi, rice and desserts. All we needed was a great sleep and we did have it.

Day-4

Got knocked on the door by 8 am for room service tea and followed by breakfast - methi paratha, upma, corn flakes. Post breakfast, our operators took us out for a walk to acclimatize to the climate and altitude. We also bought some winter wears which we did not have, like face masks, thick gloves, etc. and some fruits. All are in Yuan. 3 Yuan ones are more of low quality and use-throw stuff. You get these stuff for 3 to 50 Yuan; quality and need defines what we want to buy.

We returned back to the room and took some rest. Lunch followed and so was some more rest. Lunch was again full fledged with rotis, rice, dhall, sabji, aloo, papad, sweet and super hot water to drink. The whole day turns out to be very important to get used to the weather and continues to be. It is very important one gets to walk a lot and get used to outside temperature and oxygen levels because it is going to be worse in coming days. We walked for 2 more hours in the evening and got some comfort feel. We did click some poses in Purang during our walk - the place is all surrounded by desert. 

Post dinner, we had good sleep and packed for the essentials for Mansarovar yatra.

Day-5

Post breakfast of Sabhudana kitchadi and upma, we started the day post 9 am to Mansarovar. This is roughly 45 kms ride and the first stop is Rakshas Tal. Rakshas Tal is quite beautiful - blue and blue in colour. It is said this place is for Rakshas to bath, however, it is also said water enters this Lake before entering Mansarovar. We were allowed to spend around 10 minutes and enjoy the view and take photos. On the other side, one can see the hills depicting Lord Subramanya with 6 faces as 6 hillocks topped with snow. Sutlej river originates from Rakshas Tal.

We then drove down to Lake Mansarovar. This is one of the human accessible fresh water lakes at such an altitude. It is called Mapam Yumtso locally. Lake Manasarovar lies 15,060 ft (4,590 m) above mean sea level, a relatively high elevation for a large freshwater lake like this. Enroute, one gets to see the revered Mount Kailash on the left side of the route. The view shall elude if there shall be a cloud cover. We cherished our first sight and definitely were moved to see it again and again.

First sight of Mount Kailash - from bus !

We reached Mansarovar and stopped by the mud houses, built to stay in the night. We were very clearly and loudly instructed that the water is too cold and could get sick because of the bath. The Sherpas helped us with buckets and very keen to get us out of the lake after three rounds. One should not neglect this importance as this very cold water shall lead to cold to fever to nerve shocks. One needs to be very careful in this place as it is too cold as well as slushy. From Mansarovar, one gets to see the South face of Mt.Kailash. The South face as the celestial steps like structure. There are 4 rivers that originate in the surroundings of Mt.Kailash - Sutlej, Indus, Brahmaputra and Karnali. Manasarovar and Rakshas Tal are associated with the sun and the moon, powerful symbols of tantric Buddhism.

The South face !

After the quick bath, we spent time in enjoying the beauty of the magnanimous sea-like lake and the mighty Kailash. We had lunch in the mud houses and were asked to be ready to perform Mansarovar Parikrama. The battery powered Chinese buses were ready and started the 3 hour 102 kms journey. All along the banks of lake Mansarovar, the bus took us around. We witnessed Kailash along the journey and then watched a hill row depicting Lord Brahma on white Lotus. The bus stopped for the parikrama permit and they were selling water cans. None of us bought as we had our own containers to collect water.

The bus did a strict 10 minute stop for us to collect water on exactly the opposite side of Mount Kailash. The location is so crystal clear and reflects the sky blue - pristine view. We grabbed few pictures and then filled our water containers with holy water. The water here was quite clear unlike the place we took bath. Chinese government does not allow us to bath in this area. 

South and East Face from far end of Lake Mansarovar !

We returned back to the rest place after the long ride. We were quite tired. After relaxing a bit, we walked around to get used to the weather and hard breeze. The wind became quite wild as time passed by. We had dinner with regular items and dokla. We were less prepared for the night that was so chill, wild winds from the lake and it made us use all we have to sustain our breath. Little did we know that the worst is at Dirapuk. Please note that there are no bathrooms or toilets at Lake Mansarovar stay and one has to mingle with nature. Sherpas did a fantastic job in getting us hot water whenever we needed.

