What to eat and drink in Tibet during your Tibet tour?

Most of the Tibetan food is completely different from mainland China or other countries in the world. Originally, Tibet did not have variety of food but those of the Tibetan food was completely organic with lots of nutrition but today, since in the lower places of Tibet grows lots of different kind of vegetables like other countries, Tibetan food has devolved into many different kinds of items.

Due to the special geographical location, The higher part of Tibet is not conducive to the normal growth of ordinary plants. The main crops are highland barley, so the main food in Tibet is relatively scarce. Most of the Tibetan food is meat and dairy products.

In Tibet, the main raw materials are Yak meat, mutton, potatoes, radishes and other vegetables. In the olden days, the Tibetan food is Tsampa, made up of roast barley and Yak meat but in the present day, the diet is mainly rice, flour and highland barley. Tibetan Like oil, thick flavor and crisp food, spicy, they commonly used baking, frying, boiling and other methods.

Yak meat and mutton

Tibetan people mainly eat Yak meat, mutton and dairy products. Generally speaking, there is no so much vegetable in the pastoral area. From a single dietary structure, the pastoral area and even the whole Tibet belongs to a high-flat, high protein diet area. It is well known that Yak meat and mutton are high in calories, which help people living in high altitude areas to resist the cold. What’s interesting is that Tibetan people have the habit of eating raw meat. If you go to the houses of local Tibetan people, you will see the dried Yak meat and mutton hanging in the houses or tents. They eat dried Yak meat and mutton with Tsampa as their main Tibetan food.

Tibetan styled Dumpling, known as Momo in Tibetan.

Momo is not only a very popular Tibetan food but also a very important Tibetan food where people serve Momo to their important guests during Tibetan New Year or when somebody invites some important guests to their families. They also serve Momo when Tibetan people are having big party or celebrating some festivals or during wedding festival. There are several different types of Momo. One is a vegetable Momo, second one is a potato Momo and the third one is the Yak meat Momo which is the most popular Momo and consider as one of the best Tibetan food.  

Fried rice with wild Potato, known as Dreisil

Dreisil dish is a Tibetan special dish that people always serve during special occasion such as during Tibetan New Year, Tibetan wedding festival, special religious festivals and ceremony etc and Dreisil is the Tibetan food that people serve as the first dish because it is the symbol of auspiciousness and good luck. The process of making Dreisil is fried rice with butter, sugar and wild Potato. It is also very delicious and very unique.   

Tsampa

Tsampa is the main Tibetan food. The process of Tsampa is to dry and roast highland barley (barley, white , and grind it into flour. This is similar to the fried noodles in the north of China, but the fried noodles in the north are first ground and then fried, while the Tsampa in Tibet is first roast and then grind without peeling.

When Tibetan people eat Tsampa, they usually pour a small amount of butter tea into the bowl first, add some Tsampa , and mix them with their hands until they can be kneaded into a ball. When they eat Tsampa, they constantly knead it in the bowl with their hands. The ball is called “Ba”, which is delivered to the mouth.

Tsampa can make different kinds of Tsampa soup by mixing some vegetables , called “Thuba”. And also can be made some special Tsampa cakes as well. Tsampa is usually eaten for breakfast in the cities like Lhasa and as daily Tibetan food in the villages or remote area. The Tsampa has lots of nutrition and very good for your health.

Tibetan noodle soup

Since Tibet is a high plateau, the weather is very much changeable and usually it is pretty cold, especially during the winter time so noodle soup is a very popular Tibetan food, especially during winter time, in most of the Tibetan families, they serve noodle soup. Nowadays, in all the tea house restaurants, they serve Tibetan noodle soup and it has become kinds of new Tibetan tradition that all the local Tibetans go to tea houses and have noodle soup as their breakfast and drink sweat tea. These kind of tea houses are very similar to the coffee shops in the western countries.

Tibetan local Drinks

All kinds of local Tibetan drinks are indispensable to constitute Tibetan people’s nutritious food. Tibetan drinks include butter tea, sweet tea, highland barley wine, etc. In addition to the main Tibetan food of Tsampa, butter tea is also used as a daily drink. Butter tea and sweet tea are respectively made of butter, milk, salt and sugar.

In Tibet, it is an ancient tradition of the Tibetan people to treat guests with butter tea. Whether you go into the herdsman’s tent, or the farmer’s mud hut, or visit relatives and friends, the host will always make a yellow butter tea for you. When the Tibetans leave the country, relatives and friends come to the farewell party to present a white Khadha, a white scarf and a bowl of butter tea.They wish the travelers have a pleasant journey.

Like butter tea, they are all Tibetan drinks. In terms of taste, the butter tea is salty and the sweet tea is sweet; in terms of raw materials, the butter tea is made directly from tea, salt and butter, and the sweet tea is made from black tea, sugar and milk; the nutritional value of the butter tea is higher than that of the sweet tea, and the sweet tea is more suitable for the taste of tourists.

Another Tibetan drink is highland barley wine which is brewed after highland barley fermentation. It is drunk by men, women, old and young in Tibet, especial during special festivals, so the Tibetans brew a lot of highland barley wine before the festival.

From April to August in the Tibetan calendar, almost all traditional and non-traditional festivals, religious and non-religious festivals are displaced so during those special festivals, Tibetan drink a lot local barley wine or known as Chang in Tibetan. During summer, the people in Lhasa like to go out to have picnic by choosing beautiful and clean green grassland or pasture land where there is stream water and they drink a lot of barley wine. You can find people in groups of three or five, set up tents of various colors, while drinking barley wine, while singing and dancing, showing the charm of Tibetan wine culture.

There is a set of rules for Tibetan people to drink butter tea. Generally speaking, a cup of tea should be filled and serve to the guests. If you don’t want to drink it, don’t touch it. If you drink half of it, and can’t drink it any more, the host will fill the cup with tea. You will put it on the table and drink it again when you leave. This is in line with the habits and politeness of the Tibetan people.

Dairy products

There are many Yak in the nomadic area and more cattle and sheep and more dairy products in the farming land of Tibet. The most common are Yoghurt and milk dregs. There are two kinds of yoghurt. One is cheese, which is called “Da Xiu” in Tibetan. It is made of milk refined from butter. The other is made of milk without butter, which is called “A xiu” in Tibetan. Yoghurt is a kind of food after the scarification of milk. It is more nutritious and easy to digest. It is suitable for the elderly and children.

Milk dregs are the substances left after butter is extracted from milk. After cooking and water evaporation, the rest is milk dregs. Milk dregs can be made into milk cakes and milk blocks.

What to eat and drink in Tibet during your Tibet tour?

The above are some symbols of Tibetan food, especially the Tibetan food that people had in the olden days but nowadays, in the cities of Tibet, you can get variety types of food including continental, western, Tibetan and Chinese so on. If you are traveling to the major cities of Tibet such as Lhasa city, Tsetang city, Shigatse city, Nyingtri city, Ngari prefecture city, Nakqu prefecture city etc, you will get all kinds of food and drinks. You can find lots of Tibetan, Chinese, continental, western restaurants so you can choose any kinds of food and drinks during your Tibet travel. There are different kinds of local Tibetan beer, imported beer, whisky and red wine so there is no point to worry about the meals and drinks during your Tibet travel.

Even if you did not read about the food and drinks in Tibet before you travel to Tibet, your Tibetan local tour guide can take you to the most beautiful and tasty restaurants according to your wishes.

Complete Mt. Kailash trekking guide- Mount Kailash trekking

Mt. Kailash Kora is a must when you do Kailash pilgrimage tour or Kailash adventure tour. Mt. Kailash Kora is a Tibetan word which directly means circumambulate or go around a monastery, temple or a sacred mountain or holy lake.

MountKailash is considered as Mt. Meru, which is believed to be the earthly representation of the navel of the world, is situated in the Himalayan region of Tibet. The mountain is described as towering over its environment and being symmetrical in it’s regular shape, like a crystal.

Although we know that the altitude of the summit of Mount Kailash is not the highest on earth. The altitude of Mt Kailash is 6740m ( 221078ft), nothing special in a geographical region with the highest mountain range on earth, the Himalaya. Together with its northwest extension, the Karakorum, it includes all 14 peaks of the earth above 8000m ( 26247ft ).

There are also many mountains more than 7000m ( 22966ft ) in altitude, even in close vicinity of each other . Mt. Kailash is situated a little north of the likewise holy lake Mansarovar and directly south of this lake rises Mt Gurla Madhata ( Tibetan Nemo Nanyin ) to an altitude of 7694m ( 25243ft ) which is the third highest mountain of Tibet after Mt. Shishapangma 8027m ( 26396ft) and Mt Namchak Barwa, 7756m ( 25446ft ).

Not only is Gurla Mandhata 1158m ( 3798ft ) higher than Mt. Kailash, it is also extraordinary shape, standing way above all the mountains in it’s vicinity. However, Mt. Kailash is still believed to be the holiest of mountains and become very popular as it is believed to contact and actually bear the heavens, which sit on top of it. This is a real hub of the earth, which connects the earth to the universe. Besides, it has lots of religious stories and myths that attract the travelers and pilgrims to come to Kailash and do Mount Kailash Kora.

The exact position of Mount Kailash is situated in the far west of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China, PRC. This position is about 100Km ( 63mi ) north of the northwestern edge of the border between Nepal and India and the PRC. Actually, the linear distance to the Tibetan capital Lhasa is 1280Km ( 800mi ), where’s to the Indian Capital New Delhi it is only 980Km ( 612mi ), and to the Nepalese capital Kathmandu is not more than 540Km ( 337mi ).

As a holy Mountain, Mt. Kailash is an object of religious adoration for the main religions of the old Indian and Tibetan cultural region, the Buddhist, Hindus, Bonpo ( the original religion of Tibet prior to Tibetan Buddhism ) and Jains. The largest numbers of followers of to those religions are those for Hinduism, three times more than for Buddhism, altogether around 1.38 billon people so Mt. Kailash is a very important holy site for those religious followers and it is a must for them to do a Mt. Kailash Kora during their Kailash Pilgrimage tour.

For Hindus Mt. Kailash, Kailash Parbat, represents Mount Meru, which by legend is the upholding pillar of the world’s 84000 miles high, where Lord Shiva resides with his consort Parvati. The word ‘’ Kailash “presumably comes from the ancient Indian language Sanskrit and was adopted by the British colonial power. Very likely, in the western world, we owe our knowledge of Mt. Kailash as a holy mountain to this fact. Other holy mountains and other holy sites in Tibet are much less known in the western world. For Hindus, if you have financial basis, Mt. Kailash is the holiest sites that they have to visit once in a life time and Hindus believe trekking around Mount Kailash is another big blessing for their lives. 

Adherents of the pre-Buddhist Bon-religion, the Bonpo, in Tibet were probably the first who lived in this remote landscape and really experienced the holy mountain, which they called Yungdrung Gutseg. Also the name Gang Tise is widely used; however it describes not only the holy mountain but this part of the trans Himalayan chain. For the Bonpo ,the holy mountain is dwells and their founder Tonpa Shenrap descended from the heavens. Among those religions, Bonpo do Mt. Kailash Kora anti-clockwise direction while the other religions are doing Mt. Kailash Kora clockwise direction.

Very interestingly, in the Jain religion, the mountain is called “ Ashtapada”, where Rishabha, their Adinath ( First Lord ), the first of their twenty –four Tirthankaras ( Enlightened Beings ) achieved enlightenment and entered Nirvana, the state of release from all suffering.

Ashtapada is the eightfold path which symbolizes the eight steps on the path to enlightenment. Interestingly, many travellers who embark on the Everest Base Camp Trek often pair it with the Mount Kailash trek to explore both sacred destinations. The satellite view of Ashtapada, with its northern and southern outliers, resembles eight legs, a highly emblematic feature of this holy mountain.

This aspect is something which also occurs in Buddhist mythology. There are mazing iconographic details present in the landscape of the holy mountain. Tibetan Buddhists call the mountain Gang Rinpoche, the Venerable Snow Mountain, which is also apostrophized as the Precious Snow Jewel. For Buddhists, Mt Kailash is the residence of Chakrasamvara ( Demchok in Tibetan ), meaning the circle of bliss which the cycle of rebirths is overcome, in union with his consort Vajravarahi ( Dorje Phagmo in Tibetan ), which is translated as diamond sow. Although this may seem a strange description of a goddess for Westerners, it is not for Buddhists, who regard Her as one of the highest deities on the Highest Yoga Tantra.

The Sikhs, adherents of another Indian religion, call the holy mountain Sumer Parbat, a name which refers to the old Indian scriptures. Although their first Guru Nanak Dev Ji visited Mt. Kailash during the third of his five holy journeys in 1514 to 1518, the holy mountain appears to be of less importance for them.   

Is it important to do Mt. Kailash Kora during Kailash tour?

No matter whether you are tourists or the followers of those above religions, the Mount Kailash trek and Kailash Kora is a must to do during the Kailash tour. All the followers of those above religions try their best to do Mt. Kailash Kora no matter whether the trail is very difficult or very high for them to walk but at the same time it is important to check your health condition when you are in Dharchen which is located to the foot of Mt Kailash and it is the place where you have to stay overnight to prepare for the Mt. Kailash Kora. If you have high blood pressure, serious heart problem or severe high altitude problem, you are not recommended to do Mt. Kailash Kora. Even if you are with a group, consult your local Tibetan tour guide and you would be better to wait your group members in Dharchen while they are trekking around Kailash.

What do we need to prepare before doing Mt. Kailash Kora?

Once you are in Dharchen, you need to tell your Tibetan guide to help you order packed Yak or Yak men for carrying the luggage during Kailash Kora because there is no Jeep able road and vehicles are not allowed to drive around Kailash so it is better to hire animals to carry the luggage and food. You can take the necessary food and clothes with you and the things that are not very necessary can leave with the drivers in Dharchen.

Eventhough you are healthy, it is always better to bring some high altitude medicine or oxygen just incase you have difficulty with high altitude during the trek around Kailash. If your Tibetan travel agent is a professional tour company like Tibet Shambhala Adventure, no need to worry about medicine as Tibet Shambhala Adventure brings high altitude medicine, oxygen and Gamo bags with our Tibetan guide so you are secured to do trekking around Kailash.

How Many days do we need to complete a Mt. Kailash Kora?

In general, the tourists complete a Kailash Kora within two and half days while the Tibetans complete the Kailash Kora within a day. For tourists or the pilgrims from foreign countries including Indians, they need two and half days to complete Mt. Kailash Kora. They start the Kailash trek from Tarpoche ( Sershong in Tibetan ) and trek to Dhiraphuk monastery for the first night. From Dhiraphuk, you will get a great view of the north face of Mt Kailash. The second day of trekking around Kailash is from Dhiraphuk to Zutrulphuk monastery by crossing Drolma la pass and the third day of Kailash Kora is from Zutrulphuk to Dharchen.

How many hours do we need to walk each day of Mt. Kailash Kora and what you can see while trekking around Kailash?

Day 1 of Mt. Kailash Kora: Tarpoche to Dhiraphuk, 5050m( 16568ft )/ 4Km drive/18Km/6-7hrs walk.

The total distance of Kailash Kora is 52km and the first day from Dharchen to Dhiraphuk is around 22Km distance and second day from Dhiraphuk to Zutrulphuk is around 17Km and the third day from Zutrulphuk to Dharchen is around 13km.

The first day of Kailash Kora can be started from Dharchen by walk or drive to Tarpoche which is around 4Km.

Most of the tourists take the Kailash scenic spot bus to Tarpoche and start the Kora from there. If you start the Kailash Kora from Tarpoche, in general, it takes around 6-7hrs but it also depends on how healthy and how fast you can walk in the high altitude so some people might walk faster than the mentioned time and some people might walk even slower than the mentioned time.

Tarpoche is the place where there is a giant prayer flag pole and it is the first prostration point to Mt. Kailash. There are many beautiful and colorful prayer flags surrounding Tarpoche. They are rectangular pieces of fabric ranging from the size of a postcard to a very large size and usually in series of the five colors blue, white, red, green and yellow for the five elements sky/space, air, fire, water and earth respectively.

In Tibet, they are called “ Lungta” ( wind horse ), with a horse or other sacred symbol and prayers printed on them, to be blown by the wind all over the world.

Every year, during Saga Dawa festival, thousands of pilgrims and tourists gather at Tarpoche and there is also a very important religious ceremony, held by the local monks around Mt. Kailash region. The prayer flag of the Giant prayer flags are replaced by new ones and offered lots of prayer flags and raised in the hills by the local pilgrims and tourists as well.

During the Mt. Kailash Kora, after walking from Tarpoche, you can see Choku Gompa on the left side of the valley, located on the hill at 4875m( 15994ft ), the first of the five monasteries ( Gompas in Tibetan ) on the Kailash Kora. It is a climb of more than 100m ( 328ft ) to get here but the magnificent view of Mt Kailash compensates one for the effort to climb here. There are two most sacred and important objects inside the monastery, a white conch shell and a big teapot Naropa. Naropa was one of the most famous Pandits in India, more than thousand years back.

Above the monastery, climbing up the steep rugged rocks of Mt. Nyan-ri, there are two famous caves to be found, one in which Mila Repa used to meditate. Mila Repa was a very famous Tibetan Yogi in the 11^th century who achieved the enlightenment once in his life time and he is also one of the founders of Kagyupa sect in Tibetan Buddhism as well as the founder of Sekar Gutok in Lhodark county near the border between Bhutan and Tibet. Another cave is called Langchen Bephuk, the Elephant Cave, is said that Padamasambhava or ( Guru Rinpoche in Tibetan ) use to meditate in the cave and is said to have buried sacred texts to be rediscovered after centuries.

