Mount Kailash resembles a pyramid and the four sides of it are symmetrical. Seeing from the south, you can see its famous symbol “卍” (a symbol of divinity and spirituality in Buddhism) . Mount Kailash is often surrounded by white clouds. Local people believe that it is a blessing when you can see the peak of the mountain.
It is said that a person’s sins of life can be washed away if he could do kora around Mount Kailash for 1 circle; 10 circles, he can get away from the punishment in hell during the five hundred rounds of reincarnation; 100 circles, he can go to heaven and become a Buddha after his death.
At the foot of the south side of Mount Kailash lies a town called Taqin Town, which is the starting point for a kora journey and faces the vast Baga Grassland and Lake Manasarovar. It is the largest replenishment site along the kora journey. With the increasing amount of pilgrims and tourists, infrastructures in Taqin Town have also gain huge improvement in recent years. You can see a lot of hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, food stores, and grocery stores in the town. And the town also boasts many entertainment facilities. You can buy anything in the town, such as trekking poles, oxygen tanks, energy drinks, and instant foods, etc.
According to the difference of belief, there are two kinds of directions for people to do kora around Mount Kailash: Believers from Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism walk in a clockwise direction (the mountain will always on the right side), and believers from Bonismo, counter clockwise direction.
A kora route around Mount Kailash is as follow: Taqin Town - 6KM - Two-legged Stupa (Prayer Flag Square) - 3KM - Qugu Monastery - 12KM - Zhire Monastery - 8KM - Zhuomala Mountain Pass - 16KM - Dzutrul Phuk (Zhongzhepu Temple) —6KM—Zongdui—4KM—Taqin Town
The best time to do kora around Mount Kailash throughout the year According to the tradition, the Year of Horse of Tibetan lunar calendar is the best year to do kora around Mount Kailash. It is said that the Tibetan Year of Horse is the year of Sakyamuni's birth, so the merits of doing kora around the mountain in the Year of Horse will be multiplied. For example, if you do kora around Mount Kailash for one circle in the Year of Horse, the merits you can get will be 13 times greater than in other years. According to the calendar, the last Year of Horse was 2014 and the next Year of Horse will be 2026.
From the perspectives of month, the best month to do kora around the mountain is from May to October, when the temperature is neither too low nor too high. The weather will be so pleasant that you can do outdoor activities around the area of Mount Kailash. Although July-August is the rainy season in Tibet, there won’t be much rainfall during this period. Because Mount Kailash is located in the Ngari Area and the climate there belongs to Alpine climate. Compared with the rainfall in Everest Base Camp, the rainfall in Ngari Area is much less. Therefore, road conditions here are much better, and swamp cannot form easily.
With Taqin Town as the starting point, the kora journey around Mount Kailash covers a total length of 54km, and it will take normal tourists 2-3 days to complete the journey.
Zhire Monastery is the first place for accommodation along the kora journey. It is 22km away from Taqin Town, about 6 hours’ walk. The next place after Zhire Monastery is the Zhuomala Mountain Pass, and there isn’t any place for accommodation nearby the mountain pass. Therefore, most people would choose to stay overnight in Zhire Monastery. If you want to complete the journey of Taqin Town - Zhire Monastery section within one day, you had better set off as early as possible.
If you want to have a more relaxing trip, or spend a little more time for a rest or taking photos along the way, you can choose to stay at Dzutrul Phuk (Zhongzhepu Temple) for overnight. The distance between Zhire Monastery and Dzutrul Phuk is about 23km, which is approximately equal to the distance of the first section. Although the road is downhill, it is rather steep and people need to be extremely careful.
The last section is a 10-km journey, which will be easier for you to complete because of the flat road condition.
Generally speaking, it only takes two days for most people to completer a kora journey around Mount Kailash. But we still suggest you to choose the three-day kora tour route from us. The reasons are as follows:
1.You can walk slowly in the high-altitude areas around Mount Kailash, so that you can gradually adapt to the altitudes and you won’t get altitude sickness easily.
2.You can have more time to take pictures with Mount Kailash.
3. You will have enough time to know more about the stories and legends of the tourists spots and landmarks that you come across during the journey, so that you can have a deeper understanding of Mount Kailash.
You don’t need to prepare much professional equipment for a kora journey around Mount Kailash. Normally speaking, the following equipment will be enough:
Food and energy replenishment: There are many replenishment sites along the way, and you will see one every 2 - 3 hours. Instant noodles, water, and energy drinks are available at the replenishment sites. Therefore, you only need to prepare 1-2L of water and a little food before you start the kora journey. You can cook food by yourself on the way. Yet you need to choose cooking utensils which can be used on plateaus.
Note: Mount Kailash is 4,500 meters above sea level, so water cannot be heated to 100 degrees Celsius, but can only be heated to about 60 degrees Celsius.
Clothing:
Necessary equipment: hiking boots, thermal underwear, windproof and thermal hat.
Unessential equipment: trekking poles, headlights, snow glasses (or sunglasses). If you plan to camp and cook outdoor, you need to prepare tents, moisture-proof mats, and cooking utensils, etc.
Skin care products: sunscreen, moisturizer, and emergency medicine, etc. (Please purchase the medicine according to the doctor's advice)
Tourists who carry a lot of luggage or who have poor physical strength can spend some money to hire a labor to carry the luggage to the next rest site, so that you can save much energy during the journey.
The chart of the altitude changes of a kora journey around Mount Kailash looks like a pyramid: low at the two ends (Taqin Town, 4,675m) and high in the middle. The highest point is the Zhuomulama Mountain Pass (5,660m).
Kora refers to an activity that people make pilgrimages as they walk around a holy mountain circle by circle. This is the most pious way to worship to the mountain god. Tibetans believe that people suffering from hardships can be baptized and purified through kora. Buddhism Tibetans firmly believe that their sins can be cleaned and they can get great merits through pilgrimage. And finally, they can get rid of the destiny of reincarnation and go to heaven. Therefore, countless people will always worship to the heaven and land by their unique kowtowing ways, and slowly walk toward the holy places.
Among the large amount of holy places, Mount Kailash is believed to be the most sacred one. Therefore, thousands of Buddhist believers and ordinary tourists would go there to do kora every year. Some of them may go there on foot, and some of them may kowtow as they walk. They would go to the mountain through the means that they think to be the most pious.
Some people may think it isn't worth the hardship. A tourists had said that “Although you need to suffer a lot during the kora journey, such as having difficulty in breathing, muscle aches, and sunburn, you will find everything worth when you look up at the sacred snow peak shining under the blue sky. The happiness at this time is indescribable.” We believe that once you have completed the sacred kora journey around Mount Kailash, you will fall in love with this snowy plateau.
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