Tibet Kora at Mt Kailash 2017

This trip was really done out of some crazy idea.  One night when I could not fall asleep ( do not know why as I am always easy to snooze), I youtubed for “Holy Mountains in the World” , and turns out Mt Kailash or in Tibetian: Gang Ren Po Che, shot up to be one of them.  I never knew such a mountain existed.  I have always wanted to visit Tibet for its Potala Palace, but now it is becoming a very commercialized place.

Mt Kailash is only over 6000m  but Mt Everest had been conquered but not this mountain.  The Mt Kailash is considered the Holy Mountain for 4 religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Bon, and Janism.  It is believed that doing the Kora around the mountain will cleanse away your sins for the year.  Most Tibetians will rush for the kora during the year of the horse in Tibetian calendar as it is believed to be the lucky year.  A lot of Hindu pilgrims do their kora as Mt Kailash was thought to be the abode for Lord Shiva and his consort, it is the place that Lord Shiva resides.

Mt Kailash has a natural pyramidal shape which makes it hard to climb to the summit, there are also legends that such a holy mountain can never be conquered.  Although the Chinese government had given permission for a Spainish team to climb the mountain, they eventually decided to give it a miss as such a holy mountain should retain its status of being un-climbed.

There were also many stories about strange paranormal activity while attempting to climb the mountain.  Some of the climbers lost their sense of direction, feel weak and aged.  This impeded their progress forward.

Well I certainly hope that I can complete the kora, despite being under trained.

What is a Kora?

The Kora if you search on Wikipedia, will come up to be an African musical instrument.  Adding the word pilgrimage to Kora and search and it will come up to be a Tibetian practice of pilgrimage.  It actually means “turning” or “cicumambulation”.  The kora is a practice by the Tibetian Buddhist turning in a clockwise direction, whether it be turning the prayer wheels  or just to go around a temple, some holy sacred place in circles.  The purpose is to gain good karma and it is also believed that by doing the Kora, the person can gain enlightenment and also atone for their sins.

My trip with Snow lion Tours Tibet

So when I decided to go for a trip to Mt Kailash, the first thing to do was to find out how to get there.  Unlike Bangkok or other big cities, Lhasa is not some easy cities to get to.  You need a VISA for foreigners, for the Chinese they only need their Identity card.

There are no direct flights from Lhasa to Singapore, in fact most places around the world, there are no direct flights to the city.  Most travelers chose to go from China, there are planes from Chengdu and Guangzhou.  Recently, train rides are becoming popular also, the train goes from Shanghai or Chengdu.  Along the way, you will get to see the Qing Hai lake and also many isolated places in the Qing hai and Tibetian province.  It is really not to be missed especially if you like natural scenery.

I have chosen to fly in from Chengdu taking the Air China flight in the afternoon at 12 pm local time and go back to Shang Hai via Train.

One of the more trustworthy and fuss free site which I like to purchase my China train tickets from is Ctrip.  Be sure that if you want to purchase the Train tickets, do it one month before so that you can get the soft sleeper ( which is by far the best choice on the train) or you will end up like me with the hard seats, which trust me, is really a challenge to take one.

Lhasa to Darchen

The trip from Lhasa to Darchen too us about 3 days( near to 1,700km).  There were stop overs at Shigatse ( second capital of Tibet) and Saga, a cowboy town with nothing significant.  In Shigatse itself , Tashi Lun Po Monastery is the more significant, founded by the first Dalai Lama in 1447, the structure is impressive and offers a good view of the surrounding mountains.

Darchen

Darchen is a small one street town, but it has started to spread out more due to its popularity as a base point for the Kora around Kailash.  The town is really very basic, it has many small shops selling practically the same thing: daily necessities, mountaineering gears, Tibetian Arts and craft.  There are no malls or like a centralised shopping centre in Darchen.  There are however many food options from Tibetian to the Chinese Han dishes.

There are mostly guest houses and simple accommodation in Darchen.  We spotted one hotel being built, maybe it will open its doors in time to come.  We put up at the local clinic guest house.  To speak the truth, outside of the big cities, Tibet is still quite basic and rustic.  The toilets are not the modern type, no flush and sewage.  Electricity and tap water is still considered a luxury.  Darchen is the last point to get whatever trekking items you need before you start your kora.