Day-6

We did got up midnight to sight stars and galaxy view over the lake but, little did we enjoy. The sunrise was an important event for the day to witness. We enjoyed the sunrise by the lake and had our breakfast. The plan for the day was to perform pujas and be ready by 11:30 to goto Darchen. After breakfast, we joined the Havann, the yaaga ceremony organized by rest of our group. We spent close to 2 hours when Rudram, Chamakam were chanted and Homam was performed. All participated with lot of energy and we were ontime ready for the bus to Darchen.

We reached Darchen by noon for lunch. Rest of the post lunch was for acclimatization. We were accommodated in Hotel Himalaya, Darchen. The hotel rooms were same like the ones we stayed in Purang. Spacious and comfortable. Hot water was available here. We took some rest and walked in the roads of Darchen and bought some Tibetian souveniers. The plan was to start to Mount Kailash parikrama the next day. By this time, we were getting bored with the same type of food; however, we appreciated the fact of getting hot Indian food in such a remote location in the world. And, made sure we ate.

We also witnessed Kailash view from the Darchen roads - we had a view of dark clouds basking with snow clad peak.

Day-7

The day - first day of Parikrama started with lot of excitement and expectations. We were transported by bus from the hotel after breakfast and reached Yama Dwar by 9 AM. Yama Dwar is the the initial point from where the parikrama starts. The Hindus circumambulate Mount Kailash clockwise and the Buddhists perform their Kora anticlockwise. The starting point of the parikrama is the Yama Dwar, or the Gates of the Lord of Death. Yama is the deity who brings mortal souls to their onward journey. To enter this region, one must abandon the mortal self and hence pass through the Yama Dwar. To visit Shiva's home, one must pass through the Yama Dwar. The path around Mount Kailash is 52 km long. One can walk or ride a pony for the parikrama. There are Tibetans who perform the parikrama through prostrations every 5 steps. 

Unable to see Kailash during Parikrama start - clouds !

Yama Dwar !

Parikrama start !

We started the parikrama by foot by 9 AM local time. The first 5-6 kms through the deep valley is quite flat and it is important we keep pace at an acceptable level without losing energy. We hired 2 porters for 4 of us - packed 2 members stuff in one back pack; not weighing more than 5 kgs. We paid 600 Yuan for 1 bag. They charged 2850 Yuan for 3 days parikrama by horse. We did take timely breaks and had some nuts and water that we had. Most of the route, we would not sight Kailash as the valley was quite deep and the hillocks by the sides were quite high.

Soon, we reached the west face of Kailash and had a grand view. We took a stop for around 10 minutes here and enjoyed the view and mighty looks of the West face. The west face also had a Nandhi like hillock facing the face of Kailash.

Post west face dharshan, the route started to be quite demanding as steep climbs begun. We followed the instructions of our operator and Sherpa to set a rhythm during the trek. We set a rhythm for each one of us based on our comfort to trek - walking 15-20 steps and taking 5-10 seconds of break and continuing. It helped us a lot and were able to do the trek successfully with no much strain or suffering. The Sherpa were always there and helping and encouraging us. We made sure we did not wander away from Sherpa and were always along. Enroute, around noon, we also stopped by stop-gap tents to have our packed lunch - apple, juice, poori and aloo sabji.

We reached the most important phase of the parikrama to see the NORTH FACE of Kailash. For everyone who visits Mount Kailash, the ultimate goal is to have the dharshan of North face. The North face was so majestic and magnanimous. Once we saw the wholesome North face, the completeness and total satisfaction of the Kailash Parikrama was achieved. We spent some time starring at the North face and accepting the nature as is. The strenuous weather and trek was worth to reach the North face and felt ultimately satisfied.

The stay place - mud houses of Dirapuk are right there opposite to the North Face. One gets to keep seeing the North face from the rooms as well. We reached Dirapuk by 2:30 local time. The rooms were ready and we sat for some time and relaxed. The weather was too cold and windy. We managed to get used to the weather but it was definitely difficult. After lot of effort consciously, we sort of managed to get out of the rooms and enjoy the North face views. We spent the evening just for this. 

