Travel route from Kathmandu is a 14 days overland trip which includes to and fro journey from Kailash. Apart from Kora there is no walking requirement unless you decide to trek at each stop to acclimatize and practice walking on high altitude.

Day 1 in Kathmandu: This is the day when the group starts arriving in Kathmandu and we take a trip around the city. The Kailash journey starts with Pashupatinath temple and ends here as we offer the water collected from Mansarovar and Gauri Kund here after returning back.

This visit focuses the mind on Shiv and the desire to meet him in his homeland.

विभत्स हूँ… विभोर हूँ…मैं समाधी में ही चूर हूँ…*मैं शिव हूँ।* *मैं शिव हूँ।* *मैं शिव हूँ।*घनघोर अँधेरा ओढ़ के…मैं जन जीवन से दूर हूँ…श्मशान में हूँ नाचता…मैं मृत्यु का ग़ुरूर हूँ…*मैं शिव हूँ।* *मैं शिव हूँ।* *मैं शिव हूँ।*साम – दाम तुम्हीं रखो…मैं दंड में सम्पूर्ण हूँ…*मैं शिव हूँ।* *मैं शिव हूँ।* *मैं शिव हूँ।*

Day 2 in Kathmandu: This is when the group starts travelling together. We go around Kathmandu in a bus and see many local temples today. The group starts taking shape and you get to know and interact with them. This is the day to take things easy and go with the flow, the onwards journey to Tibet starts tomorrow so make the most of being in the town. Any last minute shopping has to be done today. Ensure to exchange Yuan. Buy Diamox if you plan to take it. Be mindful about yourself, breathing and the surroundings today as this will be the key to successful Yatra.

Day 3: Left Kathmandu towards China border with a overnight stay at Syapru Besi. The heavens opened up and it’s been raining cats n dogs. The journey started with the usual uproar of ‘Om Namah Shivay’ and the echo was saying that rain will not dampen the spirits today. The mountain roads on the Nepal side are not for the faint hearted, but nevertheless the views were breathtaking. Reached SyapruBesi a sleepish village 15 km from China border after 9 hrs of drive. Beautiful people n beautiful village. Internet is available in most of the hotels. Ensure to download VPN on mobile before crossing the China border otherwise internet will be very limited, whatsapp and FB are blocked in China. (Try using Touch VPN)

Day 4: Cleared border and entered China. The first thought that came in mind was that we are now a step closer to Kailash. Due to mess up at pre immigration, half of the group did not make it to the counter. They are clearing the border today. the bags too arrive late, so keep an extra set of clothes and some snacks handy in the backpack for today.
The infrastructure on China side is a lot better than Nepal but internet is limited, we cannot upload pics, videos or voice messages. Cant download songs, so must say pretty basic. 
One hour drive from border took us to a small village Kerung. This town is setup just for tourists, surrounded by beautiful mountains at 3500 m above sea level. We will stay here for 2 days till the rest of the group joins us here. 
Day 2 at Kerung started with early breakfast and then a bunch of us trekked up the nearest mountain to as far as authorities allowed us. The view from the top was beautiful. A wild Yak showed up, our own Nandi darshan was the Prasad. Way back we walked down to the steam flowing alongside, down the wild path, then cooled off in its water. So peaceful and the overwhelming sound of the water is just calming. Nature’s own chime. Sat on the rock for meditation. Only to be woken up by a Nilkanth who sat nearby n started chirping. Divine. 

Day 5: The rest of the group joined us today. Finally they cleared the border and made it to Kerung. We had another hiking in the evening with the group. On the way back we found a procession of Tibetian women who danced and sang with us. Got plenty of hugs from them. Blessed.
We literally hiked the valley east and west in last 2 days. The center of Kerung has a beautiful square with an old Buddhist monastry.
We start acclimatisation in Kerung and we start on Diamol, it’s a medicine to help with AMS.
Forgot to mention there are plenty of Bhang plants all over, literally all over. The smell in the air is very prominent, you cant miss it. Tomorrow morning we head north. Winter is coming!!

Day 6: Left Kerung towards New Dongba. 9 hrs journey started with lush green Kerung and in 30 mins we were in desert mountains. The views were breathtaking. Never seen sky so deep blue and scenery so picturesque like a painting. As soon as we stepped out for a photo break we never exactly how dangerous this beauty was. The winds were harsh n little oxygen, so anything we were doing we were doing in slow pace and taking it easy. The whole route with Bhramputra flowing alongside was just too magnificent to describe. We reached Dongba in the evening. We were at 4500m above sea level. Everyone was struggling with breath. This is why it is so difficult n dangerous. A bad judgement can risk life. We decided to go on small hike n do breathing exercise to acclimatize quickly. The walk was very much needed.

