Journey to the sacred mountain Kailash (Kailash) Road of pilgrims. Travel to Tibet.Kora around Mount Kailash

22.10.2012 10

Good day everyone! Recently, I made an amazing trip to Tibet, the purpose of which was to make a kora (bypass) around the sacred mountain of Buddhism, Kailash. It was such an interesting, unlike anything trip that I, with the permission of Rami, will share my impressions with you. Kailash is described in many Buddhist treatises, many stories and legends are built around it. And yet its summit remains unconquered to this day. They say that not a single traveler could approach it, let alone climb it. First, I will say a few words about Tibet. I have been living in China for about three years now, I have traveled a lot in it, and not only in tourist places, but I have also been in the very outback of the country. And nowhere have I seen such poverty and lack of signs of civilization in Everyday life and nowhere have I seen such constantly smiling, ingenuous and open people. Maybe this is all the influence of Buddhism, which permeates the whole life of the Tibetans. We started our journey from Lhasa, where, of course, we visited beautiful palace Dalai Lama Potala. There we first saw the so-called prostrations - a Buddhist ritual, when believers, uttering a mantra, kneel, then lie down, stretching to their full height, pull themselves up and stand up. In this way they can prostrate on the spot or make a kora (circumvention) around a holy place. We also met many prostrators during the kora on Kailash, which, in my opinion, is an extreme degree of selflessness and devotion to Buddhism. They move both in the snow and uphill on the stones, they eat mainly what is served by those passing by. We drove to Kailash for two days by car and the places became more and more wild and lifeless, but the nature in those parts is very unusual and beautiful. The mountains there are similar in structure to a layer cake, and the stones suddenly mix with the sand. And above all this, snowy peaks rise, which are visible from everywhere. By the end of the second day of the road, we reached the sacred lake Manasarovar. It is believed that Manasarovar and Kailash are the incarnations of the god and goddess on earth. They are close and look at each other. And in order to really cleanse both body and soul, you need to swim in the lake and make a kora around Kailash. To be honest, we didn't have the heart for the first part of this cleansing. Although back in Lhasa we were sure that we would take a dip, but when we arrived at the shore of the lake and put on all the clothes that we had with us, we realized that it was not this time ... Nevertheless, we saw our compatriots who were swimming in the lake . We also went to Rakshas Lake, which is considered dead lake, which is always worried and animals do not drink water from it. My uncle, a chemical scientist, took samples from both lakes, I wonder what they will show. The weather on Kailash was constantly changing: almost every evening it was snowing with a blizzard and it seemed to us that tomorrow we would have to return, but our guides were surprisingly calm and said that we would not go if only the snow fell waist-deep... On the first day of the kora we walked for about 6 hours and climbed from a height of 4,000 to 4,600 meters along fairly gentle slopes. The Hota were very tired out of habit and suffocated from lack of air, but everyone found their own rhythm of movement. It is very important in such a campaign to understand that it is not the main thing here to be the first or to have time to follow someone, it is important to go and reach the goal, to make a bark. Thanks to my uncle, who, as a wise and experienced man, explained this to me on the first day, when I was barely breathing from fatigue after the first transition. We spent the night in very simple, never heated rooms of the guest house under the howl of a snowstorm. And in the morning, when we left the room directly onto the street, it took our breath away. Such a beautiful and brightly lit by the morning sun was Kailash in front of us. Amazing view. And then there was a 5 hour climb to the pass (5750 meters), where we hung out Tibetan flags with mantras, our wishes, and also left some of our things as a sign of deliverance from sins and attachments. And then a 5 hour descent from the pass to the valley. It’s hard to talk about the complexity of this day, and probably not necessary. Everyone endured it in their own way. But it wasn't easy for anyone, that's for sure. The lack of oxygen is felt doubly acute due to physical activity and quite a steep snow-covered ascent. Besides, when you see Tibetans skipping past you. By the way, they do our 2.5 day kora in 1 day. On the road, we, as expected, read mantras to ourselves, thought about our wishes. It helped me a little and made the path easier. In general, I made the following conclusion: if you are not extreme in search of domestic inconvenience and thrill, then you need to go to the bark only with an understanding of the purpose and purpose of this ritual. It helps a lot to cleanse the soul and brain. We were especially lucky with our trip, because we climbed the pass on May 6, namely, during the full moon and the birthday of Buddha according to the Tibetan calendar. Now I want to talk about how the idea of this article actually appeared. In Lhasa and other large cities of Tibet, we met quite a lot of foreigners, because May is considered high tourist season here and Tibet has only recently been reopened to foreigners. It is also high season in Kailash and we met 5-6 groups of tourists there, all of whom, to my great surprise, turned out to be from Russia and Ukraine! Tibetans living in the village of Darchen at the beginning of the kora confirmed that a lot of Russian tourists make the kora. The inscription speaks eloquently about this. "RESTAURANT" on one of the walls of this small Tibetan settlement. But, interestingly, these people did not impress me as Buddhist believers or people who came here for some religious purposes, like the Tibetans. But Kailash is a sacred mountain because it purifies everyone who performs the kora with or without knowledge. It seemed to me that this is a very good sign for Russia and the Russian people. Attached are some photos from this trip, which were quite difficult to choose from a couple of thousand photos taken in Tibet. All the best, Julia.