Packing for the Kora

To speak the truth, originally I thought the packing will be really tough as we will keep thinking what to and not to bring.  Then I realise that I did not bring along a

Suitable back pack along to keep all the items.  Although yaks, donkeys can be hired for carrying your items, our guide however did not encourage it because it is really expensive, and some how it lacked the purpose of the Kora which is to walk your own.  Some of the locals actually walk one step and pray with the whole body on the ground and stand up doing the same thing for the 55 km.  It takes about a month to complete the Kora in that way.

Some of the basic things that you should bring along:

1. Dental kit ( tooth brush and tooth paste)
2. Change of clothes( the trek is about 3 days, if you are fast you can complete in 2 or even 1)
3. Winter wear ( to protect yourself at Dolama Pass)
4. Simple Dry food
5. Hot flask for water
6. Trekking pole ( if you have weak legs or not used to walking the mountains)
7. Simple First aid like plaster and antiseptic cream
8. Rain wear ( sometimes the weather gets cranky and rains heavily)
9. Sleeping Bag( for the stay under the foot hill of Mt Kailash and monastery)
10. Good Mountain trek shoes ( parts are really rocky)

Basically these are the main items that you will need.  It will be good to use a waterproof backpack for the trek as the weather is unpredictable.

Day 1- Darchen to Dira Puk Monastery( About 20 km)

We set off from the guest house in Darchen and move off towards the west side. We were lucky that the weather was good and sunny.  There were not much elevation for the first day, most of the roads were flat and simple slopes.  The whole scenery was amazing and the air was really fresh, there were streams along the way and it felt like a nature playground.

Our group of original 10 trekkers only left to 9 as Heba , one of our team member from Egypt left at the first supply point which is 17 km away.  The supply points are mainly tentages built by the locals for refreshments and drinks.  They also sell simple food stuff like biscuits and instant noodles.  Throughout the trek, there are no proper toilets or even to talk about bath.  So basically we have been doing it in the open.  My group of 4 trekkers, Tanya, Elena and me ( for the first day) and subsequently Jonas ( for the last two days) were taken care by the driver Tashi, while the rest followed on with the tour guide Tashi.

We could see Mt Kailash only after leaving the first supply point.  I remember the first time seeing so close was really a breathtaking moment for me.  Grappling with altitude sickness for the past few days, the stories about altitude sickness is not a joke.  Although I kind of exercise a lot back home, I felt that this sickness has nothing to do with your sports efforts.  My experience was a severe headache which occurs when I sleep or lie down.  Some how my appetite in the trip was really bad, and did not eat much and I also did not feel hungry.  Mt Kailash was rumoured to make one old while doing the kora, there were even stories that trekkers have hair and beard growing really long after a kora.  I guess that explain it due to the lack of ammneties.

Day one ended at the foot hill of the North face of Mt Kailash.  It was impressive and amazing to be so near to the mountain.  You can even feel its mystic powers there.  Opposite the mountain is a monastery, there are also guests houses on that side while we took tents on the mountain side.  The weather was really unpredictable.  As we were walk to the monastery, it started to rain.  We sought shelter inside the monastery and get ourselves away from the howling cold wind.

As we stepped out when the sun starts to shine again, an arch of rainbow was spotted.  Really a blessing, the monk told our guide that it was a sign of good luck, I really hope so, because tomorrow we are doing the 5660m high dolma la pass.

Day 2- Dolma La Pass (5660m)

To speak the truth, the exact height might not be accurate but I am sure it is at least 5600m.  The day started early at 7 am.  The sky does not turn bright until 08:30am.  So we were so of like moving in the break of dawn.  Locals say that the Dolma La Pass is a test of your Karma, if you find it tough to go up the pass then you must have accumulated a lot of bad karma.  But I find it difficult to find a person who can go up easy breezy, the cold, the steepness, the wind, the altitude.  Maybe if you do it a few times a year, then you can overcome all these.  4km into the foot hill and my vibrams was giving me problems.  Too thin too cold, why had I not brought my real trail shoes?  I simply found myself quite foolish.  I guess I was the most under packed trekker.  One small china bag, and my sleeping bag.  The walking stick was a gift from the driver, I didn’t even bother to bring mine.  Again another ego play I guess, but I somehow felt that this trip was destined for me.   Weather had been good with sunshine on the days we need to travel out and most importantly the transport was not impeded by road works, which according to the guide, it is a common thing in Tibet.  Despite the altitude headaches, I was all prepared to go for the kora.