As it started becoming dark, we started to get into the core difficulties of chillness and altitude. The weather was becoming only harsher. Even having dinner was a very big challenge. The whole night was a challenge with the altitude and weather and most of the time went sleepless. The night view of Kailash was different with locating the North face of the omnipresent being a puzzle; so near and so far.

Day-8

As the day begin, the weather of the morning was a big puzzle. The clouds were dark and a trek by foot was a question mark towards Gouri Kund and Dolma pass. We were particular on returning back with full health as we started and decided to come back to Darchen through car. We paid 500 Yuan per person and returned back to Darchen by 10 AM.

Meanwhile, the golden view of Kailash was interrupted by the thick clouds. After a fraction of second, the thin golden line formed and gave the most amazing view of Kailash. We were fortunate to take a photograph of the same. The effect was available for grabs only for a minute before vanishing like a magic. With full satisfaction of having the dharshan, we returned back to Darchen.

Few claim that the 180 degree parikrama and return is at times spiritually correct as well as during second day, there are few water bodies formed out of the ice melting from Kailash and resemble Jadamudi of the Lord. Crossing the same is not considered to be an auspicious activity. We did not give room for any of the thoughts of continuing and returned back. The weather could have hurt us.

It is important we respect the nature in all aspects and keep our head cool to decide based on the situation in these sort of circumstances.

We spent the rest of the day at Darchen hotel by paying an top-up amount to stay.

Day-9

Morning, post breakfast, we were transported to Mansarovar by the battery buses and then by Tibet buses to Purang customs. Post clearing customs, there was a delay to allow us - almost more than 1 hour. Then, we reached the Chinese immigration check-post and had to wait for close to 1.5 hours. There were reasons saying the check post shall be opened only at 4 PM. Wondering why immigration was not happening across 24 hours, which is normal practices across all countries of the world. Then, the check post opened by 4 PM, we got into queues to clear our immigration - with delays of computer connectivity now.

Somehow, with all these delays, cleared Nepal immigration, reached Hilsa around 3 PM local time of Nepal. It is 2 hours different across the river of Karnauli by time zone. We had lunch at Hilsa and queued up for getting into the Helicopter to Simikot. 25 of us made to Simikot and 8 of them had to stay back in Hilsa.

At Simikot, we stayed in Hotel Kailash - Humla. This is around 500m from the airport and had wooden walls and flooring. The accommodation and food was outstanding. We had well spiced food including Rasam and enjoyed the dinner to a great extent. The night was a very peaceful sleep after getting into the green zone and enjoying more oxygen.

Day-10

Our flights were around 9 AM and post yummy breakfast of poori and sabji, we reached the Simikot airport. The flights were operating with 2 hours delays because of morning clouds. We reached Nepalganj by noon and relaxed at Hotel Siddharatha for few hours. We then re-packed our luggage and took a private cab to reach Lucknow by night.

A great and memorable trip to Kailash !

Important things to take care:

1. Listen to all the points said by the operators and abide by it. They are far experienced in these terrain and know what to do and what not to! And, it works !
2. Prepare well the for the trip by doing jogging and walking well ahead (3-4 months) for the trip. It is important basic fitness is take care.
3. Practice breathing exercises and keep it going
4. Pack all winter wear you need - sweaters, jerkins, linen socks, thermals, mufflers, masks, gloves, scarfs and what not!
5. Wear appropriate winter wear at all the times. Do not overboard by avoiding them to enjoy the weather and get sick!
6. Important to follow the weight restrictions of baggage to maintain group ethics
7. Have food at all times - never skip food at any point of the trip
8. It is important to acclimatize to the weather - do not stay locked in the room; wander around and make oneself comfortable to the changing altitude
9. Take a lot of water - 3 - 4 litres daily
10. Wear thermals in all areas where temperature is below 5 degrees. Most of the nights are in minus temperatures
11. Stay in Mansarovar, Dirapuk and Zuthulpuk are in mud houses - gear up for cold nights. These places do not have toilets; be prepared for mingling with nature.
12. Have enough Yuan (Forex - currency of China) for expenses, tips and any local purchases
13. Be on time at all times to maintain group travel ethics - your delay frustrates everyone !
14. During parikrama, do not wander off! Be on the route and by the sights of Sherpa always.
15. For any uneasiness, inform the Sherpa immediately and they shall guide you through