In the slopes on the other side of the valley, above some old decaying Chortens, there is another cave where the Bon Shaman Naro Bonchung resided when Mila Repa arrived and claimed the Mt Kailash area as a Buddhist pilgrimage site. While continuing Mt. Kailash Kora along close to the sheer cliffs of the Kailash massif, the mountains on the other west site of the valley are called Palaces of Tara, Amitayus and Vijaya and the last one to the north is named after King Gesar of Ling.

There is a long thin waterfall from the vertical cliffs, called the tail of King Gesar’s horse, which can be fanned out by the wind really looking like a horse’s tail. Gesar. Gesar is a legendary Tibetan king, whose heroic deeds are told in a great central –Asian Epos. The cliffs on the east, the Kailash side of the valley appear even more inaccessible with vertical faces of up to 1000m ( 3281ft ) height. One is called Gompo Beng, after the demon, who was converted and became a Dharma protector. The next object that you can see is Guru Rinpoche’s Torma which stands like a guardian at the entrance of a narrow valley cut into the cliffs. Torma is a Tibetan word which is a ritual offering made from flour and butter, usually in conical shape like a sugar cone.

This is the western gate of Mt Kailash , the sheer summit of which is seen above the cliffs. The western face of the mountain is believed to be of ruby. Close by is the second Chaktsal Gang, the second prostration point to Mt.kailash during Kora, indicated by a cairn and prayer flags, where the pilgrims perform prostrations towards the holy mountain. After only a short distance, when the edge of Mt Kailash’s northern face comes into sight, there are some tents where Tibetans sell tea and cookies. This place, about 6Km ( 3.7 mi ) from the Chuku bridge , is called Tamdrin Donkhang at 4882m (16017 ft), the guest house of the protector deity Tamdrin ( Hayagriva in Sanskrit ), a wrathful form of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Here also is one of the Buddha’s footprint, when he nailed down Mt. Kailash as a protection against being carried away by Gompo Beng, a marked impression in the side of a rock decorated with prayer flags.

After Tamdrin tea house, the Kora path turns in a large curve from a northern to an eastern direction. There is a bridge to the other site of the Lha chu and a path, even a track for a jeep, leading to the Dhiraphuk monastery ( Gompa in Tibetan ) at the altitude of 5050m ( 16568ft ), which was built around a cave with an indentation of a Yak horn. From this Gompa, the view of the north face of Mt Kailash, believed to be made of emerald, is outstanding. There are several guest houses for Indian pilgrims, close to the Gompa, reached at the entrance of the Gangjam Chu valley with a direct view to the spectacular north face of Mt. Kailash. The best and cleanest guest house is on the other side of the Drolma Lha chu valley which is the opposite of Dhiraphuk Gompa. Dhiraphuk Gompa is the second monastery ( Gompas ) on the Kailash Kora and the third prostration point to Mt. Kailash during Kora is from Dhira Phuk Gompa.

Why the monastery is called as Dhiraphuk?

When Gyelwa Gotsangpa, a monk resident of Gossul Gompa at lake Mansarovar tried to explore the pilgrim path around Mt. Kailash in the years 1213-1217, he was surprised by a thunderstorm and had no protection from it. There appeared a dri, a female Yak, walking to a cave, and Gotsangpa followed her and found shelter. The dri made the indentation in the rock with her horn and disappeared. She was an emanation of the Lion-faced Dakini ( Senge Khandroma in Tibetan ) who protects a pass of the Inner Kailash Kora.

When Gyelwa Gotsangpa continued his exploration of the Kailash pilgrimage path, he did not know which of the high passes he could tackle. A pack of 21 wolves appeared and ran up the valley towards the Drolma La. Gotsangpa followed them and found the path to the Drolma La. The wolves, however disappeared into the Drolma Rock. They were emanations of the 21 Taras. 

Is it worthy to spend two nights at Dhiraphuk Gompa?

If you had enough time, it is highly recommended to spend two nights in Dhiraphuk because on the first day, you trek to Dhiraphuk from Tarpoche and the second day, you can trek to the base of the north face of Mt Kailash. The north face of Mt.Kailash is called Charansparsh by Indians and many of the pilgrims and tourists also call Inner Kora but this might be wrong because inner Kora is either the trail through Kangdro Sanglam or the trail in side of Gyangdark monastery, located above Dharchen.

The entire distance of the trekking to the north face of Kailash from Dhiraphuk is around 4km distance which will take you around 4 hours and the average elevation is above 5000m. On the way during your trek to the north face of Mt. Kailash, you can see beautiful flowers and small plants. Most of those flowers and plants can be used for making Tibetan traditional medicine. Some of the plants and flowers are very beautiful.

You can reach very close to the north face of Mt. Kailash and you can even touch the Mt. Kailash so it’s also called touch Kailash. The scenery around is extremely beautiful with a great view of Mt Kailash. Many tourists and pilgrims believe that you can achieve a great blessing if you can touch the Kailash but without taking this one day trek, you don’t get a chance to touch the Kailash so it is recommend to spend two nights in Dhirpahuk and have a day excursion to touch the foot of the Kailash.

Spending more days at Dhira Phuk Gompa is another interesting to explore more around the north face of Mt. Kailash.

If you spend more days around Dhira Phuk Gompa, there is a chance to explore more around the north face of Mt. Kailash. Not only trekking to the north face of Mt. Kailash to touch the north face of Mt. Kailash and get a deep blessing from Kailash but can also trek further to the right hand side of the north face of Mt. Kailash where the three beautiful mountain peaks, called as Rigsum Gompo in Tibetan are located. The mountain of Rigsum Gompo are the symbols of the Manjushri, Vajarapani and Avalokteshvara.

It is a very beautiful day trek from Dhira Phuk Gompa to Rigsum Gompo mountain and one of the most beautiful mountain peak next to Mt. Kailash is the Manjushri. You can trek almost all the way to the peak of the Manjushri and will get a surprising and extremely beautiful view of Mt. Kailash and the entire valley of Mt. Kailash Kora between Tarpoche and Dhira Phuk Gompa. If you had enough time, you could spend between three to four days around Dhira Phuk to explore those beautiful mountains and the north face of Mt. Kailash.

Day 2 of Kailash Kora: Dhiraphuk to Zutrulphuk, 4835m ( 15863ft )/ 17Km/7-8 hrs.

The climbing path starting below Dhiraphuk Gompa zigzags up to a plateau at the altitude of 5200m ( 17060ft ), passing the entrance of the Polung Chu valley, which runs parallel to Gangjam Chu valley towards Mt. Kailash, another view to the northeast corner of the mountain opens. The third valley to the east, about 3km (2 mi ) distance from Dhiraphuk Gompa, leads to the Khandro Sanglam la,5675m (18619 ft) the pass of the lion –faced Dakni belonging to the inner Kora.

Again the path gains altitude in a zigzag to the next plateau and reach a sky burial called Silvatsal ( Cool Grove ), named according to one of the eight great Charnel grounds ( Sky burial in Tibet ) in the Hindu culture. In the pilgrims’ meditation, this is the place of the death and Tibetans believe if you lie down on the ground of this sky burial and meditate as if you are dead and imagine all the sufferings that one face when one will stay in the intermediate state ( Bardo in Tibetan ) the state of up to 49 days between death and rebirth after someone dies.

After the sky burial, there are still around 3Km ( 2mi ) to reach Drolma la pass, the path leads to the next plateau of 5400m ( 17717ft ) where there are two rocks forming a small tunnel are called the “ Sin-testing stone”. Tibetan pilgrims try to crawl through this tunnel, carefully watched by their fellow pilgrims. This is much fun and if one can crawl through the tunnel between the two rocks, it is believed that the person does not have sin but if one gets stuck in the tunnel, it is believed that his Karma is loaded with many sins.

The path then climbs the last ascent to the Droma La pass at 5660m ( 18570 ft). Shortly before the pass, there is a big rock next to the path, the Drolma Rock which is much worshipped by the Tibetan pilgrims and smeared with butter, on which money is stuck and decorated with prayer flags. This part of the Kailash Kora trail is the most difficult part as in the one hand, the altitude is already very high and in the other hand, the path is very steep and difficult to walk through the boulders and small rocks.

After spending 2-3 hours steep climb, finally reach to the top of the Drolma La pass, almost throughout the year, there is snow on the top of the pass and you walk over the snow when you reach the top and the pass is covered all over with thick layers of prayer flags and is the place of rebirth for pilgrims. At this altitude, it is not only the spiritual culmination but also physically the highest point they reach. All exhaustion is overcome with the happiness and pride at having reached this summit of their pilgrimage.

Although the Kailash is not seen from the top of the Drolma La pass, many Tibetan pilgrims perform prostrations in the direction of the mountain. Others place a picture among the prayer flags of beloved ones or those who died recently or they sit down and whisper prayers. 

If you don’t have a serious altitude problem, it is recommend to spend some time on the top of the Drolma La pass and enjoy the moment of the success of the most difficult part of Mt. Kailash Kora and then start the descent from the windy pass.

Among boulders, the path steeply zigzags down from the pass. To the right side of the trail, there is the Gaurikund ( Thugje Chenpo Tso in Tibetan ), a glacial lake at the altitude of 5567m ( 18264ft ), both Tibetans and Hindus believe it is a very sacred lake. High above the path on the right side there is a cliff at the side of Mt. Sharma Ri which pilgrims call the Ax of Karma. The descent continues steeply and if there is snow on the path, it is extremely slippery.

After around 3Km ( 2mi ) steep down, finally reach Lham Chu valley, in which the Kora covers the east side of Mt. Kailash and there is a Tibetan campsite at the altitude of 5235m ( 17175ft ). Here you can get tea, water and some cookies. There is a footprint of Milarepa nearby but without a local guide who can show you the cave, it is difficult to find. If someone is really tired and have altitude problem, from here you can call a jeep from Dharchen for emergency cases only. After around 2Km ( 1.5 mi ) walk down the valley, the third prostration point of Mt Kailash is reached, where the east face of Mt. Kailash, made of Lapis Lazuli, looms over the hills. This is the exit point of the path at 5118m ( 16791ft ) where people come through the Khangdro Sanglam La pass.

Although it is easy walking in the slightly descending Lhamchu valley, the next 6Km ( 3.7 mi ) seem to stretch longer and longer, until the Topchen Chu joins the Lham chu from the east, and the river is now called Dzong Chu. After another 1.5Km ( 1mi ) the Zutrul Phuk Gompa at 4835m ( 15863ft ) is reached. Zutrul Phuk is the third Gompa on the Kailash Kora.

Zutrul Phuk designates the cave of miracles performed by Milarepa during the competition with Naro Bonchung. The two competitors were running the Kora, Milarepa in clockwise direction, Naro Bonchung counterclockwise, as the Bonpo do. When they met at this place, heavy rain forced them to look for a shelter. The rock plate Milarepa split with his hand to use as a roof was too heavy for Naro Bonchung, so Milarepa had to hold it himself with his head and one hand while putting other rocks under it as support. Then he temped it with his feet from the top of the plate. The plate with Milarepa’s hand imprint on the lower side and his foot imprint on top of it can be seen at Zutrul Phuk Gompa, the monastery built around this miraculous cave ( Tibetan Zutrul means miracle )

Day 3 of Mt. Kailash Kora: Zutrul Phuk Gompa to Zongdo

At Zutrul Phuk Gompa, a path starts which leads up the hills behind the Gompa into the Gedhun Lha Chu or ( Ganden Lha Chu ) valley via Gevo La and Shapje La to the Gyangdark Gompa. The conventional Kora crosses the Gedhun Lha Chu, a river named “the urine of Mt. Kailash” a short distance beyond the Zutrul Phuk Gompa.

For the next 6.5 ( 4 mi ) the Mt. Kailash Kora leads in a southwest direction along the Dzong Chu until the valley opens into the Barka plain at the fourth prostration point to Mt. Kailash. During today’s easy walk down the valley, there are more footprints and other sacred points marked with prayer flags. At the last part of this walk, there is a flat area close to the Dzong Chu, the Dakini Dancing Ground. Above the path is Trangser Trangmar, slope with golden and red sand, where King Gesar shot a Drong ( a wild Yak ) and the blood stained the golden sand red. There are also sands of other colors, malachite green and black, brown and ochre. All the tourists or pilgrims often prefer to complete the Mt. Kailash Kora at Dzongdo and take scenic spot buses back to Dharchen at the distance of 3.5Km ( 2mi ).  

How can you trek to Nandi Kora?

Apart from normal Kailash Kora, there is a couple of different Kailash Kora and among them, Nandi is one of them. At Mt. Kailash, there is a so-called inner Kora, which however does not lead around the holy Mountain but around an outlier in the southeast, the Nandi ( Neten Yelakzung in Tibetan ) at the altitude of 6000m ( 19685ft ). The Buddhist understands it as the landing place of the Buddha with the 500 Arhats, where it is sacred to the Hindus, who understand this mountain as a bull ( Nandi in Sanskrit ), the riding animal of God Shiva. Therefore, this path is more appropriately named Nandi Kora, instead of “inner Kora of Mt. Kailash”. It leads into the south face of Mt.Kailash , where there are the thirteen Chortens ( Serdung Chuksum in Tibetan ) and over the adjacent pass Charok Phurdod La pass at 5806m ( 19049ft ) between Mt.Kailash and Nandi.

How and when you can trek across Khandro Sanglam, known as inner Kora?

An alternative to the Drolma la, the pass of Tara is the path over a steep glacial slope to the Khandro Sanglam ( A short cut and secret path of Dakini ). Dakini is a sky-walking deity. Dakini is one of the female deities which are known as important helpers or consorts in Tantric Buddhism. The lion-faced Dakini is an especially powerful leading Dakini. This secret Dakini path does not lead all around Mt. Kailash, it only covers part of the distance of circumambulation of Kailash. It is treated as very special path, not open to the general pilgrim. Understanding the more or less, circular normal Kailash Kora as the Mandala of Mt. Kailash, these paths lead inside into the Mandala, which is understood as the residence of the deity, to which the holy site Mt, Kailash is assigned. From this it becomes obvious that the pilgrim must collect considerably more merits before being allowed to walk the tracks of these paths of the Inner Kora.

The pilgrims or tourists are only allowed to walk over Khandro Sanglam as long as one did 12 times of Mt. Kailash Kora already. Once someone does twelve times walk around Mt. Kailash Kora, one has the merits or right to walk over the trail of Khandro Sanglam.

What if someone cannot do twelve times of normal Mt. Kailash Kora but really wants to walk over the pass of Khandro Sanglam? According to the Mt. Kailash Kora, it is believed that Mt. Kailash Kora is as the circular of the Mandala and crossing over the Khandro Sanglam is something like walking over the Mandala without opening the door of the Mandala so it is believed that pilgrims should complete twelve circumambulation of Mt.Kailash on the normal Kora and when the pilgrims do thirteen times of circumambulation of Mt. Kailash Kora, it is believed that the door of the Mandala is opened and you can walk across the pass of Khandro Sanglam because Khandro Sanglam is considered as the access into the Mandala.

If the tourists or pilgrims don’t have time of doing twelve times of Kailash Kora, one can take the opportunity of just doing one time Kailash Kora during horse Year. The elements given to the animal of the year define five cycles of twelve years, a way to count cycles of sixty years. The is another way of calculating the merits of the Kailash Kora in the horse year, whereas it is said to be worth twelve times the merits of the Kailash Kora, which means that a Kora in the horse year counts as if the Kora would have been performed in each year of the twelve year cycle so when one does a Kailash Kora in the horse year, one can walk over the Khandro Sanglam pass.

When is the best time to do Mt. Kailash Kora?

In General, the Mt. Kailash Kora can be done from the end of April until the end of October. During these period of the time, usually, there is neither heavy snow fall on the path of Mt. Kailash, nor heavy rainfall as well. There might have some snow on the trail of the Drolma La pass in around end of April and beginning of May or end of October but you could still do the Mt. Kailash Kora except it is a bit colder than usual time.

The best time to do Mt. Kailash Kora is between end of May until mid-July and from the end of August until mid-October. During this period of time, usually, there is neither snow nor rainfall so it is the best blue sky weather most of the time and it is highly recommend to visit Kailash by this time.

What do we need to bring for Kailash Kora?

Here are some suggestions of what to bring for the Kailash Kora, given by Tibet Shambhala Adventure according to our many years’ experience of organizing Kailash tours.

1. Comfortable wind & water proof jacket
2. Comfortable wind & water proof trekking pants
3. Water proof rain coat
4. Comfortable trekking shoes
5. 2-3 pairs of high-quality wool trekking socks
6. Pairs of trekking underwear
7. One pair of thermal tops and bottoms
8. Two good quality T-shirts
9. One good winter coat or winter dawn jacket
10. One thick fleece
11. Gloves
12. Sun Hat with a wide brim
13. Skull cap
14. Polarized sunglasses
15. Trekking poles
16. 30-50 Liter trekking backpack
17. Sleeping bag rated between 10-15°C if you camp during Kailash Kora
18. Micro spikes (optional) If there is no heavy snow around Kailash trek, not necessary to have
19. Headlamp
20. 1-liter water bottle similar to Nalgene water bottle
21. Personal toiletries such as Sun cream Extreme SPF50+25ml,lip balm, small bottle of perfume, soap for washing hands, wet tissue(optional)
22.  Small quick-drying towel
23.  Blister &first aid kit:

Cold medicine,

Sore-through medicine

Headache medicine

High altitude medicine

Antibiotic

Amoxicillin

Gau Yuan An- very good high-altitude medicine made in Tibet

Antibioaxy blister Pads,

Under wrap,

Wrist brace,

Knee brace,

Adhesive bandages

Medical Tape- Lightweight, breathable surgical tape for blisters and cuts. 