The driver was hollering to me, I wonder how he can climb so fast, and unlike us, he did not have a walking or climbing stick! My vibrams are not protecting my feet, they are all numb now, I was worried that I will lose my toes, and it doesn’t help that I was not wearing any socks , I mean hey its Vibrams! I pulled down my knee socks to cover at least half the feet.  Continue, up and up, the progress was slow, nearly every 5m up we too a small break, and it just got worse and worse with the mist.  That feeling of giving up came creeping, but this is not one place you can call it quits and just leave, because to return you will still need to walk back yourself.  I finally understand what it is called point of no return.  Really glad that my mates, Elena, Tanya and Johannes were with me in this one way ticket. Johannes tried to calm us down by taking pictures and the driver chanted Om mani mantras to us, while me, Elena  and Tanya just Keep Calm and Move On.

Just when I thought I cleared the pass, the driver told me hey that was just half way through.  Johannes’ watch had altitude calculations and he say that we are only 5330m, this is also the place that sky burial was made. I was already dying, seeing stars.  We made many small breaks and rested here and there.  Eventually through the clouds, we saw the Tuoji Lake, the green turquoise lake meant that we are descending.  What a relief, we sat down, took pictures with the immense number of prayer flags around.  There must be really so many pilgrims here.

the descend was no joke, coming from a country which highest point on the island is 168m.  I totally had no training to go down hill fast and safe.  Rocks with bare vegetations were every where.  The driver took his steps like a breeze, I really admire him, while I struggle with my walking stick.  Through ice sheets ( this is where my feet was really gone), finally another of 2-3 km of rocky down hills, we make it to the tentage rest area.  When we went in, all of us just laid on the chair, taking off our bags and just laid there.  Really wish I could have the luxury to just stay there and not move on, but we had another 7 km to reach out final rest point for the day.

As we waited for the rest, we were so tired that we did not even have appetite.  Just simply laid there, the driver soon told us to move so that we can really rest at the next monastery which is our last point for the day.  Although 7 km is not far, but after the Dolma La Pass, every metre is hell.  The only comforting thing is that the land is flat and no more high altitude, the scenery was also amazing.  We pushed to the last point, the Dzultripuk monastery was where we put up for the night, it was really a nice place although still poor in sanitation, we were just glad there is a place to put up for the night.  The four of us stayed at the courtyard of the monastery, room no.8.  Eventually Olga came to join us.  We had dinner at the monastery restaurant, which really made the tastiest food for us.

Day3: Dzultripuk Monastery to Darchen

Tough times don’t last tough men do.  After yesterday’s crazy hike up the Dolma La pass, the rest of the journey was much more relaxing.  To speak the truth, I am quite confident that if I want, I can complete the whole Kora in two days.  The rest on the first day was not really that essential for me.  But the one after Dolma La Pass is.  The third day was all flat ground with our last glimpse of this nature wonderland.  Weather had not been that cold in the lower altitudes.  My feet had regained its numbness from the extreme cold it went through yesterday.  Although, there were no hot water, I covered it up with a lot of blanket and socks.  Tanya and Elena had been kind to offer me their thermal socks but I did not take it because really the Vibrams cannot work with normal socks too.

We had a nice breezy walk back, before reaching Darchen, there was a tea house, the guides had a break there, I guess they were all tired from having to take care of us.  We took some pictures with the yaks and slowly made our way back to the Dachen guests house.

After thoughts

Maybe a kora to the locals is nothing, doing it almost every other time, and some even go for the sacred 108 times for a lifetime of good karma.  But I must say, this kora was one thing I am proud to say I did it.  Travelling so far just to walk the mountain.  Tibet is really still very underdeveloped, sanitation is still poor, food is really very limited and quality is not that good compared to big cities like Shanghai and Beijing.  People living outside of Lhasa and Shigatse are still in the very remote position.  But the scenery is really breathtaking.  Everyday you get unbelievable mountains and rivers.  The clouds the clear blue sky, I would do it again if given a chance.  But now let me take a bath first , and in a public bath …….

References

I usually do not refer to any reference or anything for my posts but I guess for those who want to know more about Mt Kailash, here are some of the resources that you can get hold of.

1. Snowlion Budget Tibet Tours:  My tour group.  It is really cheap and they are no frills with real business.  Read my review on Trip advisor about them.

Official Website: http://snowliontours.com/

My tripadvisor comments: https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g294223-d8353580- r517858925-SnowLion_Tours_Day_Tour-Lhasa_Tibet.html#REVIEWS

 

2. Information about the Kora( Statistics and how to prepare ): https://www.crazysexyfuntraveler.com/kora-around-mt-kailash-tibet/

3. Information about the Mystery of Mt Kailash: http://sivkishen.wikia.com/wiki/What_is_the_hidden_mystery_of_Mount_Kailash%3F