"The mountain always has the last word."

Quote from the movie "Everest", 2015.

Mount Kailash (6714m) is sacred mountain in many traditions and religions. Climbing the mountain is prohibited. The axis of the universe, a mountain with a reference vibration, is a pyramid, the edges of which are oriented to the 4 cardinal points. It is the dwelling place of sages, sidhas and gods.

Believers of four religions - Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and adherents of the Bon tradition - consider this unusual mountain"heart of the world".

Jains revere Kailash as the place where their first saint attained liberation.
Hindus do parikrama. They believe that at the top of Kailash is the abode of Shiva - the god of gods, the master of karma, the destroyer of illusion. According to the Vishnu Purana, the peak is a reflection or image of Mount Meru, the cosmic mountain at the center of the universe. Lake Manasarovar is the lake of Brahma, the creator of the universe, as well as the lake of Shakti, the female deity, the wife of Shiva. Shiva and Shakti (Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar), as well as Mount Nandi (Bull Nandi, vehicle Shiva) are presented on the altar in every Hindu temple in the world in the form of a Shivalingam.
For followers of the Tibetan Bon tradition, Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar lying at its foot are the heart of ancient country Shang Zhung, where the ancient Bon Po religion originated.
Buddhists consider the mountain to be the dwelling place of the Buddha in the Samvara incarnation. Around the mountain, Buddhists do both ordinary kora and prostration kora, recite a mantra, spin a drum.
Mount Kailash is called Yungdrung GuTse (Nine-Story Mountain of the Swastika), it is the soul of all Bon, the focus of vitality and the main principle of the "Nine Paths of Bon". Here the founder of the religion of the celestial Tonpa Shenrab descended from heaven to earth. Kora over bon is done counterclockwise (towards the sun).

Kailash is one of the main occult places on earth, which accelerates the spiritual development of a person, contributes to the growth of awareness and personal responsibility for one's life. The outer crust around the mountain is actually an inner journey towards itself.

Kora around Kailash. How does this happen.

The detour around the mountain takes, as a rule, 3 days. The 53 km route has a deep spiritual meaning. We experience the entire life cycle from birth to death and rebirth. For three days, our soul symbolically lives another life, thereby leaving the past behind, and gets the opportunity to change its future destiny.

Quite often we hear from the participants of our trips about a certain “call of Kailash”. Statistics allow us to take such claims seriously. The mountain appears to someone in dreams, someone sees signs with the mountain everywhere. It's perfect different people, often far from esotericism and yoga. Once a person has a "strange desire" to go to Tibet to Kailash... There are people who go to Kailash again and again, 2 times a year. And there is another category - people who for years cannot get to the Sacred Mountain, despite the fact that they pay for tours and even end up in Tibet. The fact is that the road to Kailash is often closed. Either an earthquake, or floods, or a difficult political situation, or a religious holiday and the congestion of the region with pilgrims ...

It is important to remember that your personal bark begins the very moment you make the decision to go to Tibet. How much appears on the screen of consciousness from this moment! How many fears, doubts, repressed feelings make themselves felt long before the trip. What incredible events happen on the eve and after the pilgrimage!

It is very important how the pilgrim himself relates to his bark. Ideally, this path is walked with bright thoughts, prayers, a formed request, with a readiness for transformation, purification and acceptance of change. The 1st bark, passed with respect and gratitude to the Sacred Mountain, is enough. Although Buddhists, for example, strive to make 108 kor to get liberation from the "wheel of samsara" and exit to Nirvana. It is believed that only after performing 12 outer cores, you can go inner cortex around Mount Nandi.

