Tibet (Lake Manasarovar – Mt. Kailash)
The spiritual Guru, Paramahamsa Nithyananda, said that the only one thing in the world is certain that everything is uncertain.
I have experienced that truth every day during our Kailash trip. Everything was planned and everything went against the plan. The departure to Tibet was delayed twice: the heavy rains flooded the roads and Chinese authorities closed the border between Nepal and China. The second delay was because our visas have not been ready. In order to make-up the lost days, we rushed into the mountains.
There was a long but beautiful journey from Kathmandu the Nepal-Tibet border and then to Saga. A scenic serpentine road crossed green valleys, dramatic cliffs, rivers, and waterfalls.
After entering Tibet, the scenery changed with the every meter we climbed up.
The small town of Nyalam (3,800m /12,467ft) was our first acclimatization point. The good half of the group was barely alive and felt the impact of the high altitude. On the ext morning after a few photo sessions, we headed to the Lake Manasarovar.
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The stunning view of the Himalayas, the bunks of the Bhramaputra River, and finally, the view of the blue waters of Manasarovar (4,600m/15,092 ft) … and Mt. Kailash.
We drove around the lake until we reached the place to take a sacred bath in the holy waters of the lake.
Surprisingly, the water was not cold at all and had a healing effect of those who still struggle to adjust to the high altitude.
We arrived to the lovely guest house made from the mud just before the sunset. And it was better than I expected.
It is hard to portray and catch on camera the indescribable beauty of the early morning on Manasarovar.
Purified by holy waters of Lake Manasarovar , we headed to a small village Darchen, overwhelmed with excitement to meet the most mystical place – Mt. Kailash.
Mt. Kailas is the spiritual center of the universe. The area around this mystic mountain is the source of four life-giving rivers: the Indus, Brahmaputra, Surlej and Karnali (sacred Ganges). Additionally, two lakes are situated at the base of the mountain. The higher lake Manasarovar (one of the highest freshwater lakes in the world), is the sacred lake, and is round like the sun. The lower lake Rakhast Tal (one of the highest salt-water lakes) is the devil’s lake and has the shape of the crescent moon. The two lakes represent solar and lunar forces, good and negative energies respectively.
Being in the breathing space of Mt. Kailash you feel that it is the mysterious, secret and the most holy and sacred place you ever visit. We spent two full days at Yama Dwar, in Tarboche which is approximately 30 minutes’ drive from Darchen. According to Internet, the meaning of the Yama Dwar in Hindi is “the gateway of the God of Death”. Beliefs are that if a person prays and passes through the temple door to complete the circumference of Mt. Kailash, the person’s soul would ever rest in peace.
“The circumambulation around the Mt. Kailash symbolizes the life’s stages of death, purification and rebirth. Buddhists and Jains called the circumambulation – khora, Hindus – parikrama. A single circumambulation equals one turn of the Wheel of Life and will wipe away the sins of one’s life, twelve circumambulations will purify one’s karma for all past and future lives, and enlightenment is attained after 108.”
Although we did not complete the parikrama because of the weather condition, the time spent in the breathing space of Mt. Kailash made the tremendous mysterious and indescribable impact on all of us.
“If you can really be with Kailash even for a few moments, life will never again be the same for you. It is a phenomenon beyond all human imagination.”
– Sadhguru
The stunning view of the Himalayas, the bunks of the Bhramaputra River, and finally, the view of the blue waters of Manasarovar (4,600m/15,092 ft) … and Mt. Kailash.
We drove around the lake until we reached the place to take a sacred bath in the holy waters of the lake.
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