Nitrile Medical Gloves- To prevent cross-contamination in case you need to examine someone.

Antiseptic or Alcohol Wipes- – Cleaning wounds.

Butterfly Closure Strips (3)

Dressing/Gauze – Sterile non-stick absorbent; for larger wounds.

Triple Antibiotic Ointment – Sample size tube.

Hand Sanitizer – Repackaged in a mini dropper bottle

Antihistamine Tablets (3) – For bites and allergic reactions.

Duct tape-tiny roll. Handy for any and all repairs

Antiseptic Applications – burn treatment application

Small Utility Tool – Which has knife, scissors and tweezers; e.g. Swiss army classic knife

Sewing Needle – Use dental floss for thread.

Safety Pins (2) – For slings fashioned from clothing.

Tiny Whistle – Check the sternum strap of your backpack; chances are you have one without knowing.

Mt. Kailash Kora Map

 

Different sacred mountains around Mt. Kailash

New Kailash Northern route tour with Guge Dawa Dzong

There are different programs of Mt Kailash tour including a program starting from Lhasa to Kailash and back to Lhasa or Kyirong to Kailash and back to Kyirong or Hilsa to Kailash or back to Hilsa etc but to have a very unique and adventurous Kailash tour program is quite rare.

Where did you start a New Kailash northern route tour with Guge Kingdom via Dawa Dzong?

During this difficult time of Covid 19, we took a Mt Kailash tour by ourselves instead of resting. We started our Mt Kailash tour from Lhasa on 6^th July 2020, driving along the Kyichu and Yarlung Tsangpo river, surrounded by some beautiful Tibetan villages, driving through Gyantse, Shigtase which are the most important cultural sites of western Tibet.

We continued our new Kailash northern route tour through Sangsang, Saga, Mansarovar lake, Mt Kailash, Purang county, Tirthapuri, Dawa Dzong, Tholing, Guge Kingdom, Changtse, the best Tholing scenic spot in the western part of Tibet, Tashigang monastery, Ngari prefecture, Pangong tso lake, Rutok Wujiang village, Kailash northern route through Gegye, Gertse, Tsochen, Nima, Bangga counties, Namtso lake, Damxiong county and finally to Lhasa.  

What we can see on the way between Lhasa and Shigatse when you travel to Kailash from Lhasa?

After passing by Kyichu, which starts from Nyenchen Thangla mountain range and Yarlung Tsangpo valley which creates by the Yarlung Tsangpo, know as Brahmaputra River, starts it’s source from Mt. Kailash, we drove through Kampala pass at the elevation of 4974m. The weather is very nice, sunny with blue sky and the scenery is extremely beautiful from the top of the pass. All the tourists when they start their Kailash pilgrimage tour from Lhasa, they go through this route and take photos of the Yamdrok lake from the top of Kampala pass.

What we can see before reaching the top of Kampala pass during our Mt Kailash tour?

During the travel to Mt. Kailash from Lhasa, we stopped at a scenic spot before reaching Yamdrok lake. while we were driving through the zigzag roads of Kampala pass during our Kailash pilgrimage tour, there are some beautiful animals, owned by local people including a very cute mountain goat, big Tibetan traditional nomad dogs and Yak. You can take some nice and cute photos of those animals but it is better to ask the locals before you take photos because they charge a little bit of money for photos. It is always better to ask before showing your action so that you won’t get bad experience during your Mt Kailash tour.

Tibet is a very beautiful place and it has lots of beautiful scenic spots including snow mountains, beautiful lakes, monasteries and temples as well as very kind and friendly people that you can see during your Mt Kailash tour but sometimes, people might not be interested in behaving like a real Tibetan if you did not ask him or her to allow you to take photos.

 

What we can see from the top of Kamapa La pass when we travel to Kailash from Lhasa?

Driving continuously up to the top of Kampala pass, we got a very beautiful view of Yamdrok lake and Noijin Kangsang snow mountain, located to the west of Yamdrok lake near Nakartse county. The height of Noijin Kangsang snow mountain is 7206m and it is one of the most difficult snow mountains to climb. Going through Yamdrok lake and Kampa la pass is a must during your Kailash tour and it is one of the highest snow mountains during Mt Kailash tour apart from Mt. Everest.

 

What we can see after Nakartse county during our Mt Kailash tour?

After having a great view of entire western part of Yamdrok lake, continue driving along the Yamdrok lake and enjoy seeing the most beautiful view of Yamdrok lake from your car’s window.

After Nakartse county, we stopped at Karola glacier which is just after crossing Karola pass at the elevation of 5050m above sea level. The glacier with a very beautiful white Tibetan stupa in front of it is extremely beautiful. At the same time, you can also see a small herder’s camp at the foot of the glacier with Tibetan Yak and sheep. Visiting Karola glacier and Noejing Kangsang snow mountain is one of the interesting things to have during your Tibet tour and all the tourists who travel to Mt. Everest Base Camp, Tibet to Nepal overland tour or travel to Kailash from Lhasa always stop here for photos.

 

After spending around 15 minutes of taking photos and seeing the glacier of Noijin Kangsang snow mountain, we drive down the valley towards Gyantse through Simila pass at the elevation of around 4200m. From the top of the pass, you will see a reservoir, looks like a small beautiful lake. This is the only lake made by men that you see during the Mt Kailash tour.

Visit Gyantse town is a must during your Mt Kailash tour but not recommend to spend a night in Gyantse.

Reaching Gyantse, the most least influenced of modernization and a beautiful fertile land of Tibet, visit Palchoe monastery and Kubum Pagoda stupa which has around six hundred years history is highly recommended during Kailash travel.

If you like to have an entire view of Gyantse town including Palchoe monastery and Kubum Pagoda stupa, it is a good idea to climb to the top of fortress in Gyantse, known as Gyantse Dzong in Tibetan. Gyantse Dzong is located on a rocky hill in the center of Gyantse town and it has several hundred years of history. If your dream is to have beautiful view of every parts of Tibet during your Kailash travel, it is highly recommend to climb to the top of the Gyantse Dzong where you can get a great view of entire Gyantse town.

The old town of Gyantse is worthy to visit and walk around. You can meet lots of local people, riding horse carts like in the olden days and most of the shops in the old town of Gyantse sell different kinds of Tibetan traditional clothes, furniture, ornaments etc.

If you like to walk more during your Mt Kailash tour, it is recommend to go to visit Palchoe monastery and Kubum Pagoda stupa by walking as you are passing by the street of the old town of Gyantse which takes you around 20 minutes to get to the monastery by walk.

After Gyantse, we continue our Mt Kailash tour and drive to Shigatse, the second largest city of Tibet. The distance between Gyantse and Shigatse is 90km and nowadays, it takes you around one hour only because the road condition is extremely good, especially the highway after Bainang county. Shigatse is the important place to stop over when you travel to Kailash or to Everest base camp.

Can we visit a Tibetan family on the way during our Mt Kailash tour?

We stopped in a Tibetan family on the way in order to have a better and more authentic experienced Kailash trip program for the clients during their Tibet tour after the Covid 19 is over. The Tibetan family is located after around 20Km drive from Gyantse near Drongtse monastery. Drongtse is the second largest monastery in Gyantse town.

We were welcomed by the family and all the members of the family are very friendly and kind. They offered us Tibetan traditional tea, Barley beer, different kinds of Tibetan traditional snack. We can see the real life of Tibetans living in the farming land and enjoying their rich, happy and beautiful life.

The way of their dressing, way of their living, way of welcoming to the people into their family, how the Tibetans treat a guest who come to visit a family. At the same time, we can also see those who are wearing beautiful Tibetan traditional clothes and offering Tibetan tea or Tibetan food to their guest in a very polite way.

The house of this Tibetan family is a two story high and the furniture in the houses are beautifully designed in Tibetan traditional style and the wall is beautifully painted in Tibetan traditional style too with different kinds of flowers and other drawing. Many of the furniture including the cushion are made of wool.

The architecture of the house is in a real Tibetan traditional styled two stories high and it was built by rocks, rabbles, wood and mud. The outside of the building is extremely beautiful and white washed along the walls. All the frames of the window is black and they said this black color can keep inside the house cool when it is hot and warm when it is cold.

The prayer flags onto the rooftop are extremely beautiful and they said that the prayer flags are displayed with new prayer flags during Tibetan New Year in order to wish a good luck for the New Year and to get good luck and auspiciousness for all the members of the family and their loved ones. Visiting a Tibetan family can make Mt Kailash tour more authentic and unique.

Do we have to take the old road to Shigatse from Bainang county when we travel to Mt. Kailash from Lhasa?

During our Mt Kailash tour, we don’t necessarily have to take the old route from Bainang county to Shigatse. We can take a highway to Shigatse after Bainang county. 

We continued our journey towards Shigatse and just after Bainang county, we saw a sign board to go to Shigatse Heping airport which is a high way, built recently.

Heping airport was built 30th October 2010 and it has become one of the most important airports in Tibet for the tourists who go to Kailash two times. They did not have to go to Lhasa for their second time and instead, they can fly directly to Shigatse from Chengdu and drive directly to Mt Kailash from Shigatse.

The distance from Bainang county until we get to the next sign board of the highway to the airport and to Shigatse is 7 Km and from there to Shigatse is 18Km. The road condition between Gyantse and Shigatse is very good and we can drive over 100Km per hour.

What we can see in Shigatse when we do Mt Kailash tour from Lhasa?

We reached Shigatse very quickly because of a very good road condition. It has been for a while for me since I did not go to Shigatse. I found Shigatse got a big development and the city has been extended to the east and south, much bigger than before. Another surprising thing about Shigatse is that the city has become very clean and more beautiful.

If the tourists fly to Shigatse direclty from Chengdu for their second or third time Mt Kailash tour, Shigatse is an important place to acclimatize to the high altitude and we recommend to spend two nights in Shigatse. The tourists can have a visit in Shigatse in the morning and a short excursion to Shalu monastery in the afternoon which is around 25km distance from Shigatse.

Eventhough it is the crucial time of Covid 19 in other parts of the world, Tibet still acts like normal since there is not any single case of Corona virus so we saw a lot of Tibetans and domestic tourists are visiting Tashi Lhunpo monastery, one of the six largest Gelukpa sect monasteries in Tibet and it is the seat of the Penchen Lama. During Tibet Nepal overland tour or Mt Kailash tour from Lhasa, visiting Tashi Lhunpo monastery is a must.

If you arrive in Shigatse on a right time, you will also see Thangka displaying festival. When you plan your Mt Kailash tour, it is very important to look for a professional Tibetan travel agent like Tibet Shambhala Adventure so that they will design you a very good Mt Kailash tour program including those famous festivals in Tibet.

 

What we recommend to visit in Shigatse during your Mt Kailash tour?

If you stopped in Shigatse during the Kailash pilgrimage tour , it is always recommend to go to the old market of Shigatse which is located to the foot of Shigatse fortress ( Dzong in Tibetan ). You can see different kinds of Tibetan traditional items including souvenirs and local Tibetan products. Even if you don’t buy, it is always very interesting to see local Tibetan products as they are so beautiful and unique.

Is it important to include Gyantse and Shigatse during your Mt Kailash tour?

When you take a Mt Kailash tour, starting from Lhasa, visiting Gyantse and Shigatse is a must visit places during the Kailash tour since you can see lots of interesting things on the way including the most beautiful and historical sites of Palchoe monastery, Kubum Pagoda stupa and Tashi Lhunpo monastery. They are the most important sites to visit during Tibet tour.

Nowadays, is it important to spend a night in Gyantse during the new Kailash northern route tour?

Since the road condition is extremely good on the way to Kailash, especially the road condition between Lhasa and Shigatse via Gyantse is extremely beautiful and nice so there is no point for you to spend a night in Gyantse during your Mt Kailash tour because you can reach Shigatse easily including a visit to Yamdrok lake, Palchoe monastery and Kubum Pagoda stupa so we recommend to drive to Shigatse directly especially, when you take a New Kailash northern route tour with Guge Kingdom via Dawa Dzong so that you will get more time to explore around Kailash, Guge Kingdom, Ngari prefecture and Purang county.

Is accommodation better in Shigatse than in Gyantse during Mt Kailash tour?

Regarding on the accommodation during the Kailash tour, it is far better accommodation in Shigatse than in Gyantse and you can get plenty of options to choose the hotels in Shigatse including many 4* hotels. During our new Kailash northern route tour, we stayed in Jomo Langzom hotel, located in the center of Shigatse. The rooms are big, nice and shower is available for 24 hours so it is good.

 

 

Is there a 5* hotel available in Shigatse during Mt Kailash tour?

So far, the best available hotel in Shigatse is 4 star hotels but according to old Shigatse hotel’s up-grade, the original Shigatse hotel was completely destroyed and now they are building a new hotel. They said the old Shigatse hotel is going to be displaced by a new Hilton in Shigatse which is under construction.

Once this new Hilton is ready, we will get a facility of 5 star hotel on the way to Mt Kailash after Lhasa. We will definitely update to our dear guests about this up-coming Hilton in Shigatse as it is a very important Tibet travel news for our clients who travel to Mt Kailash from Lhasa.

How many passes we drove through from Lhasa to Shigatse during our Mt Kailash tour?

We drove through three high mountain passes, including Kampala pass at the elevation of 4794m, Karola pass at the altitude of 5200m as the highest mountain pass during our Kailash travel between Lhasa and Shigatse. The third highest pass is Simila pass at the altitude of 4200m above sea level.

How to travel to Kailash and Mansarovar in one day from Shigatse?

We woke up by around 5.30 in the morning and continued our Mt Kailash tour at 6.00 Am from Shigatse. The road condition for today is very good and our aim is to drive to Purang county from Shigatse at the distance of over 1200km. We reached Mansarovar lake and Kailash by around 17.50 and continued to Purang county and reached there by around 19.30 but for the tourists and pilgrims, we don’t recommend to drive that long in a day because in the one hand, you don’t get much time to enjoy the scenery and in the other hand, you really need very good 4*4 land cruisers to drive like that if you want to finish Kailash trip in a shorter period of time.  

What we can see and how many high mountain passes between Shigatse and Saga during our Mt Kailash tour?

We drove through Tongsa la pass at the altitude of 4000m just after we left Shigatse city. On the way, we will see some beautiful Tibetan villages and their traditional Tibetan houses. We drove through Tsola pass at the elevation of 4500m and enjoy seeing colorful and beautiful Tibetan prayer flags on the top of the pass. We continued towards Saga via Lhatse county.

Lhatse county is located at the altitude of 4018m above sea level and it is a very important junction where people travel to Mt Kailash and another way is to go to Mt Everest Base Camp and to the Kyirong border between Nepal and Tibet. The people in Lhatse county live on farming and they also rear cattle, sheep, Yaks and cows. The living standard of the people in Lhatse county is quite good.

After Lhatse checkpoint at 318 friendship highway, we left the friendship highway which is the way to Kyirong border, the border between Tibet and Nepal and took 219 Tibet highway which is the main highway to travel to Mount Kailash. The road condition is still the same and it is very good.

The next county seat that we encountered is Ngamring county at the distance of 70Km and the scenery is quite similar. We drove through Ngamring pass at the altitude of 4500m and could see a small beautiful lake on our left hand side. Ngamring county is the starting point of western Tibetan plateau and you will begin to see Tibetan nomad camps and wild animals during the Mt Kailash tour.

From Ngamring county, continued our Mt Kailash tour by crossing several mountain passes until we reached Sangsang town. The distance between Ngamring county and Sangsang town is 40Km.

We passed by Ngamring small pass at 4520m just after Ngamring county, second pass called Bangla pass at 4710m and Gala pass at 4783m. On the way, we can see a beautiful small monastery on our right hand side, looks like a retreat, called Riwo Tasang Gon. It is a very sacred Nyingmapa sect monastery and there are monks who are doing meditation in the monastery all the time.

 If you had enough time during the Mt Kailash tour, it is recommend to have a short Tibet trek to the monastery from the road. The monastery is located on a small hill in the middle of nowhere and it is around 45 minutes’ walk to go there and come back.

The scenery between Ngamring county and Sangsang town during the Mt Kailash tour is very beautiful. It is a vast grassland, dominated by Tibetan nomad camps and their Yak and sheep, grazing on those beautiful green grasslands. We took our breakfast in Sangsang town and found out that the best hotel in Sangsang is Sangsang Nesang hotel which has over 50 rooms with shower and toilet attached. The altitude of Sangsang is 4587m above sea level.

Prior to the construction of the highway to Mt Kailash, lots of tourists spend a night in Sangsang and camped in the grassland but nowadays, there are very less tourist who stop over in Sangsang since they can reach Saga easily from Shigatse in a day as the entire road was paved.

 

What is the distance from Sangsang to Saga and how many mountain passes and how beautiful the landscape in between is during Mt Kailash tour?