And now you have arrived at the foot of the mountain. On the first day of the kora, at the white chorten, a symbolic new life of our soul begins. It was as if we were born again, we found a new symbolic body, the first day is quite easy physically, many feel cheerfulness and strength, euphoria from the beauty of the landscape and the grandeur of Kailash. Along the way, we pass the house of the lucky Stone with the gate to Shambhala, we see the Southern and Western faces of Mount Kailash, the Buddha of Longevity Mountain, and at the end of the route - the Northern face of Kailash.

On the second day of the kora, our soul experiences symbolic maturity, old age, death, the bardo, and a new birth. This day is very difficult physically. The ascent becomes a test for many, the pilgrim is going through difficult internal processes. We are going through an area called the 18 circles of hell. Psychologically, this section of the route is frustrating, immersing in psychotrauma. The path of the kora gradually leads to the Shivatsal cemetery, where the death of the symbolic body acquired on the first day of the kora takes place. Personal items are left here: items of clothing, jewelry or a lock of hair.

After the Shivatsal cemetery to the top of the Green Tara pass, our soul lives in the state bardo(the state between death and rebirth), karma is being scanned, "checking the human soul." The most difficult part of the journey is the ascent to the pass. Green Tara, height 5600 meters. Green Tara, the goddess of compassion, the mother aspect of the universe, she gives the long-awaited symbolic new birth.

View of the lake from the top of the pass Gauri Kund And Ax of Karma- a mountain, to see which is a great happiness and the main goal of the path of every pilgrim. The ax of karma finally cuts off the old karma (cuts the umbilical cord), and the person feels the beginning of an independent free life. The road leads down, there will be no more hard climbs, a person is given the opportunity to start life anew.

What happens after the bark?

We all need time to follow and understand the transformation launched on Kailash. The first shoots will appear immediately, but there are other reference points: 3 months, 6 months, a year and even more.

We have repeatedly observed how people change their attitude to life, to themselves, to situations and difficulties. How a person is “let go” by an incurable disease, how families are created and children are born to those who really wanted to, but for some reason did not succeed. How people get rid of addictions, bad habits, become vegetarians. How to have the courage to live your life and believe in yourself. Also, we know how illusions, obsolete marriages, unethical businesses collapse after Kailash, partnerships are torn, everything that pulls back and is supported by inertia. The mountain gives strength to transform yourself and your environment. This is a huge step towards a successful harmonious life from your full potential.

Mount Kailash is a source of incredible purity and light, a powerful energy resource. Kailash cleanses, renews, charges "discharged batteries". It helps to survive crises, losses, find new meanings and goals in life. You will never be the same again. You of yesterday will cease to exist. Your patterns, your logic and principles - a lot of things are being transformed. There will be an initiation by height, an initiation by love.

The pilgrimage to Tibet and the kora around the Holy Kailash changes a person's life. It gives strength to cope with the powerful flow of life, helps to comprehend your life route and, truly, love yourself, and then your neighbor.

After Kailash, values are reviewed, priorities are clarified, the excess goes away and does not take more space in your life. And what will come to the vacant place is up to you. Free energy will give you the opportunity to realize your goals and live from your meanings.

From the notes that made the kora:

“On the second day, you remember the question you came with, the request for change, the desire for something new in life, something that is still incomprehensible or unattainable for you. And with this goal in mind, you begin the ascent. The height of the beginning of the ascent is 4900m, each step up is given as a victory and overcoming yourself, if you really “burn” with your goal and know why you need this ascent, then it is psychologically easier to go. In this segment, the body becomes secondary, the will comes first, your psychology of communication with yourself. The goal passes from fantasies to the material level, and on the physical layer you understand what it means to go towards your goal.

Shortly before the steepest ascent to the pass there is a place - Shiva Tsal. Here pilgrims perform the ritual of "exchange" with Kailash. A person pronounces his goal, asks for its fulfillment of forces. In exchange, he leaves something of his own, valuable to himself, an object containing a piece of a person, dear memories or his strength in the form of cut hair. For two recent years I tested myself many times. Each time, remembering the ascent to the pass near Kailash, forces rose from within and all possible difficulties and physical trials turned into child's play. »

April 29/Day 1: Arrival in Lhasa
Welcome to Lhasa! Arrival in the capital of Tibet, meeting of the group in full force. Rest in the hotel for acclimatization to high altitude.

