Kailash Manasarovar – The Ultimate Pilgrimage Mount Kailash and Manasarovar Lake have exerted their pull on the hearts and minds of spiritual seekers for aeons. What is it like to visit this hallowed place? Find out Dark, tall and distinctive, Mount Kailash rises above the Tibetan landscape about a hundred kilometers from the Indo-Tibetan border. Since time immemorial, this mountain and the nearby lake Manasarovar have exerted a pull on the minds and hearts of India’s spiritual seekers. The high altitude, unpredictable weather and rough terrain are barely a deterrent for ardent devotees, who, according to tradition, have been making this journey for 12,000 years. Today, thanks to the oddball ironies of international politics, Kailash actually lies outside India, in China. And so, an already demanding pilgrimage can turn into a lottery of sorts thanks to the vagaries of Chinese visa policies. A traveller has to either try his luck through the Indian government for a shot at one of 1,080 visas issued for travel from India, or apply for a visa through a tour group, and travel to Tibet from Nepal. I took the second option, and after a berserk shopping spree buying woolen sweaters, socks, raingear, thermal innerwear and trekking shoes (absolute essentials on this trip), flew into Kathmandu. I was put up in the Soaltee hotel for my two-night stay, and since I had been forewarned that this would be my last chance for a decent shower during the trip, I made full use of the tub and hot water! After crossing the Nepal-China Friendship Bridge that spans the Sun Kosi River, and going through the routine yet always-uncomfortable process of entering a new country, I was in Tibet. Almost immediately, our little tour group set off in vans and headed out into the Tibetan wild. There is something almost unearthly about the Tibetan plateau. Emerald blue lakes are bordered by sand dunes that jostle for space with rolling hillsides, and towering grey peaks rim the seemingly infinite horizon. No tree, bird, bush or anything else breaks this surreally beautiful expanse. It is the epitome of remoteness – a true land of the nomad. After a day’s travel, we reached Saga, a military station that sprawls along the banks of the Brahmaputra River. Saga was the town where high-altitude sickness really struck me. Nausea and dull waves of pain rolled mercilessly through my body, and my stomach seemed to think the slightest excuse would do to throw up. Thankfully, a combination of yoga, altitude-sickness pills and determination saw me through this troublesome time, and we set off to Paryang, the last overnight stop before Lake Manasarovar. Paryang is barely even a town. It has a few shanties and one large concrete building that served as our stay for the night. There were no toilets that could be considered even remotely hygienic, so calls of nature were answered in the embrace of heaven and earth, with the stars above keeping us company! The journey began next morning. A few hours’ drive later, we arrived at Manasarovar. The pristine water under the clear blue sky presented an image worthy of a National Geographic cover. The blue-green lake was circled by immense snow-capped mountains in varying hues of blue and grey, and the space – endless, serene and mysterious – was simply overwhelming. No wonder so many myths and legends abound about this celestial lake. It is said that many masters and sages chose Manasarovar’s banks to impart the mystic sciences to their disciples. The next day, a short drive deposited us close to Kailash, which had as yet chosen not to reveal its face, masking itself in cloud. We began to trek the eight kilometers around the base to get to our overnight stay at the foot of the sacred peak. Kailash is said to have four faces, one for each cardinal direction, and as we approached the North Face, in a glorious moment, the overcast sky opened up and the clouds parted, revealing the sacred peak decked with white snow that shone under golden sunlight. Towards evening, after a slow walk punctuated by altitude sickness and protesting limbs, we reached our stay area. By now, the mountain seemed to hold me riveted and I couldn’t take my eyes off it. The huge peak, the remoteness of the surroundings, and the tiring trek somehow left me feeling completely free with nowhere to go and nothing to do, and I felt like I had dissolved something within myself. The following day, as we were returning, I saw three Tibetans making the journey around Kailash. With each step, they prostrated on the ground in reverence to the mountain. They seemed to care little for food, water or shelter. So immersed were they in their devotion. Seeing them gave me an idea of what pilgrimage truly means. It signifies man’s quest for the ultimate and his search for freedom from all bondage. Tina J is a traveller and spiritual seeker. She seeks to contribute towards creating a more humane society and a future where human beings can coexist peacefully with each other
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 11:57:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015