Kailasam

 

This picture was taken in the North face of Mount Kailas .

The pilgrimage of Kailas ends with parikrama or holy circumambulation .

Hinduism as well as Buddhism along with Jainism and Bon religion native to Tibet believe Mount Kailas in Tibet

now part of China is the abode of Lord Shiva himself .

Strangely the mystique mountain had never ever been climbed in its life ,not to say attempts have not been made ,being shorter than Mount Everest and to a professional mountaineer it could have not been an impossible feat though not for untrained mortals but its a fact that all attempts have failed at some stage .

The will is lost they say

Its a huge mental hurdle and we couldn't take a step more

All i wanted was to come down

It was very emotional say the few who do inner parikrama who go near its foothills those who are hardy to face the icy glaciers crevices who are fortunate to touch its granite surface have burst into copious tears of joy of unexplainable satisfaction .

Forget that the very experience of circumnavigation of 53 km around the mountain by itself was completed only by around 30 % of those who reach its vicinity .

It takes 3 days of trekking ,most use horses and Tibetan guides who lead the horses,many walk .

Some Tibetans themselves who live in such terrain not only walk but walk prostrating continuously !

They take 2 months to do that .

Can you imagine that ?

Two months of bending falling flat on the rocky mountainous terrain in falling snow getting up doing it again .

If this isnt faith show me what is !

Kailas pilgrimage is a hardy one specially in the past .

It was only Indian ministry of external affairs who arranged them with batches selected every year taking into considering physical fitness and mental alacrity .

Many applied some got selected .

Between 1954 to 1972 no Indians were allowed into Tibet due to political fall outs and war with China .

The routes were directly from India through Lipulehk pass in UP ,the climbing of this pass itself was a very tough proposition .

After reaching Tibet one needed to travel overland through poor roads rough terrains and cold weather to reach Manasarovar lake and later Drachen town from where Mount Kailas could be glimpsed .

Later the Nathulla pass in Sikkim was opened up as an alternate .

Private operators in Nepal had trips from Kathmandu to Tibet over hills of Nepal by road or partly by helicopters .

This was quite hardy too and landslides were real obstacles expected .

Once crossing into China with a pilgrim visa one needed to go overland for 2 days to reach lake Manasarovar and Drachen .

Alternatively one could come to Lhasa by air through Beijing or by rail or by road quote a long one and from Lhasa to Kailas which is at other end of Tibet .

These alternates have made Kailas more reachable to people with lesser physical attributes and with greater comforts .

Most places specially in Tibet ,China have developed into medium size towns with plenty of good hotels infrastructure and markets etc .

One needed to stay on.the way to avoid altitude sickness which could happen of suddenly transported to say above 12000 feet and foothills of Kailas was more nearer 15000 ft .

Hence we took more than 5 days to reach Drachen the town after the serene lake Manasarovar from where Kailas could be glimpsed as an ethereal unreality and mirage its pyramid like exuberance shimmering in the golden sunrise .

Every human being whatever be his beliefs felt the vibrations as there were lot of pilgrims who came to see the place more as a travel spot and a hardy trek .

Thats fine perfectly for it is definitely not the usual Hindu temple or pilgrim spot .

Theres no temple anywhere in and around Kailas never had been nor idols .

There are Buddhist monasteries but no temples .

Its nature the stunning enthralling magnitude of a mystique mountain standing defiantly in magnificent solitude and much beyond any temple or idol .

It s beyond words to describe the moment one sets eyes on this rare sight as one reaches Lake Manasarovar and closer from Drachen where iys looming presence was closer in every gasping step we took .

The day of our parikrama came .

We were told that a bus ride of 14 km would take us to Yama dwar .

Lord Yama in Hindu mythology is the lord of death itself .

Dwar is opening in Hindi

As the bus panted up the brown Tibetian hillock we could see two huge hills with an opening and see mount Kailas still appearing closer but at least 20 km away .

It was in Yama dwar those who wanted to hire ponies or horses and Tobetian guides could do so .

It was all well organised and one needed to pay 30000 INR as Chinese currency or American dollars for three days of Parikrama .

Many in our troupe were planning to walk the whole parikrama and did not wait for the pony business .

We would see them slowly walking later in the drizzly rain sitting on horses with our cameras slung on our shoulders and our Tibetian horsemen cursing the snorting ponies .

The first days trek to Derapuk on northern side of mount Kailas from Southern face in Drachen takes around 10 hours .

We pass the granite walls of western side of the mountain .

The trek is mild to medium hard with gentle slopes ,streams which could be waded and no steep climbs .

Rains and at times direct mountain suns exhausted one but even trekking itself on day one wasnt impossible for an untrained person .

The north face had primitive lodgings

Dirapuk gave magnificient views of mount kailas specially in moonlight or during sunrise .

Hot food was available in lodgings though common toilets made one reach out to stony foothills around to finish ones needs in the stark cold of the dark .

Panting exhausted one would reach back the tiny rooms allotted for the night .

The neighing of the tied horses the eternal silence of the great mountain looming in the inky black sky with a lone moon shining like a jewel on its head were sights and sounds which were impossible sensory inputs for any fortune .

The east face it seems is glimpsed only in inner parikrama near Gowri kund day two and east face too amongst many peaks .

That night i had physical discomforts like mild breathlessness recurrent bowel movements a wrong place to get actually .

And above all the fear of the tough second days climb to Dolma pass the toughest in parikrama with nothing to bring you back to civilisation in a crisis

All this made me decide to return back to Drachen next morning aborting my parikrama .

Many did decide but in my group maybe two or three only .

Some had stayed back in Drachen itself in the luxury of the hotel there which tempted me back too .

I have no regrets as the completion of parikrama needs more mental strength than muscle power and i was lacking in that .

My wife had only one goal and shook off all doubts as she continued into Dolma pass next morning .

Initially they would climb in horses very steep incline to reach the pass and later only trek as horses can slip and are led by horsemen who also guide you .

Premila had a smiling Tibetian lady to take her along .

She told me later the reaching Dolma pass was very tough and she was in a trance and strange mental frame where she felt she was in an unearthly place .

The pass itself was full of Buddhist flags fluttering in the rocks and one could see the aqaumarine waters of the Gowri kund lake down below .

The steep climb down was exhausting and it was dark by the time they could get back on thier horses to reach Zuthulpuk where they would halt for second days night .

The next day was relatively gentle trek from Zithulpuk back to yama dwar and Drachen where we waited for the yatris to return