April 30/Day 2: Lhasa
In the morning excursion to, which is the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas. Potala consists of 13 floors overall height 118 meters. Inside there are one thousand rooms, in which about two hundred thousand images and statues of Buddhist masters and deities are placed. Special attention is given to the stupas, which contain the relics of the Fifth and Thirteenth Dalai Lamas. Currently, the Potala attracts thousands of Buddhist pilgrims. They go around the kora around the Palace, recite mantras and prayers, make prostrations. After lunch visit with sacred statue Chzhovo Buddha and, along which hundreds of Tibetans make kora (ritual detours) around the temple. Next, visit the Ramoche Temple, which is the second most important after the Jokhang. Ramoche houses a holy statue of Buddha, aged 8 years, brought from Nepal in the 7th century.

May 1/Day 3: Lhasa
In the morning, a trip to, located 10 km from Lhasa. Drepung is the largest Buddhist monastery and university of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Drepung Monastery was founded in the early 15th century by Jamyang Choje, a disciple of Je Tsongkhapa, the great reformer and founder of the Gelug school. Prior to the construction of the Potala Palace, Drepung Monastery also served as the residence of the Dalai Lamas. In the afternoon drive to Sera Monastery, which was also built in the early 15th century by Je Tsongkhapa's second disciple Sakya Yeshi. In Sere you can watch the famous philosophical debates of the monks. After the debate, you can make a kora around the monastery.

May 2/Day 4: Lhasa –Mindroling Monastery - Samye Monastery
In the morning drive to Mindroling - one of the six main Nyingma monasteries in Tibet. For 600 years, scholars and yogis from all regions of Tibet have been trained in this monastery. In the afternoon - Samye Monastery - the very first Buddhist monastery in Tibet. Samye was built at the end of the 8th century under the leadership of the king of Tibet, Trisong Detsen, who invited Shantarakshita, the great Indian Buddhist scholar and rector of Nalanda University, to Tibet. The king, together with Shantarakshita, began the construction of the Samye monastery, but due to evil spirits and the harmful influence of the king's ministers, it was impossible to complete the construction of the monastery. Then Shantarakshita advised the king to invite the famous Buddhist master Padmasambhava to Tibet. He accepted the invitation, arrived in Tibet and suppressed all the negative influences that prevented the construction of the monastery. Thus, Samye Monastery was finally erected. This monastery gradually became the center from which Buddhism spread to all corners of Tibet. Overnight at the hotel at the monastery.

May 3/ Day 5: Samye – Chimpu Caves Trek – Tsethang
In the morning - a short trek to Chimpu - a complex on the mountain, which is a cave for meditation and hermit huts. Even today, monks and hermits meditate in these caves. Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava), after founding the Samye monastery in these caves, passed on the teachings of the Buddha to 25 disciples, among whom was the king of Tibet, Trisong Detsen. In the afternoon drive to Tzethang - Big City located in the valley of the Brahmaputra River (Yarlung Tsangpo). Inspection of the Yumbulkhagang Palace - the very first building and palace built in Tibet in the second century BC. Yumbulkhagang was also the residence of Nyatri Tsenpo, the first king of Tibet. Overnight in Tzethang.

May 4/Day 6: Tsethang - Yamdrok Lake - Samding Monastery - Gyantse
In the morning transfer to Yamdrok Yumtso Lake, which is considered one of the four most revered lakes in Tibet. Visit Samding Monastery - the only monastery in Tibet run by a female nun. Abbot of the monastery - Samding Dorje Phagmo - the most important female incarnation in Tibet. Then drive through two mountain passes - Karola and Simila to the city of Gyantse. Visit to the Pelkor Chode monastery with the ancient Kumbum stupa, sightseeing of the city fortress.

May 5/Day 7: Gyantse – Shalu Monastery – Shigatse
After breakfast, a two-hour drive to Shigatse, the second largest city in Central Tibet. On the way, you will stop at Shalu, a monastery from the early 11th century, which has preserved ancient wall images. Inspection of the Tashilhunpo Monastery - the residence of the Panchen Lamas. Here is located huge statue Buddha Maitreya (Buddha of the Future), from whom you can ask for good luck and fulfillment of desires.