Sangsang is the starting point of the real adventure of Mt Kailash tour and it is a beautiful and vast grassland plateau. Sangsang town is the junction to go to Mt. Kailash and another way is to go to Dangra Young Tso lake. Dangra Young Tso lake is one of the most beautiful lakes in Tibet and it is one of the second largest lakes in Tibet. Around the lake, there is a beautiful snow mountain called Mt. Targo and you can reach the snow mountain by driving from Sangsang directly or from Tongmon county in Shigatse.

After Sangsang, around 20km drive, Lhade Karpo monastery is on your right hand side and it’s good to walk to the monastery on the hill. If the Kailash tour has enough time, visiting those monasteries on the way and do some short meditation is another paradise during Mt. Kailash pilgrimage tour.

The next junction is at 22 road maker station at the distance of 110km from Sangsang town. From there, you can decide to take Kailash northern route or Kailash southern route tour. If you take 219 road continuously, you are taking Kailash southern route and if you left the main road and are going to take your right-side road, then you are going to travel to Kailash through Kailash northern route which means, you are traveling through Tsochen, Gertse, Gegye counties and then to Ngari prefecture respectively and finally drive to Mt. kailash from Shiquanhe.

From 22 road worker station, there is still 70km to Saga. After Sangsang , the first pass is Kodola at 4990m and the highest pass between Sangsang and Saga is at 5070m.

Just before reaching Saga, we crossed the last pass between Saga and Lhatse is at 4831m above sea level. We finally reached Saga located at the Yarlung Tsangpo river bank with the elevation of 4470m above sea level. Saga is a very important stop over county when the tourists or locals who travel to Mount Kailash. The tourists who got Mt Kailash from Nepal border also spend a night in Saga in order to acclimatize to the high altitude.

Nowadays, there are around 5 good hotels and around 10 other small hotels and guest houses in Saga so most of the time, you can get accommodation booked easily but if you want to book the best hotels in Saga, we recommend to make the reservation a week before since there are lots of tourists during the peak season of Mt kailash travel.

 

What we can see between Saga and Zhongba county when we travel to Kailash from Lhasa?

We stopped for petrol in Saga and then continued our Mt Kailash tour. Just after Saga county, the first pass that we drove across is Tatsel la pass （ཁྲ་ཚལ་ལ in Tibetan）at the elevation of 4797m and if the weather is clear, we can see beautiful rocky and snow mountain on our right hand side.

After around 20Km drive from Saga county, we can see Ringsong Rinyur monastery on the right hand side in old Saga and another monastery called Dargyeling monastery on the right hand side. If you are camping between Saga and Zhongba county when you drive from Kailash to Saga, it is recommended to camp at Dargyeling monastery. It is a very beautiful campsite and you can have a beautiful and quite night in the western Tibetan plateau during the Mt Kailash tour.

We continued our Mt Kailash tour by passing second pass after Saga, called Togyela at the elevation of 4920m and finally reached old Zhongba with a small beautiful monastery. We drove into new Zhongba which is the present county seat and need to drive around 3km in the right hand valley to reach the county seat. We had nice Tibetan styled lunch in Zhongba county.

Old Zhongba is a very important place for Indian pilgrims who do Mt. Kailash pilgrimage tour to stop for their tea break and toilet time. Nowadays, there is a newly constructed building for the Indian pilgrims, built by Tibet Tourism Bureau for the tea break and resting during their Kailash pilgrimage tour. For the local Tibetan pilgrims and tourists, it is also interesting to stop in old Zhongba because there is a beautiful and small monastery that they can visit in old Zhongba county.

 

What is the distance from Zhongba to Kailash and what can we see on the way during our Kailash northern route tour?

 After Zhongba county, we were driving through a vast grass land and on the way to Mt Kailash, we passed by some beautiful small desert. We drove through another mountain pass at the elevation of 4760m and while we were driving down the valley, the landscape is very beautiful dominated by a huge western Tibetan plateau, surrounded by snow capped mountains, beautiful green grassland, exotic desert land and beautiful lakes. It is another paradise for the tourists who like to take photos during Mt Kailash tour.

The distance between Zhongba county and Baryang town is 90km and we drove along the Brahmaputra river. There are 200Km more from Baryang to Mansarovar lake and Mt. Kailash.

Continuously drove through the vast plateau of western Tibet, seeing different kinds of wild animals, beautiful Tibetan nomad camps and many Tibetan nomads who are grazing Tibetan Yak and sheep. Such kind of landscape is tremendously beautiful, unique and fantastic that you can only see during Kailash travel.

The highest pass that we drove through during our Mt Kailash tour is Mayumla pass at the altitude of 5211m which is even higher than Everest base camp. Before reaching Mansarovar lake, we encountered another lake called Duktso means poison lake on our left hand side. From Duktso lake, we will reach Mansarovar lake pretty easily. The road condition for today is also very good and there is no speed limit so we can drive over 120km per hour and it is the most beautiful part of during our Kailash travel.

 

When can we see the Mansarovar lake and Mt Kailash for the first time when we travel to Mt. Kailash from Lhasa?

Reaching Chaktsalkang which is the first view point of Mansarovar lake and Mount Kailash. Just after checkpoint, when your car is driving towards Chaktsalkang, the first time of seeing Mansarovar lake and Mt Kailash is the most exciting moment during the Kailash journey.

When we saw Mansarovar lake and Mount Kailash at our first site, it was just a paradise, Nothing else can be described. After over a 1000km distance drive in a day, when we saw Mt Kailash and lake Mansarovar, we were just overwhelmed and couldn’t explain how beautiful, energetic and spiritual feeling that we had in our spirit.

The Mansarovar lake is as beautiful as it was before and Mt Kailash is as great and mysterious as before. The prayer flags at Chaktsalkang is still extremely beautiful which gives us more peace, spirituality and comfort in our soul where we can feel the real blessing of Mt. Kailash and Mansarovar lake.

 

What is the distance from Mansarovar lake to Chiu Gompa and from Chiu Gompa to Purang county?

After having a great time of taking photos and enjoy seeing the most beautiful view of Mansarovar lake and Mt Kailash from distance, we continued to Chiu Gompa at the distance of 30Km. From Chiu Gompa, you will get another fantastic view of Mansarovar lake and Mt Kailash. We continued to Purang county from Chiu Gompa at the distance of 80Km and spend our night in Purang county.

During your Mt Kailash tour, visiting Chaktsalkang, Chiu Gompa and Tarpoche is a must because from all those three places, you will get different kinds of excellent view point of Mt Kailash and Mansarovar lake.

Purang is one of the most beautiful and comfortable county seats in Ngari prefecture. The actual altitude of Purang county is 3980m above sea level and it is one of the lowest places in the Kailash region. We can see trees and fields in Purang county. There are a couple of most sacred monasteries and temples which have thousand years history and contains a lot of relics including the statue of Jowo in Korcha monastery ( Korchanath by Hindu people )

Purang was a trading town in the olden days between Nepal and Tibet and now it is the administrative center of Purang county under Ngari prefecture. Nowadays, it is one of the important borders between Nepal and China Tibet for both tourists, Indian pilgrims and trades who want to do Kailash pilgrimage or Kailash trek. Purang is also the place where it has many famous river sources of Himalaya including Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra river ( Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan ) and Karnali river, known as peacock river.

From the county seat of Purang, there is 16Km distance to Khorzhak monastery (also written Korchak monastery ) located in Khorzhak town at the elevation of 3730m. Khorzhak monastery is a very old and historical Buddhist monastery in Tibet and it is also believed by Hindus and called as Kojanath for both town and the monastery by Indians. It is recommended to visit Khozhak monastery during Mt Kailash tour.

We drove further down to the Sher border located at 3650m and the driving distance is 30Km. Sher border is the place where usually our tourists come to Kailash by trekking throughout the west Nepal or the tourists or Indian pilgrims who want to exit the border between Tibet and Nepal from Purang county after the Kailash travel.

Purang is a very important place for the tourists or Indian pilgrims who are sick from high altitude during the Kailash tour and could not do Mt Kailash Kora. When they have bad headache or feeling bad from high altitude, it is recommend to drive to Purang county because the altitude between Dharchen or Mansarovar lake and Purang county is over 1000m different so as soon the tourists or pilgrims drive down to Purang county from their Mt Kailash tour, the next day,, they will feel better or they can go to hospital too because Purang county is the closest county seat from Mt Kailash where there is a better hospital facility during the Kailash trekking.

 

How is the accommodation facility in Purang county of Kailash region?

There are two very good hotels and some basic hotels and guest houses in Purang county. The newest and best hotel is Purang Yincheng Shengtai hotel and the second best hotel is Purang Himalaya hotel. Both of the hotels have shower and restaurants. Some of those basic hotels do also have shower but they only provide hot water during a specific time so Purang county is one of the richest and best conditioned county seat entire Kailash region.

What we can visit around Purang county during the Kailash travel?

There are three very nice and historical monasteries in Purang county. The most sacred and oldest monastery is Khorzhak monastery which has many old statues and relics that have very long history. When the tourists travel from Simikot to Kailash to do Kailash trek, it is always recommended to visit this monastery.

The second monastery is Gokung monastery, built on a cliff overlooking Purang county. When you visit the monastery, you need to climb through steep ladders. There are some beautiful caves and meditation rooms. The third monastery is Shepeling monastery, located on a small hill, overlooking Purang county. The monastery was rebuilt into the present site. In the olden days, they said there were also Dzong within the monastery. Purang is also one of the most cultural and historical site to visit during your Kailash journey.

 

 

Can we have a good view of Mt Kailash, Mansarovar and Rakshastal lake when we drive to Tarpoche near Mt. Kailash from Purang county?

After breakfast, we left Purang county and drove towards Tarpoche ( Sershong Darchen in Tibetan ) at the distance of 115Km from Purang county. Sershong is the place where there are colorful prayer flags and a giant prayer flag pole which has been displaced by new ones every year during the Kailash Saga Dawa festival. Thousands of local Tibetans including important Tibetan monks gather in Sershong every year during Kailash Saga Dawa Festival and change the prayer flags and do a big religious ritual ceremony. At the same time, there are full of tourists and Indian pilgrims too for doing Kailash Kora during this special Kailash Saga Dawa festival.

On the way, we had a great view of Rakshastal lake ( Nganglark Tso in Tibetan ), standing at the altitude of 4575m and the Mansarovar lake ( Mapam Yumtso in Tibetan ) standing at the altitude of 4590m. While we were driving nearby Chiu Gompa, we got a fantastic view of Mt Kailash in the distance.

The colorful giant prayer flag ( Tarpoche ) just standing in front of the west face of Mt Kailash , surrounded by thousands of different kinds of colored prayer flags, raised by the pilgrims, coming from different regions of Tibet and the tourists from all over the world for doing Kailash trek. Above Tarpoche, there is a mountain of 500 Bodhisattva and above that sacred mountain is the mountain seat of of the God of wealth, Zampa la in Tibetan. There is also a sky burial in Tarpoche where the local people in Ngari region use this for the sky burial. During your Mt Kailash tour, you might see Tibetans with dead body for the sky burial but not recommend to make photos of the dead body which is not good for the family of the dead people.

 

 

How can we drive to Tirthapuri & Guru Gyam via exploring the source of Sutlej River during the Kailash tour?

From Tarpoche, we continued our Mt Kailash tour and drove towards Tirthapuri. After around 20km drive from Tarpoche, we saw a small road on our left side to Dulju Gompa at the distance of 14km from the main road. Dulju Gompa is a Nyingmapa sect monastery and it has over 1300 years history so it is the most historical monastery in the Kailash region.

If we drove further to the south at the distance of around 15Km, we reach the source of Sutlej river. Many of our second or third time visitors to Mt Kailash, they like to explore the Sutlej river. When the tourists did not get enough time to travel further to Guge Kingdom, but still many tourists or pilgrims like to extend their travel to Tirthapuri during the Kailash trek because Tirhapuri is another historical and important pilgrimage place in the Kailash region.

Continued our Mt Kailash tour towards Guge Kingdom and Tholing. We directly drove to Tirthapuri at the distance of 31Km on a durt road. The road condition is quite good so even a mini van can also drive this way to Tirthapuri.

We had a short visit to Tirtapuri monastery and continued our Kailash adventure tour to Guru Gyam monastery at the distance of 13Km. Guru Gyam monastery has a very long history and it is a Bon monastery which preserved a lot of antiques and relics of the monastery with more than thousand years history. The most important object of the monastery is the statue, made of stone with thousands of years history. From Tirtapuri on wards, the road condition is really good.

After finishing Mt Kailash Kora, it is recommend to do a short excursion to Tirthapuri and Kyunglung Guru Gyam as Kyunglung Guru Gyam is the head quarter of Shangshong Kingdom and Shangshong kingdom was a very large kingdom until the Tibetan King Songtsan Gampo reunited Tibet in the 7th century so it is very worthy to visit Guru Gyam during your Kailash pilgrimage tour.

 

 

 

Can we travel to Tholing and Guge Kingdom via Dawa Dzong during the Kailash northern route tour?

The good news that since 2020, we don’t have to drive back and forth to the main road between Mt Kailash and Ngari prefecture from Guru Gyam when we drove to Tholing. What we could do is we can directly drive to Tholing from Guru Gyam monastery by taking the most adventurous and mysterious route of Dawa Dzong so we could just do a loop tour around Tholing instead of taking the same road for two times like before which is the road from Mt. Kailash to Tirthapuri and then to Tholing and back to Tirthapuri from Tholing through the same road . 

Previously, the road through Dawa Dzong was very bad but since this year, the road between Guru Gyam to Tholing via Dawa Dzong was completely paved and wide so even if there are many mountain passes, it’s easy and safe to drive to Tholing via Dawa Dzong and the scenery along the way is fantastic. Driving to Tholing via Dawa Dzong is a dream for many of our old customers who already did Mt Kailash tour and we think this will be a very important and nice loup tour of Mt Kailash and Tholing in the future.

Just after Guru Gyam, we continued our Kailash journey and started driving through our first zigzag pass at the elevation of 4520m and passed by a small village and a monastery called Choelung, we again crossed our second pass at 4741m. After the pass, we saw a sign board that shows another way to the south to go to Lagnyi Tso lake at the distance of 90Km. After that we drove through our third mountain pass at 4933km and drove down, reached the fourth pass at 4536m, fifth pass 4530m, and sixth pass at 4521m so this is the real road of adventure during Mt Kailash trek and it is the paradise of Tibet adventure tour.

Just after sixth pass, we reached the ruins of Dawa Dzong and the village nearby. Dawa Dzong was a very important and famous Dzong in the olden days and it had monastery called Dawa Dongpo monastery, caves and the Dzong. There is a village called Dawa Dongpo village. In the olden days, Dawa Dongpo Dzong was one of the riches Dzongs in Kailash region as people say that there are lots antiques that people could find from under ground and consider the antiques that come from Dawa Dongpo village are the most expensive and the best quality ones.

After Dawa Dzong, we continued our Mt Kailash tour and crossed the seventh pass at 4488m, eighth pass at 4510m, 9^th pass at 4508m, 10^th pass at 4444m. When were climbing our last pass between Gurugyam and Tholing, we stopped at Malang scenic spot viewpoint. From there, we can get one of the best view of the Tholing landscape. If you had enough time, it is recommend to include Tholing and Guge Kingdom in your Mt Kailash tour.

 

 

How is the road condition to Tholing via Dawa Dzong that we took from Mt. Kailash?

Just after Malang scenic spot viewpoint, we continued our Mt Kailash tour by crossing the 11^th pass which is the last pass between Guru Gyam and Tholing through Dawa Dzong. The distance from Guru Gyam to Dawa Dongpo Gompa and it’s ruins of Dawa Dzong is 110km and from Dawa Dzong to the junction to go to Guge Kingdom and Tholing monastery or Tsaparang county is 115Km. From the Junction to Tsaparang county on your right hand side is 10Km and the Guge Kingdom on your left hand side is 8Km.

Since there are many mountain passes, climbing up and down too many times, it is better to start a bit earlier from Mansarovar lake or Dharchen to Tholing if you took the road via Dawa Dzong. The mountain passes that we took are not the same as the other mountain passes that we took between Saga and Kailash because Dawa Dzong and Tholing area are located in a Tholing gorge so the mountain passes are more steep eventhough they are not very high comparing to other mountain passes in Ngari but the scenery between Guru Gyam and Tholing through Dawa Dzong is extremely beautiful and unique so we recommend to do this route if you go further to Tholing and Guge Kingdom after your Mt Kailash tour.

 

 

How is the accommodation facility in Tholing and Guge Kingdom during your Mt Kailash tour?

Sofar, the best hotels are Tholing Chengbao and Guge hotel. Both of these two hotels have very good rooms, shower for 24 hours available. The breakfast is Buffet. There are also a few other smaller hotels which also provide shower and toilet attached but they are small hotels so for a bigger group of Mt Kailash tour, it is always recommend to use Chengbao or Guge hotels. Below the Guge Kingdom, there is a neighborhood of Guge town and there are around 15-20 families who run family guest house. They are clean and do have public shower so it is also nice to have family stay in order to get more authentic experience of your Mt Kailash tour.

When is the best time to see the sunrise view of Guge Kingdom and Tholing landscape during the visit to Mt. Kailash?