Day 7: We left early at 6 am today from the basic dorm in New Dongba where electricity n water was luxury. Thank God for that. We headed towards Mansarovar. The journey and altitude was not a problem today. We felt a lot better. We did Mansarovar parikrama today. And touched the holy water. We are staying overnight by the late today.We went on hike to a hilltop next to Mansarovar to get the paronomic view of the lake. This hill has monastry on the top and has 3 pyramid structures that replicated Kailash peak. Our intention was to get Kailash darshan today. It was raining when we left the hotel and by the time we were on the hill top the sun was out and the clouds cleared. We had our first darshan of Mount Kailash. Thanked God for the darshan and revealing himself. Felt blessed. Tomorrow morning we will take dip in Mansarovar, offer prayers and leave for Darchen. Our day parikrama will start from Darchen. Jai Bhole.

Day 8: We woke up at 2:30 to see stars falling in Mansarovar. A brief walk from hotel took us to the lake. The sight cant be explained in words. We came back after 2 hrs and started preparing for the puja on the banks of Mansarovar. We had bath in the holy water and did splendid Maha Rudraksha Abhishek puja with the group. Phenomenal group work. We started towards Darchen in the afternoon, gaining more altitude. We saw Om mountain and Kailash on the way. It’s been raining here ever since we are here. Tomorrow we start the Mansarovar trek from Yam Dwar.

Day 9: We started Parikrama today from YamDwar. 15 kms done at a slow pace due to lack of oxygen. Luckily the group stuck together. Rain and snow added to the difficulty. Finally we reached Dirapukh. We stayed at the mud house with no fire or electricity. 
Luckily Kailash was just in front of us in full glory. The snow brought Kailash to life as many mythological characters started appearing. Overnight temp dropped and so does the oxygen. Many arriving after us came soaking wet and needed medical assistance. Luckily we carried had enough supplies like emergency blankets that helped. In all there was a good community spirit and people shared what they had.

Day 10: The furry of bad weather continued through the night. The group was advised not to continue and ordered emergency evacuation as supplies were running low. I don’t think there was anyone in the group who was surprised with the outcome as nature is far bigger n supreme. Overnight drop of oxygen also caused some miseries. But we knew what to do and survived the night. By the time we were ready to move down the next day, the weather opened up but it was too late to start the onwards journey as we were asked to do 2 days of walk in one due to unavailability of overnight stay in Dolma pass. The decision was made by individuals not group as to what they wanted to do. Still 4 out of the group of 60 decided to go ahead and completed their Kora on 2nd day. Detailed Kora experience is shared separately. In short we all reach back Darchen by the evening with no reported causality. Indeed when the weather opened up, we made the most of the day. The full glory of Kailash is one to be felt and not to be understood. Things happen there that can’t be explained but to be accepted.

Day 11: We started early from Darchen to Saga. The journey was almost 12 hrs on bus. Leaving Darchen we were all quiet, as if no one wanted to leave. We could see Kailash from the city throughout the drive for as long as we could see. The weather was clear and bright in Darchen but it does not guarantee good weather on parikrama route. Coming back I could only think of magical experiences and great trekking routes. The first view of Kailash from Mansarovar after a trek uphill, the night by Mansarovar watching the stars dance, the grand puja at Mansarovar that none of us ever imagined possible, the Kailash in its grandeur and glory right in front of us and many many treks we did to acclimatize to high altitude. The great friends we made in the past 10 days and the experience we shared is second to none.This is one memory I would cherish forever. There has been so many things I m taking away from this trip that were not the part of iternary. The family we created here is just too precious, with ppl from Muscat, Malaysia, US , India , UK all a part of one big support system. We trusted each other n supported each other through thick n thin. When I started the journey, it was with no expectation. We hoped to see Mansarovar and Kailash. We did not expect anything much but what we saw and felt throughout is nothing but a gift. Himalayas on this side is as charming as Himalayas in India. The only difference is the scattered Tibetian monasteries everywhere we went. Tibetian culture is very intense and Tibetian people very happy and helpful. The journey back to Saga filled me with the sense of satisfaction that I received much more than I have asked for. Tomorrow we will start for Kerung and Monday will cross the border towards Nepal. Hopefully coming down will be as good as going up, only difference will be that we will enjoy the places we will stay rather than training every morning.

Day 12: Today we crossed the Nepal-China border and made onwards journey towards Kathmandu. Almost after the whole day’s travel we reached back Kathmandu in the night.

Day 13: We visited Pashupatinath temple back in Kathmandu and offered water collected from Mansarovar and Gaurikund. This concluded our Kailash yatra in its entirety. To add to the mix, we decided to take Everest return flight in the morning to see the giant while in Nepal. The flight was offered by Buddha air and the weather was clear, we had an awesome Everest experience. the view from the flight cockpit takes the breath away. To add to it, they give Mount Everest certificate that rightly says ” I have touched Mount Everest with my soul” , Priceless.

Day 14: Back to Delhi. Today we collected the memories and packed them, never to be missed. This journey will stay with us forever. We made some great family and the Kailash pilgrimage has offered us the magic we never hoped to witness. This has been a life enriching experience.