May 6/Day 8: Shigatse - Lake Lanzo - Saga
All day on the road mountain roads through 4-5 thousandths mountain passes from which indescribable views of the chain of Himalayan peaks open. You will drive through meadows and countryside and see small lakes and nomad camps with yaks and sheep. After about 180 km, you will stop at a beautiful alpine lake Langtso at an altitude of 4300 m. Herds of yaks and sheep graze around it. Late in the evening you will arrive at Saga, a small village located near the Yarlung Tsanpo (Brahmaputra) River. Night in Saga.

May 7/Day 9: Saga – Paryang - Darchen
As you drive through the valley, you can enjoy beautiful views. mountain peaks and vast valleys where nomads tend their herds of yaks and sheep. Farther and farther to the southwest, the scenery will change into sand dunes, Rocky Mountains and peaks covered with snow. Depending on the season, nomads and itinerant traders dress in colored national clothes. Stop for lunch at small town Paryang, which is considered one of the highest cities in the world. In that small town one gets the feeling that the sky is so close that, if you stretch out your hand, you can touch it with your hand. There are several Tibetan and Chinese restaurants in the city, as well as several shops where you can buy cookies, drinks and sweets. Toward evening we will reach Darchen, the starting point in front of the kora around Kailash. Overnight at the guest house.

May 8/Day 10: First day of Kailash kora – to Dirapuk monastery, 19 km, 6-7 hours
The whole length is 53 km. - simple enough. The path of the kora passes by the "cemetery of 84 mahasiddhas", then on the left hand on the mountainside is the Chugu monastery of the Kagyu school, which houses the shell of the Buddhist master Naropa. In the afternoon we will reach the Dirapuk Monastery, where we will stay overnight. This monastery has preserved a cave where the Buddhist saint Milarepa meditated. Dirapuk looks directly at the northern face of Kailash. From the roof of the monastery, Kailash appears in all its power and beauty. Opposite the northern slope, Hindus pray to Shiva. Followers of Hinduism believe that the abode of Shiva is located on the top of Kailash, and the peak itself is a reflection of Meru, the cosmic mountain, which is the center of the universe. Buddhists consider Kailash to be the habitat of Shakyamuni Buddha in the guise of the angry deity Chakrasamvara, the patron of one of the highest tantras of Vajrayana Buddhism. Overnight at the guest house at the monastery.

May 9/Day 11: Second day Kailash kora – Dolma-la pass – Zutulpuk monastery, 12 km, 7 hours
- the most difficult day of the kora, as we have to cross the Dolma-la pass (5637 m). Buddhists believe that all those who climbed the Dolma-la pass get rid of sins and negative karma, thereby starting new life full of meaning and awareness. Climbing the Dolma-la pass, we will hang prayer flags, make offerings and pray for the happiness of all living beings. Further, the kora trail leads down to Zatulpuk Monastery, which is also a place of pilgrimage for Milarepa. Overnight at the guest house at the monastery.

May 10/Day 12: Third day of Kailash kora, view of Mt. Nemo Nani - transfer to Lake Manasarovar FULL MOON!
will start with a path along one of the most the purest rivers you have ever seen. The trail is gentle and there is much more vegetation. At the end of the valley, before turning right, you will have a stunning view of the snowy peak Nemo Nani (7728 m). After completing the kora around Mount Kailash, return to one of the highest fresh lakes in the world. This turquoise lake full of fish and swans. The Tibetans consider it sacred and call it Mapham Tso, the invincible lake. Manasarovar is also sacred to Hindus. Around the lake are 2 sacred mountains- Kailash and Gurula-Mandala, and Lake Rashekshi. Chiu Monastery is located on a hill near the lake - ancient monastery Drukpa Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. When Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) brought Buddhism from India to Tibet, he remained in the Land of Snows for 55 years. When it was time for him to leave Tibet, he meditated for a week in a cave near Lake Manasarovar, on the site of which the Chiu Monastery was later built. Near the monastery there are hot springs where everyone can bathe. A few kilometers from Lake Manasarovar is Lake Rakshas Tal, which resembles a crescent in shape. There are almost always waves on this lake, cloudy and windy. There are no fish or algae in the waters of the lake. Locals consider this lake to be a dark beginning, a negative and unknown side of consciousness.

Optional/opportunity: bus bark around Lake Manasarovar.