We woke up by around 6.30 Am and drove to Guge Kingdom at the distance of 18Km. We reached at the foot of Guge Kingdom by around 7.00 Am and the light already came during that time. The best time to have a very good sunrise view of Guge Kingdom and Tholing landscape is by around 7.50 in the morning so what you can do is you directly drive to Guge Kingdom early in the morning, enjoy the sunrise view of Guge Kingdom and Tholing landscape and then back to hotel and have breakfast. To enjoy the view of the sunrise of Guge Kingdom and Tholing landscape is one of the most beautiful part of your Kailash travel.

 

 

Can we visit Changtse village and Changtse Tholing scenic spot when you travel to Mt. Kailash from Lhasa?

We drove directly to Changtse from Tholing through the newly paved road at the distance of 70Km. The road condition is very good and the scenery of Tholing is extremely beautiful. After around an hour drive, we reached Changtse scenic spot. It is a fantastic place to see the most beautiful landscape of Tholing. It is more beautiful than the one in Tholing gorge. Changtse gorge is the most beautiful scenery of the Tholing entire Ngari region. It is highly recommended to include in the program of your Kailash and Guge Kingdom tour.

 

After visiting Changtse, can we directly drive to Namru and then to Shiquanhe ( Ngari prefecture ) in order to continue Kailash northern route tour?

After Changtse, we continued our Mt Kailash tour by crossing three very high mountain passes, the first pass is at 5385m, second pass is at 5247m and the last pass is at 5329m above sea level. The scenery on the way is completely changed from Tholing landscape into a green grassland and high plateau pasture land.

On the way, we saw some beautiful landscape of Tholing, marvelous snowcapped mountain and green grassland, beautiful nomad camps and flock of Yak and sheep, grazing on the beautiful grassland and hot spring at Namru. From Changtse to Namru is 87Km and from Namru to Shiquanhe is 72Km. The road all the way from Tholing to Shiquanhe via Changtse and Namru is completely paved. This is a newly paved road between Tholing county and Shiquanhe so it is a good plan if you include this route in your Kailash trip.

 

 

During our Mt Kailash tour, can we drive directly to Tashigang monastery near the border to India?

After 18km drive from Namru on the way to Shiquanhe, there is a road on our left hand side just before reaching Gunsa airport ( Nagri Kunsha airport ) is the junction to go to Tashigang monastery and from the Junction to Tashigang monastery is 71 Km and the road is paved all the way.

The scenery on the way is extremely beautiful and different from Tholing area. Just before reaching Tashigang monastery, there is a very beautiful pasture land with some small ponds.. The Yak and Sheep are being grazed on this beautiful green grassland. It is extremely beautiful with green grassland, blue sky and black Yak in the middle of nowhere. Tashi Gang is one of the borders that is very close to Indian border. If you had time during Kailash trip, it is recommend to drive here.

 

Is it worthy to visit Tashigang monastery during our Kailash northern route tour?

Most of the tourists don’t go to Tashigang monastery when they do Mt Kailash tour because it is very far and not familiar to other tourists but it is a very interesting place to visit and the monastery has a long history with lots of old statues and relics that we can see even in the present day. From Tashigang monastery to Shiquanhe is 90Km. We took a loop way to Shiquanhe and on the way, we saw the ruins of Rala Karmar Dzong, built by Kyide Ngima Gon with more than thousand year’s history. There is a very beautiful picnic place and we had our lunch at the picnic place. The ruins of Rala Karmar Dzong is just infront of the picnic place.

We reached Shiquanhe in the early afternoon. If you like to continue your Kailash adventure towards Kashgar, then you can drive further to Rutog county at the distance of 124Km and further to Yecheng at the distance of 1052km from Shiquanhe.

In Shiquanhe, there is not much to do since it is a new city but it is a good place to take a rest in a comfortable hotel with nice shower after a long Kailash tour. After dinner, you are recommended to have a short walk along the Shiquanhe River as the view of the Shiquanhe city is beautiful in the night time.

 

 

How is the accommodation in Shiquanhe ( Ngari prefecture ) during the Kailash tour?

Nowadays, the accommodation facility in Shiquanhe is far better than before and the best hotels are Ali Da Jiudian ( Ngari grand hotel ) and Shangshong hotel. They provide 24 hours hot water and the breakfast is also quite good eventhough most of the items are in Chinese styles.

In the rooms of Ngari grand hotel, they also have oxygen attached and if you are in the need of emergency of taking oxygen, you can ask the reception to provide the oxygen, and take it from your room. They charge according to the hours that you use.

There are some other nice and standard hotels which also provide shower and toilet attached and the rooms are clean enough. The accommodation in Shiquanhe is already very comfortable and it is nice to spend a night there to take good shower and relax during the Kailash trip.

 

How far is it from Shiquanhe to Rutog county in the Kailash region?

The distance from Shiquanhe to Rutog county is 124Km and it takes you around one hour and thirty minuets. The road condition is very good and it is the way to go to Kashigar and Urumqi after your Kailash travel. Between Shiquanhe and Rutog county, we crossed a high pass called “Lamila at 5130m。In Tibetan, if we directly translate Lamila into English, it means no pass. Why it’s called Lamila is because the pass is kind of flat , neither need to climb a mountain nor need to drive through zigzag road. It is just a kind of flat mountain pass that’s why it is called Lamila pass but the altitude is pretty high already comparing to the mountain passes in the Tholing region.

 

What can we see around Rutog county when you make Mt Kailash tour?

Rutog at 4313m is a county seat in Nagri prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of People’s Republic of China located near the border between India and China Tibet. There is a beautiful Gyawo snow mountain in Rutog and Maka grassland. We can visit Bangong Tso which is a very beautiful lake and at the harbor of the lake, we can see beautiful birds flying above the lake. During your Mt Kailash tour, it is a good idea to include Bangong Tso if you had enough time to explore.

The Bangong Tso lake covers an area of 604 square Kilometers, from which of China is 413 square Kilometers, accounting for about 68.5%, the Indian-controlled Kashmir area is 191 square Kilometers, accounting for about 31.5%. The east-west length is about 150 kilometers, and the north-south average width is about 4 Kilometers. Bangong Tso is one of the most beautiful scenic spots after Mansarovar lake. It is also interesting for the tourists to see another half part of the lake who already went to Ladahk and saw half part of the Bangong Tso lake from Ladhak.

In Rutog, we can visit a very beautiful monastery located on a small hill near the beautiful grassland of Rutog county. The monastery is called Lhundrup Choeding monastery at 4311m. It is a Gelukpa monastery and it was a branch of Sera monastery in Lhasa. The main object of the monastery is the statue of Maitreya and there are many old statues which have more than hundreds years of history. There is a ruins of a castle ( Dzong in Tibetan ), built during the time of Shangshong but it was completely destroyed during the cultural revolution.

 

Can we explore a unique flower land in Rutog county?

If we drove further to the southwest of Rutog county along the Bangongtso, we reached Wujiang village. We continued our Mt Kailash tour to explore a beautiful flower land to the further southwest.

After driving around 35km distance from Wujiang village, crossing one of the highest mountain passes at 5365m, we reached a beautiful flower land at the altitude of 5168m, dominated by beautiful Tibetan nomad camp, surrounded by beautiful snow capped mountain. On the way, you can see beautiful flowers, grassland, high mountain passes with a great view of snow capped mountain.

Once you reached the campsite, you can take photos of the most beautiful flower land, green grassland, snowcapped mountain, nomad camp with Yak. It is one of the most beautiful natural landscapes that we saw during our entire Mt Kailash tour.

 

How to take Kailash northern route tour from Ali?

We started our Mt Kailash tour at 8.00 in the morning from Ali and today’s goal is to drive over 1200Km distance to reach Nima county as the road condition is very good. We drove through high mountain passes, western Tibetan plateau, inhabited by beautiful wild animals and Tibetan nomads and lots of beautiful lakes on the way between Ali and Nima county. It is the start of the Kailash norther route adventure tour and we felt like we were driving in the middle of nowhere.

The distance from Ali to Gegyai county at 4522m is 168km and from Gegyai county to Gertse at 4439m is 357Km. The landscape between these two counties is very beautiful and can feel the real plateau of the western Tibetan region.

If we took a direct Kailash northern route tour, we could drive from Gertse county to Nima county directly instead of driving to Tsochen but today why we took the way to Tsochen from Gegyai is because we wanted to visit Tashi Namtso and Dangra Yutso. Tashi Namtso is located in Tsochen county while Dangra Yutso is located in Nima county of Nagqu prefecture. Driving like this is the big adventure of Kailash norther tour.

During our Kailash northern route tour, there are around 5 small lakes Between Gegyai and Gertse and another big lake after Gertse towards Tsochen is Dongtso at the distance of 146Km, after that, we reached Dawa tso at 4671m at the distance of 50Km from Dongtso.

 Before reaching Tsochen, we crossed a pass called Tsoshong la at the elevation of 5080m, and again another small pass at 4920m pass, we finally reached Tsochen county at 4676m. The total distance from Gertse to Tsochen is 317Km on a very good paved road. Tsochen county is a very important stop over place when you do Kailash norther route tour, no matter whether you drive clockwise direction of the Kailash tour or anti clockwise direction of the Kailash tour.

 

 

Can we visit Tashi Namtso and Dangra Yutso lake during our Mt Kailash tour?

After driving around 3Km towards Nima county on the main road from Tsochen county, we drove right on the dusty road to Tashi Namtso lake at the distance of 38Km. Tashi Namtso lake at 4613m is the third largest lakes in Tibet Autonomous Region and it is 53.5Km long from east to the west, 26Km wide from north to south. We found Tashi Namtso is one of the most beautiful lakes in Tibet and highly recommended to take camp at the lake side for a night.

 

How to get to Dangra Yutso lake near Nima county in Nakqu prefecture?

Continued our Kailash norther route tour and from Tashi Namtso to Dangra Yutso is 85Km distance and the road is under construction so within one year, it will be a new paved road. Tashi Namtso and Dangra Yutso lake is the borderline between Nakqu prefecture and Ngari prefecture and it is the important joint of Mt. Kailash norther route tour.

Dangra Yutso lake, also known as Dangratso is located in Nima county at the elevation of more than 4,600 meters on the northern Tibetan plateau with an altitude of 4530m. Dangra Yutso is believed as a very holy lake by the Primitive Bon Religion in Tibet and it is considered as the largest lake for the worship of Bon religion and the third largest lakes in Tibet. It covers an area of 1,400 square kilometers, is 70 kilometers long and 20 kilometers wide.

Just after driving around 15Km distance from Dangra Yutso lake, we reached Shana village with a new paved road and then continued our Kailash tour through Wenbu town, then the next village with a big monastery called Dangchong, surrounded by Denchung lake and Denchung monastery. Just after monastery, we climbed a pass at the altitude of 4923m and finally reached Nima county. Nima county is the place where there is full of big and small lakes and it is the biggest area of no man land in Tibet. If you had time of around 20 days to do Mt Kailash tour by exploring a real no man land in Tibet, then doing a Tibet trip through Nima county and Tsochen and all the way to Kailash is a perfect Kailash travel route.

 

How to get to Lhasa from Nima county during Kailash northern route tour?

Near by Nima county, there is a beautiful lake called Taktse tso and after around an hour drive from Nima county, there is another lake called Jagoe tso at 4571m. We continued our Kailash journey and after around 144Km drive from Nima county, we could also see a sign to go to Shenta county. Shentsa is another bigger county in Nakqu prefecture next to Nima county.

After driving 167Km distance, we reached Selingtso at 4564m. Selingtso is the largest lake in Tibet and the second largest saltwater lake in China. After crossing a pass called Tsomula pass at 4728m, we reached Banga county at the altitude of 4707m. The total distance from Nima county to Banga county is 329Km with a very good paved road and from Banga county to the junction where we could drive to Damxiong and Nakqu prefecture is around 20Km distance. Here we can choose whether you want to extend Kailash tour throug Nakqu or finish the Kailash tour via Namtso lake and Damxiong county which is under the administration of Lhasa city.

From the Junction to Damxiong county is 181Km and to Nakqu prefecture is 208Km. The road condition from the junction to Namtso lake is very good and on the way, we crossed three mountain passes, the first pass with a beautiful view of a lake is at 4735m, second pass is at 4856m and the last pass is at 4880m where you could see Namtso lake. During the big Kailash norther route adventure tour, it is always recommended to include Namtso lake.

After crossing Lagenla pass, we reached Damxiong county and from Damxiong county, we continued our Mt Kailash tour towards Lhasa at the distance of 200Km. After around 20Km drive from Damxiong county, we reached a junction where we could drive to Lhundrup county at the distance of 132Km which is located to the north east of Lhasa city. On the way during our Mt Kailash tour from Damxiong county to Lhasa, there were quite many nomads, standing by the road and selling yellow mushroom as it is the period of harvesting yellow mushroom in Tibet.

A detailed Namtso lake Kora Tibet tours program

I recently take a time off and went for a rekey to visit Namtso lake to search a good round Namtso lake Kora tour program. The Namtso lake round Kora has 366Km in total and we can finish it within one day if we drove from Damxiong county early in the morning or you could also do it within two day by driving slowly and have a beautiful camp along the lake site or nearby a nomad camp.

It is an extremely beautiful place for going around Namtso, We will see some nomad camps with their herds, flock of Yak and sheep, beautiful grassland, lots of beautiful snowcapped mountain around lake Namtso which are the mountain ranges of Nyenchen Thangla. The average elevation of the campsite is around 4500m.

If you wanted to finish a round Kora around Namstso lake, then there is no chance to make a campsite at the lake site. You would drive along the lake, visit some nomad camps, enjoy seeing a beautiful view of Nyenchen Thangla snow mountain, beautiful and different view of Namtso lake from other sites of the lake.

If you would like to visit Namtso lake differently, then you can drive slowly, you could make a camp in between and could also explore some of the beautiful snow mountains by doing a couple of hours trekking which is also very interesting.

According to my recky tour, I have made a beautiful programs of round Namtso lake Kora below. Hope this will be useful.

DETAIELD ITINERARY of how to visit Namtso lake differently:

Day 1 of Visit Namtso lake differently:

Tashido hermitage-Gorchung monastery, 4560m/76km, walk 4 hours and half. Camp

After breakfast, start your Namtso lake tour by van from Damxiong county and visit Namtso lake differently. You will drive on a paved road until Tashido and then take a dirt road form Tashido for around 300km distance. The road condition is ok and you will be driving along the south side of Namtso lake at the distance of 71 Km total to reach Gorchung monastery. The total duration of driving will be around two hours and half.

Enjoying a fantastic view of the whole Namtso lake from the south shore and a great closer view of Nyenchen Thangla mountain range.

You will be camping at Gorchung monastery which is almost to the base camp of Gurchen snow peak at the elevation of over 6000m. There is also a big nomad camp nearby the monastery. You can visit a nomad family and experience how the Tibetan nomads’ living standard is.

While you will be visiting a small Gorchung monastery and listen to the monks life story there if the monks did not go to the town to read scripture for the nomads.

In the mean time, our cooking team will prepare and ready your lunch. Have lunch and afternoon, you will trek to the base of Gurchen snow peak, takes you around 2 hours up, take a rest at a glacier lake,  enjoying a fantastic view of Gurchen snow peak and the lake.

Continue your trek around a beautiful mountain called Amitsegu clockwise, crossing a small pass and then come down the valley to the campsite for around 2 hours. You will have a tremendously beautiful view of whole Namtso lake and Nyenchen Thangla mountain range from the top of the Amitsegu small pass.

Day 2 of visit Namtso lake differently:

Gorchung monastery-Dokya Gompa-`Rarila (5640m)-Jado Gompa or Langchen Namgo-before village Number five, 4570m/140km. Camp

After breakfast, you will start your journey around the Namtso lake, drive along a spacious grassland or plateau, seeing a beautiful green plateau with snow capped mountain in a long distant mountain view from the northern Tibetan plateau.

After around two hours drive in a vast plateau, you will reach Dokya Gompa which is a small monastery located to the east shore of the lake. From the monastery view point, if the weather is clear, you will see a very clear view of Gorchung snow peak as well some beautiful Nyenchen Thangla mountain ranges.

Continue your journey of visit Namtso lake differently and cross Rirala pass which is just a very small pass of over 5640m, driving through several nomad camps and villages, reaching Jado Gompa or Langchen Namgo ( Elephant head ). You will drive to Langchen Namgo from the main dirt road at the distance of 500m, enjoy a great view of whole Namtso lake and some beautiful rocky hills along the lake shore.

From Langchen Namgo to our campsite is only around 15Km which will take you half an hour drive.

You will arrive at our campsite by around 3.Pm, have some snack and tea and then walk along the lake shore for around 2 hours. From our campsite, you will have the most beautiful view of the lake Namtso with a full landscape view of Nyechen Thangla mountain range.

Day 3 of visit Namtso lake differently:

Village No five-Damshung-Lhasa or Reting monastery, 4150m/258km. Camp

After breakfast, enjoy the most beautiful morning from the north side of Namtso lake shore. The other side of the lake is full of snow capped mountain, looks like a white scarf blowing around the lake Namtso. It is extremely a beautiful morning.

Start your journey of visit Namtso lake differently and pass by a couple of Tibetan nomad villages, after 36Km of bumpy road, you will reach a junction where the road goes to the south east to Damshung at the distance of 82Km and to the north west at the distance of 118Km to Bang Ga county. We will drive along a narrow paved road for 56Km to reach Namtso Xiang or the foot of Lagenla pass, then join the main road between Namtso lake and Damshung.

