 Mt. Kailash (6714m), which is also known by the name of Tise, Kailash or Kang Rinpoche (Jewel of the Snows), Asia’s most sacred mountain, is located in a high and isolated enclave of West Tibet. It is one of three pilgrimage sites in the area, known collectively as Kangri Tsosum: the other two are Ponri Ngaden and Lake Manasarovar. All are said to be at the heart of the ancient shangshung Kingdom, the supposed land of origin of the pre-Buddhist Bonpos. Mt. Kailash is their soul mountain (Lari), which they also call Yangdrung Gu Tse, the Nine-story Swastika Mountain. This is the very place where the sect’s legendary founder, Tonpa Shenrab descended from heaven to earth.
Mt. Kailash is sacred to the Hindus, the Buddhists, the Jains, & the Bonpos, taken as the center of the physical & metaphysical universe. To Buddhist believers, it is the abode of Demchok, the wrathful manifestation of Buddha Sakyamuni. For Hindus, Kailash is the dwelling of Lord Shiva the Destroyer and, according to Sanskrit tradition of Vishnu Purana, it is a representation of Mt. Sumeru, cosmic mountain at the centre of the universe. For the devout pilgrim a visit to Mt. Kailash & Lake Manasarovar forms the ultimate realization of their spiritual pursuit. The May tour to Kailash during the annual gives the opportunity to face Buddhist festival of Saga Dawa while most of the other trips are planned to arrive at Mt. Kailash during the full moon period to give all participants a rare experience. A journey can truly called as `once-in-a-lifetime.
Leaving aside the mythological and devotional aspects, Mt. Kailash is by any measure a stunning beautiful mountain that stands completely alone in all its glory, with no other peaks near it. Its rounded cone is symmetrical; its distinctive horizontal and vertical striations give it the name Swastika Mountain (the swastika is a Buddhist symbol signifying spiritual strength). Deep valleys along its base allow pilgrims to circumambulate the entire mountain in one long day, a rare possibility in Tibet’s high mountain world. The circuit around Mt. Everest, by comparison, takes three weeks. Many Tibetian pilgrims attempt more than one round and most do three. Conventional wisdom says a single circuit wipes out the sins of a lifetime, 108 guarantees enlightenment!
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