May 11/Day 13: Lake Manasarovar – Paryang – Saga
Way back from Western Tibet. Enjoy beautiful view to the Himalayan ranges. Most tourists choose to take a break during these 3 days of moving to Lhasa after an unforgettable kora. But this journey usually brings unexpected surprises, such as huge rain puddles suddenly appearing or herds of yaks and sheep blocking the road. Wild animals crossing the road beautiful lakes and snow, sunrises and sunsets. All this will make the road much more interesting.

May 12/Day 14 : WITH yeah - Shigatse
Way back from Western Tibet. You will spend the whole day on the road, as there are speed limits on the track. There are short stops for walks and photos. On the way, you will cross the Yurlung Tsangpo River in front of Lhatse. Arrival in Shigatse in the late evening.

May 13/Day 15: Shigatse - Yundrung Monastery - Lhasa
On the way back to Lhasa, you will stop at the Yungdrungling Monastery - one of the main Bon monasteries in Tibet. In the evening, back to Lhasa, free evening for shopping, restaurants and tea houses.

May 14/Day 16 : Departure from Lhasa
Transfer to the airport or train station. Farewell to Tibet!

Routes are subject to change without prior notice.

The kora around Kailash is not an easy journey. This is a physically demanding three-day trek around Mount Kailash. How to choose the most favorable time for passing the kora around Kailash?

If you are a climber and are not afraid of the cold, then with good weather conditions You can do kora in almost any month of the year.

If you do not have any physical training and dream of doing a three-day trek, you can use this description of the weather and living conditions on Kailash throughout the year:

November - March: everything is closed in Darchen, 1-2 guesthouses, 1-2 tea houses are open, there are no food tents on the bark, you need to take food with you to the bark. The Green Tara Pass is covered with deep snow, we can't pass it, the wind is cold. low season the trip is cheap. (In winter, they go to Kailash to look at the mountain, they don’t go to the kora. From February 28 to the second half of April, Kailash is usually closed to the public, it’s not worth planning a trip on these dates.)

April: Beginning of the kora season around Mount Kailash. Most guesthouses, restaurants and shops open in Darchen. It is still cold on the crust, the pass may be covered with snow, there may be a cold wind. You can take a little food on the bark. A sleeping bag for a critical temperature of -20 is useful. Middle season, trip is cheap. (As a rule, by the end of April they begin to issue permits to visit Kailash, usually not earlier than April 15-20.)

May-June: very auspicious time for the bark. These two months are the driest, the lack of precipitation provides good visibility. June is especially warm. The entire infrastructure is working at full capacity, you can not take food with you to the bark if you do not disdain local food and fast food. A sleeping bag for a critical temperature of -15, -10 will come in handy. The beginning of the high season.

July-August: A very auspicious time for the kora. The nights are the warmest of the year. In late July, early August, frequent precipitation, in the mountains it is rain, sleet, hail. The entire infrastructure is working at full capacity, you can not take food with you to the bark if you do not disdain local food and fast food. A sleeping bag for a critical temperature of -10 is useful. High season.

The pilgrimage to Tibet, Lhasa and Mount Kailash is connected not only with overcoming geographical barriers, but also political ones. This, one might say, is the first stage in the selection of those who really want to get to this place. Such group trips are good, as you can linger in a place you like and retire for meditation.

A trip to Kailash is a special tour. Each person has their own goal, in most cases it is too personal to tell anyone else. But the common goal of all pilgrims is to benefit the world by improving their heart and soul. In such places of power, all emotions begin to escalate: both positive and negative. Places of Power can give people not only energy, but also tighten, immerse themselves. It is for this reason that the journey, the mood of the group, and the work with the Place is so important.

The main advantages of traveling in Tibet

You can make a bark (bypass) around Kailash, spiritually purifying.
Get acquainted with ancient religion peace.
Realize and improve the overall karma.
Talk to Buddhists, Tibetans and monks.
Visit temples that are comparable in size to the city.
Visit places that are closest to heaven.

Almost every year Tibet closes with the advent of February, as well as in March (in 1959, Tibetan uprisings often took place here in March), in addition, the date of lifting the barrier in April cannot be precisely known in advance. This greatly affects the process of organizing trips to Tibet for May holidays, since the process of obtaining permits (special permits) to enter Tibet takes a long time, and you need to buy a plane ticket and book a hotel room in advance and pay well in advance of the trip.