Take lunch in Damshung and then continue your journey to Namtso lake or Reting monastery.

If you have around two weeks time of Tibet trekking, we highly recommend to do Tsurphu Yampachen trekking with Namtso lake round Kora trek so that your Tibet trekking program will be very beautiful and unique.

Tibetan wedding ceremony – Festival Tibet tours

Tibetan Wedding ceremony is one of the biggest and most important ceremonies  in life etiquette, which has been highly valued by individuals, families and Society for a long time in the Tibetan community and it is one of the most important traditional culture of Tibet.

In the past, in Tibetan areas, marriage etiquette and customs were strictly hierarchical, and the procedures and customs were different from each other. Here, we can only introduce the traditional Tibetan Marriage Etiquette and customs based on the general family situation in Tibetan area.

1.Propose

This is the initial procedure of Tibetan wedding ceremony. Once the man sees a girl and likes her, he asks for the woman’s age and birth of date, and goes to the astrologer for divination (Tibetan term “PAZI”). If the astrology says she will be a good partner for his marriage, then the man chooses an auspicious day, brings a white Tibetan scarf known as Khada in Tibetan, tea and wine and other gifts to the woman’s family, and propose formally.

2.Engage

When the two parties agree to the marriage, they choose a good day for their family representatives and marriage witnesses to work out the engagement. The contents of the marriage contract are mostly mutual respect and love between the men and women, filial piety to their elders, high moral character, or inheritance of property in the future.

On the day of engagement, the man will give each of the young and old in the woman’s family a Khada and rich gift. The woman will prepare tea, wine, rice, etc. for hospitality. After the representatives of both sides enter the main hall and take their seats in turn, the host’s house will serve “Chema” with tea and wine. Chema is made of Tsampa, butter and sugar which is the symbol of the auspiciousness.

The proposed family presents a gift, especially a “Bangdian It is a kind of Tibetan robe with various colors and thin horizontal lines” to the mother, which is used as the “milk money” for the mother for raising her daughter.

After that, they put the engagement in duplicate on the high foot plate, read it aloud by the witness, and another witness checked it carefully. After reading, the witness put the family seals of the two families on the marriage letter in public, and then solemnly handed them to the father of the other party by the representatives of the woman and the man. Then the two parents presented Khada to the witness to express their gratitude.

When the engagement ceremony was held, neither the young men nor the young women attended, only the family members. At the end of the ceremony, the women’s family invited guests for a feast and got together for one day. In the evening, when the men’s family left, the women’s family offered each visitor a Khada.

3. Preparation before the Tibetan wedding ceremony

Before marriage, the family of the woman also chooses a lucky day. Hand over the dowry. The amount of dowry varies according to the economic situation, but there must be a Bodhisattva, a Book of scriptures and a pagoda.

In the Tibetan society, the dowry was very important when there is a marriage and it has several thousand years of history. It is said that Princess Wencheng brought these three items when she came to Tibet, so it has been handed down as a necessary part of marriage dowry.

The marriage husband’s family invites astrologer to make a fortune to determine the wedding date (Tibetan “Nianzi”). On the first day of the wedding ceremony, the man sent someone to wrap a set of beautiful clothes and eyewear with silk and satin and send them to the woman’s home for the bride to wear.

4. Welcome relatives during the Tibetan wedding ceremony

On the day of greeting the bride, the man’s family will be looking for an identity person to bring a team of people, horses and colorful arrows, with bright mirrors, jade and beads on them, and a pregnant and well-dressed mare with the same color as the woman’s belongings for the bride to ride and go to the woman’s house to meet her new mother.

Before the arrival of the horse team, the women should hold farewell ceremonies such as tea and wine honoring “qiema”. When the men’s greeting team enters the door, first insert the color arrow on the bride’s back, and then put the setting jade on the bride’s head, indicating that the bride has belonged to the man’s family. When the girl goes out, the family members of the girl take the colorful arrow and the leg of the lamb in one hand and stand upstairs and shout, “don’t take my family’s blessing away!” repeatedly until the girl goes far away.

Starting from the horse team, the leader of the team should be the best one (usually the astrologer). He wears a white robe, riding a white horse, holding the nine palaces and eight diagrams in his hand. Then the wedding representative, after that is attendant of the wife and the bride’s attendant.

Along the way, the man’s family should wait beside the road and offer three drinks to the horse team. If you encounter people carrying patients, taking out garbage and carrying empty baskets on the road which is considered as an unlucky sign. During the march of the horse team, the entourage sang “Xieqing” (a big song), while the bride cried as she walked.

Before the bride arrives, the man must dress up the gate and prepare a mat for the bride to dismount. The mat is a pocket with barley and wheat, covered with multicolored brocade, and the surface is painted with wheat grain as the symbol . Family will hold “Chema” and barley wine at the door.

The traditional entrance ceremony is very complicated. From getting off the horse, entering the door, going upstairs to entering the hall, you have to drink an ode and present a hada. After the brides’ hall, sit at the bridegroom’s head, and the welcoming and seeing off teams also sit down in turn. Then they begin to offer “Qima”, tea and wine, and Khada to Buddha statues and parents.

After that, the bride and groom enter the bridal chamber, and the family begins to entertain the guests for three days. In three days, relatives and friends sent Khada and gifts one after another.

 Summary of Tibetan wedding ceremony

The etiquette is very complicated, and in the past, it was only held by families with certain economic strength. Of course. The marriage of contemporary Tibetan young men and women have long been very simple in terms of etiquette and customs. The biggest taboo of Tibetan Marriage and love is to forbid the marriage of close relatives, which conforms to the principle of human eugenics.

Marriage is not only forbidden between cousins and sisters, but also for those who have an aunt cousin relationship. Generally, matrilineal descendants can intermarry after four generations. In some areas, it takes seven to nine generations to get married. However, as long as the patrilineal descendants know that they are the same ancestor, intermarriage is strictly prohibited.

If you plan your Tibet tour including a program which can also visit a Tibetan wedding ceremony, it will be a very interesting and unique Tibet travel program and you will have a different and authentic experience of Tibet trip. Check more details about Tibet festival tours.

Saga Dawa Festival enshrines the birth, enlightenment and death of Lord Buddha (Tibetan Buddhism). In Tibetan Calendar, 15^th day of 4^th lunar month is celebrating the full moon Saga Dawa Festival in Tibet. The main goal of the festival is to pray for the long life of the holy Gurus of all traditions and for spreading of Buddha’s teaching. The festival mostly starts in May and June.

Saga Dawa Festival is generally celebrating from 1^st till 15^th of fourth lunar month of Tibetan calendar but the people also consider to practice Puja, ritual ceremony for the whole month of fourth lunar calendar. Tibetans are considering the Saga Dawa festival as the most auspicious and precious months where ones can achieve good merit or the merit that achieve during this special festival can multiple the result that’s why Tibetans practice more prayers, do more pilgrimages and walk around the temples or monasteries or sacred mountains and lakes.

During this special occation, Tibetan people stop eating meat and many people save lots of animals ‘lives from butcher by paying a lot of money.  

The festival is very important for Buddhist as well as for Hindus that’s why we can see lots of Indian pilgrims travelling to mount Kailash during May and June. Many Tibetan Pilgrims do circumambulation around the holy sites like Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace which is Tsekor, Lingkor and Kailash Kora.

Mount Kailash is the most propitious or auspicious place where the full moon festival is celebrating and the giant prayer flag pole in Darpoche near Mount Kailash is replacing with new prayer flags every year during this special occasion of full moon festival.

Tibetans believe to raise or replace a new prayer flag can bring a lot of luck and can wish to flourish Buddhism so during this month, Tibetan people from different regions gather here in Darpoche for the full moon Saga Dawa festival and do Kailash Kora in order to get a great merit for all the sentient beings.

WHAT KIND OF ACTIVITY TAKES PLACE DURING SAGA DAWA FESTIVAL IN KAILASH

Though Saga Dawa Festival is celebrating all over Tibet but the largest Festival is celebrating in mount Kailash every year. In Darpoche, there is a prayer flag pole which is about 25 meters height covered with different colors of prayer flags printed with different kinds of Mantra on the prayer flags.

Every year, the old prayer flags are removed and new prayer flags are displaced around the pole during Saga Dawa Festival. On 15^th Day of 4^th Lunar month which is the full moon.

In the morning, the lamas or monks do their prayers around flagpole and get ready to erect upright the flagpole. Once the pole is erected upright, people starts to throw paper printed wind horse prayers in the air and do kora around the new upright prayer flag pole and pray for the peace of the world.

Tibetans believe that one kora around the Mt. Kailash during Saga Dawa festival equals to twelve kora around the holy prayer flagpole. People who have less time, they do Kora around the prayer flagpole instead of Kailash Kora which will take 3 days of trekking for tourist where most of Tibetan can finish within a day. The total distance of Mount Kailash is around 52km.

Thousands of tourists from different places and a lot of pilgrims from India gather at the holy Mt. Kailsh to do Kora or circumambulate every year. You can see lots of Tibetans doing prostration around the holy mount Kailash which is taking a month to complete one circuit around Mt. Kailash.

WHEN TO GO FOR SAGA DAWA FESTIVAL?

Mostly, the Saga Dawa Festival falls on May and ends in June according to the western calendar. In 2020, the festival starts on 5^th June which is the full moon 15^th day of 4^th lunar month and the full moon of Saga Dawa festival around Kailash for 2021 is 26^th May 2021.

Tibet Shambhala Adventure arranges our best Kailash Saga Dawa festival group tour and we guarantee you the trip service quality and get all the hotel and guest house bookings during this busy Kailash Saga Dawa Festival. You can join our Kailash group tour or private tour to enjoy the Saga Dawa Festival ceremony…..

HOW TO GET TO Mt. KAILASH FOR SAGA DAWA FESTIVAL?

You can book Kailash Saga Dawa festival group tour in around month advance of 15 days in advance through expert and experienced local Tibetan travel agent like Tibet Shambhala Adventure through which you can get Tibet travel permits and Mount Kailash special permits, comfortable private vehicle, experienced and knowledgeable Tibetan tour guide and all the guest houses or hotels on the way have been booked in advance.

You can start your Mount Kailash tour from Lhasa as well as can do the overland tour like starting the trip from Lhasa and ends the tour from Kyirong Border or Hilsa Border. With Tibet Shambhala Adventure, you can choose to have different Kailash tours for example Kailash group tour and Kailash private tour, with or without Everest Base Camp etc… Which you will need 12-15 days.

 If you choose to have the tour which starts from Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region, then you will get to visit the holiest Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Sera and Drepung Monastery which will take 2 days in Lhasa itself as well as you will acclimatize to the high altitude sickness.

Once you leave Lhasa, you will reach the sacred mountains, religious monasteries, popular sights and attractions and so on……… The highlight of Mount Kailash Saga Daw Festival tour is to visit all the highlights of Tibetan cultural parts including the Potala Palace, Jokang temple, in Lhasa and slowly driving to Mount Kailash through the western part of Tibet including Gyantse and Shigtase.

Passing by lots of beautiful natural landscapes, lakes and snow capped mountains, finally reach Mount Kailash and Mansarovar lake. Doing three days Mount Kailash Kora is the most important part of this Kaialsh Saga Dawa festival.

It is not only one of the most challenging Tibet treks but also a very spiritual and mysterious adventure treks in the world. During your Kailash Kora, you will be overwhelmed when you see many Tibetans prostrating around Mt. Kailash.

If you did not book all those necessary items before your trip to Mount Kailash, especially during Saga Dawa festival, you will not get the rooms on the spot since there are lots of Indians and tourists as well as Tibetans during Saga Dawa festival.

With Kailash tour, you can also choose to visit Manasarover Lake which is good and holy place to visit.

Lake Manasarover is the highest freshwater in the world with the elevation of 4590m. During Saga Dawa, you can see many Tibetans and Hindus doing Kora around the Lake Manasarover as well as many Indians doing Puja or Prayer besides the holy lake Manasarover.

Indians believe that by taking a bath in the fresh water of the lake Mansarovar can wash your all sins.

Saga Dawa Festival is the longest and the most important religious festivals in Tibet as well as for Tibetans, it is the best and most precious time to do prayers from the whole year.

For whole month during Saga Dawa, apart from praying and doing kora, most of Tibetans do pilgrims to the different religious sites and monasteries, saves and free life of animals, giving money to beggars and do as much as good deeds throughout the month.

Since the positive and negative deeds can multiple on specific month and pray for every sentient being on the earth. For Tibetans, they strongly believe that no one should miss this chance to do good deeds and eliminate the bad deeds or sins that they did from time to time.

And for tourists, it is the life time opportunity to witness such an auspicious ceremony held in every parts of Tibet including the holy Mt. Kailash area. Tourists can see lots of religious activities, ritual ceremony in all the monasteries in Tibet.

Thousands of people walking around temple, palaces , monasteries, or sacred mountains or lakes in order to gain great merit for all sentient beings so the tourists can get more authentic experience during Saga Dawa festival. To get a lifetime opportunity of visiting Mt. Kailash during Saga Dawa Festival, You can contact our tour consultants for Mount kailash Saga Dawa group tour and they will take care of everything according to your wishes.

14 days mount Kailash group tour

Kailash group tour has become one of the most popular Tibet travel destinations in the last few years and there are thousands of thousands tourists and pilgrims are visiting Mount Kailash every year. People travel to Mount Kailash from Lhasa through visiting some of the important sites on the way or drive directly to Mount Kailash from Kyirong or Hilsa border between Tibet and Nepal.

The Mount Kailash also known as Gang Rinpoche to Tibetans which means the precious treasure of snow, with the elevation of 6638m (21778ft). It is located in the western part of Tibet. The mount Kailash is a sacred mountain for four different religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Bon religion.

The followers of these religions consider the Mt. Kailash as the holiest mountain. The different believes about Mt. Kailash according to each religion are:

1. For Buddhism, Mt. Kailash is the adobe of Demchok and his consort Dorje Pagmo and also the meditation cave of Saint Milarepa is there.
2. For Hindus, Mt. Kaialsh is the home of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati.
3. To Jain, it is believed that the founder of their religion was awaken spiritually at Mt. Kailash.
4. To Bonpo, the Mt. Kailash is the place where their religious leader descended from heaven.

The Mount Kailash tour proffer you to have the distinctive experience of culture, landscapes, different kinds of wild lives, lakes and snow capped mountains, faithful pilgrims and many more….

The Mount Kailash group tour is the most popular tour that’s why every year there have hundreds and thousands of tourist to do Mount Kailash tour. For Kailash group tour, you at least need the holiday of 14 days in Tibet. The Kailash tour can be done in few ways for e.g.

1. Overland Kailash tour from Kyirong Border or Hilsa Border
2. Lhasa to Lhasa Kaialsh tour
3. Lhasa flight to Ali and by road to Lhasa or depart for border or by flight again abck to Lhasa.

Local Tibet Travel Agent like Tibet Shambhala Adventure who has many years of experience and knowledge, can provide you the successful and adventurous tour with verities of Mt. Kailash programs with different highlights of Kailash according to your choice.

WHAT YOU GET TO VISIT DURING 14 DAYS KAILASH GROUP TOUR?

The Kailash group tour starts from Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region. Like most of other Tibet tours, you are going to spend 3 days in Lhasa visiting the very religious highlights of Lhasa:

The famous winter palace of the Dalai Lama known as the POTALA PALACE, JOKHANG TEMPLE, the oldest and most sacred temple of Tibet, takes a walk around BAKHOR BAZAAR where hundreds of Tibetans are circumambulating around the Jorkhang Temple in order to pay homage to the image of Buddha Shakyamuni.

DREPUNG MONASTERY the largest monastery in Tibet and the second largest monastery in Tibet. SERA MONASTERY and enjoy the popular debating between monks taking place every day except in Sunday.

From day 4, you are going out of Lhasa heading towards Shigatse via Gyantse through three big mountains passes, KAMPA LA the highest pass of these, KARO LA and SIMI LA respectively. YAMDROK LAKE or the Turquois Lake.

Once you get to Gyantse, visit PALCHOE MONASTERY and KUBUM STUPA. In Shigatse, visit Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, the seat of the Penchen Lama and one of the six largest monasteries of Gelukpa school in Tibetan Buddism.

On day 5, you will drive to Sakya where you could visit SAKYA MONASTERY which is founded by Konchok Gyelpo in around 12^th century and there you also get to visit the great Buddhist library which has thousands of Buddhist scripture.

From Sakya, you will drive about 485km to Saga then to Drongba County via NAMRING LA with the elevation of 4650mts and you will see amazing view of villages and beautiful NGAMRING LAKE through vast grassland. You will reach Drongba about 8-9 hr. since we need to consider the speed limit.

Next day, you will drive to MANASAROVER LAKE known as Mapam Yumtso in Tibetan with the surface elevation of 4590m. As to Hinduism believes that once he or she swims in the the Manasarover lake and take a bath, his or her sins will be cleansed for hundreds of lifetimes. At the same time, there are lots of Indians doing prayer or puja.

In Bon religion. it is said that the founder of Bon religion called Tonpa Shenrab took bath in the Mansarovar lake after he ascended to the top of the Mount Kailash so the Bonpo also believe Mansarovar lake as a very holy lake for them.

In Buddhism, our lord Buddha used to meditate near the Mansarovar lake on many occasions. Near the Manasarover lake, there is a very beautiful monastery called CHIU MONASTERY built on the hill side with a great view of Mt Kailash from the monastery.

