Trip overview

Mount Kailash (6714m), the famed holy peak in western Tibet has long been an object of worship for four major religions; for Hindu, it is the domain of Shiva. It is also the abode of Samvara-a multiarmed, wrathful deity worshipped in the Chakrasamvara Tantric cycle of Tibetan Buddhism. For the ancient Bon people of Tibet, Kailash is the sacred nine-storey ‘Swastika Mountain,’ upon which the Bonpo founder Shenrab alighted from heaven. The 53km Kailash Circuit is the holiest of pilgrimages for the four religions as well as a fabulous destination for adventurers, and trekkers. It is said that a single Parikrama erases the accumulated sins of a lifetime, while 108 circumambulations will achieve Salvation. Lake Manasarovar close by, below Mount Kailash, is a sacred lake at 4580m, and is where a ritual bath will deliver a pilgrim to Brahma’s paradise. A drink of its holy water relinquishes the sins of a hundred lifetimes.