In addition to the indicated months of the year, in some cases Tibet is closed at other times of the year for no particular reason, and tourists are not warned about this. With all this, if you already have a ready permit to Tibet, then it can usually allow you to travel along this route, even if it is closed to the public.

You can get into the territory of Tibet by passing through China or through Nepal, with all this, the procedure paperwork for entry into the territory of the country in both cases will be different. Until that time, various pilgrims also advanced to Kailash from the very top of the Indus - for example, Roerich's expedition, but due to political situations This is currently not possible and will not be in the near future.

In any case, at the moment when you are moving through China, from the very beginning you should receive, send a copy of it to the host company in Tibet, and there, after a preliminary check by the country's security authorities, an appropriate group permit will take place. This original permit will be sent with a wax seal by special courier mail to your port of entry into the country. This is where you can get a permit from a representative of the host country.

Without a permit, you simply will not be allowed to land on this flight or on a train that leaves for Lhasa. Such a bureaucracy also has its noticeable disadvantages: in some cases procedure for issuing a special visa and the permit changes, especially often this can happen in consulates that are located in St. Petersburg. But this problem can be solved if we establish contact with partners from Tibet. The main advantage is that you can go to Lhasa literally immediately upon arrival in China, if, of course, the connection allows you to do this.

At least two weeks before departure, you should send all copies of your passports to the host country. It is with their help that a Tibetan permit will be prepared in Lhasa, which will be given to the PRC in advance.

After you arrive in the territory of this country, you will immediately receive a Nepal visa at the airport (the cost starts from $ 25 and depends on the length of stay in the country, which will be determined by the route). Then you give your passports to the territory of the embassy through the company, and the next day (it is important that it is a working one) you get your document back from ready visas. Embassy accepts and issues its documents every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from nine o'clock to twelve. For this reason, it is worth planning in advance the time of your arrival in the country.

Today, you can arrive at the territory of Kailash using several routes.

Arrival in the country through China, pilgrimage to Kailash

Through Nepal (Kathmandu)

You can get back using several options for this at once:

Route Features

Tibetan plateau has average height about 4500 meters, the height of Lhasa in the city center reaches 3,600 meters, and on the crust near Kailash you can find the Droma-la pass, which has a height of about 5600 meters (this is the approximate height of Elbrus). It is for this reason that the main issue for the traveler in Tibet is the correct and gradual acclimatization to the altitude conditions. Without such acclimatization, those who are used to living in the lowlands will not only feel bad at altitude, but will need urgent health care and life-saving transportation.

Active acclimatization is the most efficient way. If you are just in a vehicle that is climbing great height, then it will be equal to the fact that you dive into the water without scuba gear. How long can your body tolerate? It is for this reason that you should move at every opportunity, but at the same time not getting carried away, since this method can quickly bring down the rhythm of the heartbeat, as well as normal breathing.

It is in this place that one of the wonders of the world is located - this is the Potala, which used to be winter palace the Dalai Lama himself, and ancient and sacred temple for Buddhists in Tibet - Jokhang (VII century).

Flight

Flight to Lhasa saves a lot of time, and also allows you to spend more time in the capital of Tibet as part of the tour. Traveling to Lhasa by train on the recently completed Chinese railway from Beijing lasts about two days (45 hours). If we consider the features of the routes, then such a trip makes it possible to consider China in more detail, inspect engineering structures and construction, but at the same time the most difficult tunnels in high mountains passing through at night.

By using railway since 2014 even Shigatse can be reached. But at this time you will not be able to see Gyantse and Shalu, which, of course, are worth the attention of the traveler, in addition, you will acclimatize much worse, as you will accelerate the advance to Kailash for the whole day. Theoretically, on the way back, for a change, you can transfer to Shigatse from the car to the train in order to appreciate the engineering and construction of Chinese workers. But you will have to pay extra money for this, since the car with your things will still have to return to Lhasa along a parallel road.

Check-in through the territory of Lhasa (both from China and from Nepal) gives the tourist the opportunity to get acquainted with the great capital of Tibet. At this time, for two or three days, the process of more effective acclimatization takes place, as the tourist has to walk around various temples, as well as climb the slopes of the Potala.

When entering the country through Nepal, the procedure with various papers is much easier, but it requires arriving in Kathmandu 2-3 days before continuing your route to Tibet. It is for this reason that the traveler should pass through the territory of Nepal.