On the way to Mt Kailash,  you will encounter beautiful Tibetan nomad camps, wild animals like wild donkey and antelopes etc. From Lake Manasarover, you can see a magnificent and incredible view of Mount Kailash.

Walk around holy lake, visit Chiu Monastery, from monastery, you will have the most beautiful view of Mount Kailash as well as Manasarover lake from Chiu Gonpa.

Once you visit Chiu Gompa and finish exploring around Mansarovar lake, you will be driving to Darcchen which is located to the foot of the Mount Kailash as you need to prepare for the upcoming three days Mount Kailash trekking known as Kailash Kora such as hiring porters or yak through the support of your local Tibetan tour guide.

1^ST DAY OF KAILASH KORA:  First day of Kailash Kora starts from Dharchen with the elevation of 4560m. After around 2 hr. of walk, you will reach at Dharpoche where you will see huge prayer flag pole which is changed every year during the Saga Dawa Festival.

During Kora, you will meet lots of Tibetans doing the same kora. Continue walking towards DIRAPHUK which is a small monastery that you can visit during your Kailash Kora and it is also the first night stop with a great view of Mount Kailash north face. It will take 6-7 hr. of walk to reach Diraphuk.

2^nd DAY OF KAILASH KORA: Starting from Diraphuk to Zutrulphuk with the average elevation of 4810m. Today’s trekking is the most difficult day during your Kailash Kora as you are going to ascend to Drolma La with the elevation of 5630m and steep down to Zutrulphuk. 

Zutrulphuk monastery is the magical cave where Mila Repa saint used to meditate in the 11^th century when he visited Mount Kailash. It will take 8-9 hr. walk to get to Zutrulphuk.

3^rd DAY OF KAILASH KORA: Starting from Zutrulphuk to Dharchen, the last day of Kailash Kora as well as the easiest walking day. Today, you will have a beautiful view of Lake Rakshas Tal from distance when you are trekking down in the valley and it is also the ending point of Mount Kailash Kora. From there, you will drive towards Lake Manasarover.

Next day you will drive from Manasarover to Saga via Drongba County through the vast Tibetan plateau and grassland where you will see some wild animals like wild donkeys known as Kyang in Tibet.

Continuously drive to Shigatse through beautiful mountains views, villages, grassland etc. From Shigatse, you will directly drive to Lhasa along the Brahmaputra River. Brahmaputra river is started from Mount Kailash, it flows through the western plateau, Shigatse, Tsetang valley and then to Nyingtri where it makes a grand Canyon and finally empties into India. .

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO VISIT MOUNT KAILASH?

The best time to do the Kailash Tour is from May to October. From June to September you will meet many pilgrims doing Kailash Kora. Especially in June, it’s Saga Festival and in Dharpoche, there will have a big religious ceremony and will change the prayer flag like every year.

At the highest peak of Kailash Droma La pass, you will see snow during most of the period almost throughout the year. The temperature normally drosp below zero on the top of the pass during the summer as well when the weather is cloudy or snowing on the top.

ACCOMMODATION AROUND MOUNT KAILASH

These days, the accommodation condition in Kailash area has been improved a lot. But still the guest houses around Kailash Kora are still very basic comparing to other parts of Tibet.

On the way to Mount Kailash, the accommodation in In Drongba, Saga, Kyirong, Tholing and Dharchen: they have some good hotels from 3 to 4 star hotels like Himalaya Hotel, Changbao Hotel, Saga Hotel, Norling Hotel, Kyirong hotel etc. which can provide attached bathroom, where you can take hot shower.

But in Manasarover Lake, Diraphuk, and Zutrulphuk, they have very basic guest houses or lodges where you have to use public toilet on these places and also you have to share the rooms as dormitory rooms.

 If you choose to do camping during Kailash tour, you can do that and we can provide you all camping equipment and cooking team which makes trip more deluxe and comfortable during three days Kailash Kora and around Mansarovar lake but the trip cost makes much higher than staying in guest houses because of extra support truck, equipment and cooking team.

WHAT TYPE OF FOOD YOU WILL GET DURING KAILASH TOUR?

For Kailash tour, you cannot expect lavish meal like other place of Tibet. There are only small restaurants in Kailash area where you will find Tibetan noodles, fried rice, steamed momo, some vegetable with meat etc.

During Kora, you can prepare some instant food, fruits etc. you will encounter some food seller where you will get noodles, fried rice, vegetable and potatoes, snacks water etc. during kora.

TIPS TO AVOIDE HIGH ALTITUDE SICKNESS

Since Kailash group tour starts from Lhasa where you get to acclimatized gradually to high altitude. You need to stay hydrated all the time, drink water as much as you can, eat lots of fruits and green leafy etc. don’t let yourself to catch cold which is very dangerous for high altitude sickness, you must avoid alcohol and keep your immune system strong.

Tibetan herbal medicine called HONGJIINGTIAN and GAUYUANAN helps a lot to prevent from high altitude sickness. Also the medicine name DIAMOX can also help but it cannot get in Tibet, you have to bring it with you from your place if necessary.

Just in case you are sick from altitude and dos not help even if you take some medicine, then contact with your local Tibetan tour guide and go to the hospital or to the lower altitude place.

Kailash Group tour can give you the lifetime experience with amazing landscape, Tibetan nomadic camp, vast grassland, holy Manasarover lakes, magnificent Mount Kailash etc. also you get to see lots of different religious pilgrims and tourists as well as local people doing kora around Kailash. You can experience abundant of religious site and monasteries throughout the Kailash group tour.

Yamdrok lake trekking – Travel To Tibet

Yamdrok lake trekking is one of the best and beautiful short trekking tour in Tibet which allows you to visit most important religious sites in Tibet as well as beautiful mountain views, Tibetan traditional villages, nomadic and farmers’ life and different kinds of wild lives.

Yamdrok lake trekking takes you from 3650m elevation to the highest elevation of Jeshul la pass which is above 5000mts. You will get the happiest experience to witness the Tibetan nomadic life and moreover during your trek, you will get to communicate with the Tibetan local people to get more authentic and special attachment with them.

This Tibet trek gives you the chance to have extraordinary experience of visit isolated monasteries, villages, towns, mountain view, farms, courtyard, beautiful yaks, horses, sheep, and sometimes you will see the beautiful wild animals like blue sheep, wolves, foxes, antelope etc……

HIGHLIGHTS OF YAMDROK LAKE TREKKING

You are going to spend three days in Lhasa including arrival day, to visit the spectacular Potala Palace which is the most holy pilgrimage site, originally built by the great King Songtsen Gonpo. The famous Jokhang Temple, the most sacred Temple situated in the center of Lhasa. Both are listed in the UNESCO sites.

Walk around Bakhor Bazaar where you will encounter hundreds of Tibetan people doing kora around Jokhang Temple. Visit Sera and Drepung monastery.

You can have a short hike around Sera Monastery which will help you to have good impact on acclimatization to high altitude. You will also meet many Tibetans, circumambulating around Sera Monastery.

Within those 3 days, you will get great time to be acclimatized which can have great significant for your up heading trekking trail for few days.

Driving from Lhasa along the Kyichu and Brahmaputra rivers and head towards Drathang fresco monastery which will take you around 2 and half hr. On the way, you will see beautiful Tibet villages, surrounded by greenery barley field and trees.

DRATHANG MONASTERY was established as a kadam institution by Drakpa Ngonshe and it has the most beautiful wall painting which has more than a thousand years history.

On the way to LANGTHANG DEWACHEN, visit DUPUE CHOKOR MONASTERY and eventually reach to camp site at Langthang Dewachen, from there trek to BUMTHANG MONASTERY and back to campsite.

Next day you are going to trek to the hip of Jesul la Pass where you are going to set the camp and from there you can see the courtyard of sheep and yaks. Then next day, trek towards JESHUL LA PASS with the elevation of above 5000mts, from there you see the amazing YAMDROK LAKE also known as Turquoise Lake and KURLA MOUNTAIN.

Then trek to KANGRU MONASTERY which have more than hundreds of years history but these days you will find only few monks and nuns. The camp site near monastery which is full of grassland where we can see the animals grazing.

From the top of PENZELA 4650m, you can have a beautiful view of Yamdrok Lake as well. On the way back to Lhasa, you will visit TAKLUNG MONASTERY and SAMDING MONASTERY.

YAMDROK LAKE TREKKING ASCEND AND DESCENT

Drive from Lhasa through Yarlung River to Drathang Fresco for around 2 and half hr. drive, visit Drathang monastery and then continue drive for about 1 hr. towards Langthang Dewachen, on the way, you can see the big farm and visit Dupue Chokor monastery. Now your Yamdrok lake trekking starts from Langthang Dewachen where you are going to set the camp.

You will trek to Bumthang Monastery for 1 hr. walk back and forth. The trail is slightly ascent and then descent. There you will see beautiful Tibetan villages and farms etc…..

From Langthang Dewachen campsite, you will have the extraordinary and unique experience with Tibet Shambhala Adventure i.e. you get to watch the sky filled with beautiful stars in the night and visit a Tibetan family to see how the Tibetan farmers’ houses.

Today you are going to trek to Lhemachen, which will take 6 hours ascent walk to reach Lhemachen from Langthang Dewachen and you will camp at Lhemachen for the night to be ready to cross Jeshul la pass for the next day.

Again ascent to Jesul la with the elevation of above (5000mts) which will take 3 hr. walk to reach. There have courtyard of sheep and yaks. You will have the view of nomadic life, yak and sheep courtyard and sometimes you can also see blue sheep.

From the top of Jeshul la pass, you will see the beautiful snow caped mountain view if the weather is clear. You will have the magnificent view of Yamdrok Lake as well from the top of Jeshul La. Then descent for around 2 hr. walk through nomad trail to reach Kangru Monastery, visit Kangru monastery and meet our vehicle in Kangru. From Kangru monastery, if we drive to the camp site at Yamdrok lake, it will take around 30 min and if we walk, it will take around 2 hours.

Another option of trekking to Yamdrok lake from Kangru monastery is instead of driving to the lake side, you can trek through Penzela pass with the elevation of 4650m for around 1 hr and 30 min. ascent and half hr. descent from the top of the Penzela pass.

From the top of the Penzela pass, you will have an amazing view of Yamdrok Lake with turquoise in color. There you can see lots of piled stones with scripted Mani on it. Set the camp at Renposur.

Today, you are departing from our camping crew and head towards Lhasa by driving along the Yamdrok Lake anti clockwise direction and visit Taklung monastery on the way which is a very important Kagyupa monastery around Yamdrok region.

Taklung is one of the biggest towns around Yamdrok lake region and it used to be a very important trading town between Tibet and Bhutan and nowadays it is a township between Nakartse county and Lhodark county.

After visiting Taklung monastery, you will continuously drive to Samding monastery which is situated on the hill side to the west side of Yamdrok lake with an elevation of 4423m.

There are 20km back and forth from the main road to head towards Lhasa, visit Samding monastery and then continue your journey towards Lhasa through Chushul village and eventually you will reach Lhasa, the holy city of Tibet.

THE BEST TIME TO DO YAMDROK LAKE TREKKING

When the weather gets warmer, then it is easier to do hike or trek in Tibet, i.e. from April to June and September till October is the very best time to do the trekking in Tibet. July and Aug is the rainy season which is little bit harder to trek in Tibet since the place will be wet. Summer is also a good time to do trekking in Tibet since we don’t have heavy rain like in other low altitude countries.

HIGH ALTITUDE SICKENESS

It is very important to do the full body checkup before planning to do a Tibet Trek because if the clients already have some disease of heart, surgery sickness etc. the doctor will not recommend you to travel to Tibet since it is a high altitude travel destination.

Yamdrok lake trekking is not a very difficult trek but you still have to pass by the highest mountain pass called Jeshul La at the elevation of 5000mts and then steep down the valley to Kangru monastery.

It is very common to catch a mild symptom of high altitude sickness like headache, dizziness, insomniac, vomiting etc. it is defer from people to people’s health to get those symptoms, it is not that everyone have high altitude sickness. Some people don’t have any problems of high altitude sickness at all. You can overcome from high altitude sickness in 2-3 days.

For mild symptoms, you can overcome by eating Tibetan herbal medicine which is very useful. If the symptom gets worst, then you must go to the hospital. You must eat well like green leafy vegetables, fruits, drink plenty of water etc. to overcome high altitude sickness.

Usually, 99% of our clients don’t get altitude problem since we plan a perfect Tibet trekking program and always recommend to spend three nights in Lhasa and drinking a lot of water in order to acclimatize to the altitude.  

CAMPING FOR YAMDROK LAKE TREKKING

You will camp for 4 days in this trekking program. During those days, you will reach the very pleasant place for camping where you get to see Tibetan Villages, mountains, lake, nomadic life, Yaks, sheep grazing, courtyards and vast grassland etc….. Our professional camping crew will arrange you the best chosen place to camp and serve you the most delicious outdoor meal.

Yamdrok Lake trekking gives you the new experience of witnessing the historical and religious site in remote place where the mass tourist normally cannot reach as well as beautiful Tibetan nomadic life, animals, vast grassland and many piles stones of Mani…….

Tibet Shambhala Adventure always try to make a unique and extraordinary Tibet trekking program for e.g. in this Yamdroke Lake trekking, we have made program where the clients can view the beautiful stars in the night, visit a Tibetan family, visit a monastery and communicate with Tibetan monks in order to get more authentic Tibet travel experience.

We always give the first priority to our clients by providing extremely the best service to satisfy our clients all the time.

Trip to Nyingtri Tibet to see the Peach Blossom Cultural Tourism Festival

Trip to Nyingtri Tibet to see the Peach Blossom Cultural Tourism Festival in Nyingtri or linzhi in Chinese, located in the eastern forest region of Tibet and it has beautiful scenery and numerous scenic spots.

The main scenic spots include the scenery belt of Niyang River, the world cypress King Garden, Tsomo Jiri Forest Park, public village ancient ecological assistance, Serkyim la or Sejila National Forest Park, Lunang or Lulang forest sea, ancient mulberry king, Bonri mountain, Bonri Shenquan, Dongjiu hot spring and lamaling temple.

There are different kinds of Tibetan ethnic in Nyingtri including Menba, Luoba and other ethnic minorities living here, as well as Dengs and Sherpas. Their living habits and religious beliefs have a strong traditional color and unique national customs.

As the little Swiss of the Tibet, there are Nyingtri Peach Blossom Cultural Tourism Festival is an annual event, which is the biggest festival in Nyingtri Tibet. Because of the large temperature difference and little precipitation in spring.

From March to May is the most beautiful and romantic season for Nyingtri. We can see that the peach blossom blooming all over the mountain like a paradise. At this time, the weather is becoming better and warmer, peach blossom is blooming against snow mountain, which is very beautiful and charming.

At the end of March and the beginning of April, it is the best time to make a trip to Nyingtri Tibet to see the Peach blossom Cultural Tourism Festival because every year, Nyingtri Peach Blossom Festival is held in Gala village Bayi District during this period of time, , which makes it more convenient for tourists to watch peach blossom. Because The peach blossom in Nyingtri Area is different from other places. It’s called “Tibetan peach”, commonly known as “wild peach”. The trees are tall and the life is more than thousand years, flowers are numerous and wildly blooming.

Due to the geographical environment of Nyingtri, the peach blossom blooms at different times. However, from March 25 to April 10, the peach blossom in Nyingtri has basically bloomed. The order of peach blossom opening in Nyingtri city is: Lang County – Bayi district – Bomi County – Milin County – Zayul County – Gyamdha County.

When you come and enjoy the Nyingtri Peach Blossom Festival, Gala village will be the first stop, known as “the first Peach Blossom Village”, they usually hold the opening ceremony of Peach Blossom Festival here.

There are local folk traditional dance and stage show the T stage show will focus on the exquisite costumes of various ethnic groups such as Gongbu Tibetan, Menba and Luoba in Nyingtri.

The ethnic groups such as the workers of the Tibetan Plateau, the Mamba and the LuoBa ethnic groups will display their own exquisite costumes so that you can fully appreciate the essence of the Tibetan people’s clothing culture.

During Trip to Nyingtri Tibet to see the Peach blossom Cultural Tourism Festival, Couple activity is also popular, someone will wait for you in peach blossom forest. Meet the one in such a romantic place.

Many photography lovers taking pictures and make the moment last forever. During the festival, you can enjoy seeing those visitors painted a peach flower by their face or hands, then taking pictures. Local people will carry out a stone lifting competition which is a special sports competition in Tibet.

Archery is also a popular activity in Nyingtri, because there are many mountains and woods here, so the ancestors in Nyingtri almost are huntsman and good at shoot arrows. 

Nyingtri is the lowest altitude area in Tibet, from the end of the March to April, lots of people come and enjoy the beautiful view here. Garang lake in Bomi County, The peach blossom here is mainly divided into Runa village and Galang village, which is the starting and ending point of the Peach Blossom Festival in Bomi county, with the peach blossom ditch in Bomi in the middle. Gala village is an administrative village, known as peach village, located in the Western Niyang River Valley, 

Suosong village located in the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon scenic spot , it is in the middle of the mountain, there are beautiful peach blossoms blooming all over the river. This is the best place to enjoy peach blossoms in the canyon, and also the place where peach blossoms are most concentrated in the canyon. You can see the magnificent view of Namjagbarwa here, which is the highest mountain in Nyingtri area, with an altitude of 7782 meters. It is the holy land of the oldest Buddhism “Bon Religion” in Tibet, known as the “father of Tibet’s mountains”.

