Part 6 - Mount Kailash and Kora                                                                                                                                                 

From Sanskrit Kailāśa (कैलास), 'crystal'. In Tibetan Kang Rin-po-che (གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ), 'precious jewel of snows'. Both very apt names, indeed.

Mt Kailash is considered a very sacred place for Buddhists, Hindus, Böns and Jains.

Mountaineering to the top is banned. In 2001 the Chinese government gave permission for a Spanish team to climb the peak, but in the face of international disapproval the Chinese decided to ban all attempts to climb the mountain, now and in future. Reinhold Messner commented 'If we conquer this mountain, then we conquer something in people's souls'.

The kora (pilgrimage, Wallfahrt) on foot around Mt Kailash is a holy ritual that shall bring good fortune. Buddhists and Hindus circumambulate the mountain in a clockwise direction, Böns and Jains counterclockwise. 
Doing the kora is either meant by body-length prostrations over the entire length of the 52km - or to walk the kora within one day, which at least takes 15 hours. Many Tibetans have the mental discipline, physical fitness and altitude aptitude to do the pilgrimage in one of these kinds. 
Indian pilgrims and Western tourists prefer the third option: walking the Kora in 3 days, from Darchen (4550m) to the pilgrims' quarters above the Dira Phuk monastery (5150m) on the first day, crossing the  Dormha-la pass (5650m) to the Zutul Phuk monastery (4850m) on the second, and back to Darchen on the third day. 
We chose the third option - at least we tried to...

Our team, Phurbu, Friedelind and Kasan, the porter, carrying our sleeping bags and food.


Yaks carrying the equipment for bigger groups staying overnight in tents.











From now on we walk slowly and mindfully through one of the most beautiful valleys ... 












Mt Kailash, west face












Finally we have reached  the Dira Phuk monastery


Mt Kailash, north face, and the pilgrim's camp for the first night

















We made day one! It was one of the best hikes in our lives!

Although we had well acclimatized before we started the kora, and had had no problems after arriving at 5150m, the next morning we started to feel clear symptoms of altitude sickness. So we played safe and decided not to challenge the remaining 500m up to  the Dhorma-la pass, but to return back to Darchen. After having descended about 300m the symptoms luckily disappeared. So now we know our limits regarding height ...

What an unforgettable trek!

All photos by the author, apart from those marked with 'www', which were taken from various internet sources.