During your Trip to Nyingtri Tibet to see the Peach blossom Cultural Tourism Festival, peach blossom blooms on both sides of the road in Bomi, it stretches for 30 kilometers, which is known as the longest peach blossom ditch in China and it is mainly located in Bodui Tsangpo River Valley .

There are many residents and peach blossom embellishes in front of the house, and you can see the snow mountain in the distance from the peach blossom cluster. Peach blossoms are in full bloom at the foot of the mountain, and the top of the mountain is covered with snow.

The peach blossom in Laru village is the most abundant one in Gongbo Gyamda county. The whole village is full of over 100 years old peach tree with strong branches. From the end of March until the middle of April is the best time to enjoy the peach blossom every year. Clusters of pink and green highland barley form a unique style.

Recommended route for the trip to Nyingtri Tibet to see the Peach blossom Cultural Tourism Festival is : You can either fly to Lhasa first, do the sightseeing in Lhasa including a visit to the Potala Palace and Jokang temple and then drive slowly to Bai via visiting Darksum lake, then visit Gala peach flower village, continue to Bomi county to see the Peach flower festival or you can directly fly to Nyingtri from Chengdu and do the trip accordingly.

Once you arrive in Bomi, you can start from Bomi town to Runa village – Qingduo town – yuxu Township, return to Bomi County. Among them, Runa village, Qingduo town and Xumu township are all located on a line in the north of Bomi County.

8 days Everest Base Camp tour from Lhasa to Nepal

8 Days Everest Base Camp tour from Lhasa to Nepal is one of the most popular tours in Tibet. It is a big dream for most of the tourists to travel to Everest Base Camp and see the best view of Everest, the World’s highest mountain, the mighty Mount Everest and its base camp situated in the south western part of Tibet with the altitude of

5000mts. Before 2018, the Everest Base Camp from Tibet side was at the elevation of 5200m above sea level which is 8km distance beyond Rongbuk monastery and all the tourists had to walk to Everest Base Camp from Rongbuk monastery for around two hours.

Since 2018, the Everest Base Camp was moved close to Rongbuk monastery at the elevation of 5000m above sea level and it takes only a few minutes to reach Everest Base Camp from Rongbuk monastery. If you still like to walk around Everest Base Camp or Rongbuk monastery, you can still plan around two to four hours walk with a fantastic view of Mt Everest. For details, you can talk with Tibet trip consultant of Tibet Shambhala Adventure.

Many of the tourists got misleading or wrong information about Everest Base Camp and think that Everest Base Camp was completely closed to the tourists but in reality, Everest Base Camp is still opened to the tourists. Only the difference is the location of Everest Base Camp which is a bit closer to Rongbuk monastery and a bit longer to Everest than before but the view of Mt Everest from the present Everest Base Camp is still the same and you can still see a fantastic view of Mt Everest from new Everest Base Camp at 5000m.

The most popular tour in Tibet is Everest Base Camp tour (EBC TOUR) where thousands of tourists are visiting every year. There are many different Everest base camp tour programs with different no. of days. You can also choose to have Everest Base Camp tour by

1. Everest Base Camp tour from Lhasa to Nepal
2. Overland EBC Tour from Nepal
3. Mountain bike EBC Tour
4. Motor bike EBC Tour
5. Home Stay EBC Tour
6. Self driving EBC tour

And many more… to have easy and complete sight visit throughout your journey to Everest Base Camp is 8 days Everest Base Camp tour from Lhasa to Nepal or vice versa, which is very popular tour and it will be your best option or decision ever take. With Tibet Shambhala Adventure, you will have the most overwhelming tour experience with flexibility in programs and to do challenging trip with our more than nineteen years experienced Tibet travel guides.

HOW TO BEGIN 8 DAYS EVEREST BASE CAMP TOUR FROM LHASA TO NEPAL? GO TO LHASA BY AIR OR TRAIN

There are two ways to get to Lhasa, the main city of Tibet Autonomous Region.

1. From Kathmandu (the capital city of Nepal) by taking flights to Lhasa. There are a couple of flights daily flying from Kathmandu (Tribhuvan International Airport) to Lhasa (Gongkar Airport), the only International Airport which have direct flight between Kathmandu and Lhasa during high season. The most preferred airlines from Kathmandu to Lhasa is Air China, Sichuan Airlines. It will only take about 1 hour. to get to Lhasa from Kathmandu by air.
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3. From mainland China to Lhasa by Air or by train. There are many flights from mainland China to Lhasa and the most preferred flights are Beijing to Lhasa, Shanghai to Lhasa, Chengdu to Lhasa, Kunming to Lhasa and so on… the fastest direct flight will take at least 2-3hrs to reach Lhasa. If you choose to travel to Lhasa by train, then there are many other train schedules from different cities of China like Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Lanzhou and Xining.
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WHAT KIND OF DOCUMENTS REQUIRE FOR 8 DAYS EVEREST BASE CAMP TOUR FROM LHASA TO NEPAL?

There are two ways to get to Tibet, one from Nepal and another from Mainland China.

If you travel from Nepal to Tibet, then firstly, it is necessary to search for authorized Tibet travel agent who will help you to get Tibet Travel Documents for your 8 days Everest Base Camp tour from Lhasa to Nepal or you can choose fully registered and the best Local Tibetan Travel Agency like Tibet Shambhala Adventure from where you can get all the required information about Tibet tours and will take care of all the necessary documents like Tibet Travel Permit and how to obtain China Visa.  

Secondly, you will need China Visa to enter Tibet. No need to take China visa from your country if you come to Tibet from Nepal because once you get to Nepal, your China visa will be cancelled and through your chosen travel Agency in Nepal, you have to apply for China Group Visa which will take 3 working days to get and need at least a week preparation for Tibet travel permit prior to start your Tibet tour. The Visa Invitation letter will be sent from Local Travel Agency in Tibet. Meanwhile, you can enjoy the Nepal Sightseeing tour.

If you want to enter Tibet from Mainland China, then you will need Individual China Visa to enter Tibet, which you need to apply to the Chinese embassy in your country. To apply individual China Visa, you will need the first night hotel reservation in mainland China and the international flight booking details. If you need any help for the first night hotel confirmation, you can ask local Tibetan travel agency like Tibet Shambhala Adventure. They can help you to provide those documents.

Once you get China Visa and you need to send Passport and China visa copies to your local Tibetan travel agency to prepare for Tibet travel permits which will take around two weeks. Once the Tibet travel permit is finished, your local Tibetan travel agency must send the original Tibet travel permits to you hotel in mainland China or to deliver it at the airport from where you are flying to Lhasa as you must need original Tibet Enter Permit to board the flight or train to Tibet from mainland China.

WHAT YOU CAN SEE DURING 8 DAYS EVEREST BASE CAMP TOUR FROM LHASA TO NEPAL?

The 8 days Everest Base Camp Tour from Lhasa to Nepal will start from Lhasa, arrival in Lhasa, the holy city of Tibet and you will spend three days in Lhasa for acclimatization so that you will have easier Tibet tour for the rest of your journey without having any problem of high altitude.

You will take rest on the arrival day and drinking a lot of water to dehydrate, for second and third day, you get to visit The Potala Palace which is recorded in the Seven Wonders of the World and it is world’s heritage site too. The Potala Palace was founded by King Songtsen Gonpo in the 7^th century and it is the landmark of Tibet.

JORKHANG TEMPLE is situated in the old section of the Lhasa city and it is surrounded by Bhakor Bazar. Jokang temple is also known as Tsuklakhang which was also founded by the King Songtsen Gonpo in the 7^th century and the temple has become the most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site in Tibet after the statue of Buddha Shakyamuni was resided in Jokang. Jokhang Temple is also listed in the world’s heritage site.

For the third day during your 8 days Everest Base Camp tour from Lhasa to Nepal, you will visit Drepung and Sera monasteries, the two largest monasteries in Tibet. DREPUND MONASTERY, founded by Jamyang Chojey and it is the largest monastery in Tibet.

SERA MONASTERY, was founded by Jamchen Chojey. The very famous debate among the monks to achieve higher level of Buddhist Philosophy. The debate are performing every day from 3pm to 5pm except for Sunday.

GYANTSE: From day 4, you will start your journey towards the Everest Base Camp. On the way you will come across breathtaking sceneries. First you will drive to Gyantse from Lhasa with 270km through Quxu County and it will take about 5-6 hrs. On the way you will enjoy visiting YAMDROK, the holy Lake also known as Turquoise Lake because of its turquoise color which is at the road side to Gyantse. After Yamdrok Lake, you will see the spectacular glacier called KAROLA GLACIER of Nyenchen Kangsang snow mountain. Then after an hrs. drive from Karola Glacier, you will reach Gyantse. you will visit the famous PALCHOE MOANSTERY, KHUBUM MONASTERY and GYANTSE DZONG which is near to Palchoe Monastery

SHIGATSE: After visiting the most beautiful town of Gyantse, you will head towards Shigatse, the second largest city of Tibet Autonomous Region. In Shigatse, you will have the sightseeing of TASHI LHUNPO MONASTERY, the seat of the Penchen Lama and Tibetan Market in old town where you will find verities of Tibetan Traditional handicrafts, Thangkas and many more….

After Shigatse, you will be heading towards RONGBUK MONASTERY AND EVEREST BASE CAMP: now this is the most exciting day for you because you are very near to the mighty Mount Everest, there are only 340km from Shigatse to Rongbuk. There you will visit the world’s highest monastery, the RONGBUK MONASTERY. You get to enjoy the sunset and sunrise view of Mt Everest from Rongbuk if the weather is clear and of course the astonishing view of Everest from Rongbuk. You will have the most beautiful view of Mt Everest from the present Everest Base Camp near Rongbuk monastery.

KYIRONG: you will drive to Kyirong Border with the elevation drop to 2800mts. On the way, when you reach old Tingri, you will have a splendid view of JO OYU, SHISHABANGMA and the MOUNT EVEREST, if the weather is clear. You will also pass the Peikutso Lake and after few hrs. drive you will reach Kyirong. Kyirong is the birth place of the Milarepa and the place has very pleasant weather.

The last day in Tibet, about 20km and 40min drive, you will reach to Kyirong Border, say good bye to Tibetan tour guide and driver and meet our representative from Nepal travel agency. There you will complete the immigration process and get your Nepal Visa, drive to Kathmandu for about 150km with dusty and bumpy road and at the same time, you will have beautiful mountain with forest views.

WHAT IS THE TRAVEL DISTANCE FOR 8 DAYS EVERET BASE CAMP TOUR FROM LHASA TO NEPAL?

This 8 days Everest Base Camp tour from Lhasa to Nepal starts in Lhasa, the holy city of Tibet Autonomous Region and you are going to have Religious Monasteries, amazing Mountain views and beautiful natural sceneries throughout your journey, especially the great view of the Mount Everest , the world’s highest mountain, Mt. Jo Oyu, Mt. Shishabangma and Peiku Tso Lake. The total driving distance from Lhasa to Nepal 8 days EBC tour is approximately 1185 kilometers.

HOW IS THE ROAD CONDITION FOR 8 DAYS EVEREST BASE CAMP TOUR FROM LHASA TO NEPAL?

These days in Tibet, the road condition has been improved a lot and most are paved unlike before. Every year there are thousands of tourists visit Everest Base Camp so, the road to EBC was reconstructed and the road for entire Tibet part trip is paved and in very good condition which gave a great benefit to the travelers to have better and comfortable trip as well as could reach the destination quicker.

On the way to Everest Base Camp, driving through mountain passes as well as drive down to Kyirong border, the road is full of twists and turns.

But the road condition to Kathmandu, after crossing the Kyirong Border is dusty and bumpy. During raining season, the road condition to Kathmandu can be worsen because of landslides. Even though there are around 150km distance only from Kyirong border to Kathmandu but it takes around 8-9 hours drive.

WHAT IS THE BEST TIME TO DO 8 DAYS EVREST BASE CAMP TOUR FROM LHASA TO NEPAL?

Actually, you can do this 8 days Everest Base Camp tour throughout the year but the best time is summer and from April to October where the sky remains clear and weather will be pleasant. From June to August is the rainy season in Tibet and will experience some rain during the tour but it does not have heavy rainfall like in the lower places of Nepal or India.

If you chose to do the 8 days Everest Base Camp Tour from Lhasa to Nepal in winter time, it’s also doable and there are less tourists and the weather is always clear. You have guarantee to see Everest during winter time  The winter weather can be chilly and more wind and very cold in the Everest area so you cannot stay overnight in Rongbuk because the guest house will close during winter but you can do a day excursion to Everest Base Camp from Shegar and spend the night in Shegar. The sceneries and gorges of Kyirong and Nepal side are more beautiful in summer.

WHAT TO WEAR DURING 8 DAYS EVEREST BASE CAMP TOUR IN TIBET?

It totally depends on the season you choose to do this tour. Summer in Tibet, the weather is very comfortable and warm in the day time. You can wear some t-shirts, shirts, summer pants and sunglass to protect your eye in day time and some sweater and jackets during evening in Lhasa, Gyantse and Sigatse area. But in Everest, the clothing you will need some warm cloth throughout the year and also need wind proof jacket, boots, warm hat, sun glasses, scarf during cold weather.

FOOD EXPERIENCE DURING 8 DAYS EVEREST BASE CAMP TOUR FROM LHASA TO NEPAL

You will get all kind of food in Lhasa for example, Tibetan food, Chinese, Indian, Nepali and western food which you can enjoy from small local restaurant to star rated restaurants. From Gyantse- Shigatse-Kyirong, you can also get Tibetan, Chinese and in some places, you can also get to enjoy the continental food as well. You can also experience to have Tibetan noodle, Tibet Momo, Tibetan butter tea or sweet tea which is very popular in Tibet with local people in the tea house.

WHAT KIND OF HOTEL YOU WILL COME A CROSS FOR THE EVEREST BASE CAMP TOUR?

In Lhasa, there are many hotels from 2 star to 5 star and also some Tibetan style Boutique Hotel. 5 star hotels like St. Regis Resort and Shangri-la Hotel where many tourists are staying. The famous 3 star hotels like Kyichu Hotel and Yak Hotel where many of tourist love to stay. The popular Tibetan style boutique hotel like Lubhum Tsang Boutique Hotel and Lingtsang Boutique Hotel and etc…. In Gyantse, there have 3 star hotel and the best Tibetan Style Hotel is Yutok New Wing Hotel.

In Shigatse, you will get many hotels like Tashi Choedar Hotel and Gesar Hotel as 4 star hotel.

There is no hotel in Rongbuk, the tourist are staying in Rongbuk Monastery Guest House but from November to April, the Rongbuk Guest House will close for winter because of cold weather and the tourist have to stay either in Old Tingri or in Shegar.

In Kyirong, there are also some good 3 star hotels and many guest houses.

WILL YOU FACE ALTITUDE SICKNESS DURING 8 DAYS EVEREST BASE CAMP TOUR FROM LHASA TO NEPAL?

Yes, for some tourist, the mild headache and shortage of oxygen can be happen at the beginning of the tour which is quite similar and normal for most of the tourists. You won’t face such problems after 2-3 days which is why we are programing the tour itinerary for 3 days in Lhasa in order to acclimatize to the altitude.

During your Tibet trip, it is extremely important to keep yourself dehydrated by drinking plenty of water and if necessary, then you can take some altitude sickness medicine. And of course if you face lack of oxygen, then you can use bottled oxygen which is portable to bring with you throughout your Tibet tour.

If you travel with Tibet Shambhala Adventure, our company provide oxygen cylinder in the vehicle but if you book your Tibet tour with a travel company who does not provide oxygen for free, you can buy the portable oxygen bottle in hotel and stores.

It is very rare for this kind of tour to have serious kind of altitude sickness, but still if happen so, then your guide will help you to suggest whether you need to have sopme medicine or take you to the hospital.

If you caught cold and cough before starting Tibet tour, then it is easier to have lung and respiratory problem once you reach to high altitude like Everest Base Camp so, you got to be very careful and take precaution.

WHAT WILL BE THE COST FOR 8 DAYS EVEREST BASE CAMP TOUR FROM LHASA TO NEPAL?

The tour cost can be differentiate into two as below:

1. The Private Tour: In this, the program are flexible where you can comfortably do your tour. Sometimes you can change the program slightly where if it’s possible. The private tour cost are of course higher and depend on what kind of hotels and vehicles you choose. In general, for 8 days Everest Base Camp tour from Lhasa to Nepal cost US$1300-US$1400 Per Person based on 3 star hotel for 2 Pax group size and can be higher in peak season.
2. The Fixed Departure or Group Tour: In this situation, the programs are fixed and there will be many tourist with different nationalities. The cost is very much affordable and we Tibet Shambhala Adventure runs the fixed departure tour every Saturday from Lhasa to Nepal and vice versa. If you are looking for budget tour, then it is the best option to contact us….

WHY SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TIBET SHAMBHALA ADVENTURE?

Tibet Shambhala Adventure is fully registered and internationally licensed travel company under Tibet Tourism Bureau and the China National Tourism Bureau. We are officially listed in top 5 leading tour companies in Tibet owned by Tibetan. We have more than 19 years experience in Tibet tourism industry and we have knowledgeable, experienced and friendly local Tibetan tour guides and drivers. They will make sure to have a comfortable, safe and satisfied trip for you. You won’t regret choosing us and our team.