Just returned from a 19-day Kailash-Manasarovar Tirth Yatra (pilgrimage)! We were part of an tour organized by Kesari Travels in Mumbai. What a trip!
We flew to Kathmandu, Nepal and took a bus to Tibet. Got in the midst of a mob-military action at the Nepal-Tibet border, and darted across the Tibetan plateau. Here, land cruisers go off-road and roll over hills, down valleys, through swollen streams, and over crumbling embankments! Five days later when we reached Manasarovar – the highest fresh water lake at an altitude of 15,000 ft, I was blabbering sick! High fever, body aches, and the ubiquitous high altitude-associated symptoms: chest ripping cough, persistent headaches, nausea and blurry vision. Throw in an asthma attack for good measure. And we were only getting started!
Loaded on medications, I hiked the 54 km parikrama around Mount Kailash, over three days. We hiked up to an altitude of 19,200 ft, where every two steps forward would leave me gasping for precious oxygen. We slept in tents at over 17,000 ft, where taking off my shoes required a 5 min recovery; and rains and bone chilling winds our constant companions. The return trip was equally treacherous. Did I mention, there were no showers once we left Kathmandu, till we returned back.
Finally, on returning to Mumbai I lay sick at home! After two days of aiee’s ministrations I barely made my flight back to Boston. When airport security confiscated my toothpaste, hand lotion, lip balm and perfume at the airport, I was unfazed and casually planned on spending another day without these ‘luxuries’. It feels good to be home! In my bed! And my bathroom!
It was the most exhausting and physically trying ventures ever. I’d rather do a few more marathons – including training in sub-freezing weather. Thankfully, this is once in a lifetime yatra!
… but wait till you see the mind boggling vistas I captured. You’d want to go. And frankly, I’d want to go again too.
Rendezvous with Sāgarmāthā (Everest):
In Kathmandu, we stayed at the palatial Shankar Palace Hotel and did a bit of sightseeing. The first morning, we took a Buddha Air flight to see the Everest Mountain Range. It was a beautiful day. Here are a few pics taken from the window of the Beechcraft jet flying at ~ 25,000 ft.
En route to Sāgarmāthā, we pass Gauri-Shankar (7,134 m; 23,405 ft) resembling the traditional seated Shiva Parvati form.
The southern view of Sāgarmāthā (Everest) on the right. The ridge-like “Nuptse” and “Lohtse” peaks seemingly spread a protective cloak in front of Sāgarmāthā.
From the cockpit: As we reached Sāgarmāthā, the pilot banked sharply left and started the return trip. During this maneuver, we were only a few miles off Sāgarmāthā, the closest I’d get to the tallest peak in the world!
We rested in Kathmandu, did some shopping and visited a few other sights.
Next on the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue:
Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu
[...] Click the following link to continue with the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: Kids at the Baudhanath To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] to be continued … . You can breathe easy, we all came through the ordeal unscathed! Click the link below for the next post on the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: Tension in Kodari To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] Epilogue: Once we left Kodari, we quickly forgot about the incident – till our return journey. From the locals we then heard that the incident went on for a few days, as fifteen more bodies of locals surfaced downriver! *shudder* Click the link below for the next post on the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: Respite in Nyalama To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] It would be criminal to hide the other pics behind a cut. Thus, only one here. Will post others over the next few days, one a day, so you can do them justice! Click the link below for the next post on the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: Blue Skies Over Nyalam, 2 To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] Dec 11th, 2006 by Arun Shanbhag Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra continues: Day 5, Blue Skies Over Nyalam, 2 Another beautiful vista from atop the mountain. Approximate elevation 13,000 ft. No comments here, but you can tell me which one you like on my next full post, next monday. In the meantime, simply enjoy the blue skies for the rest of the week! Click link below for the next post on the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: Blue Skies Over Nyalam, 3 To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] Click link below for the next post on the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: Blue Skies Over Nyalam, 4 To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] Click link below for the next post on the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: Blue Skies Over Nyalam, 5 To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] Click link below for the next post on the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: Blue Skies Over Nyalam, 6/6 To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] Last of the Nyalam pics! Tell me what you thought. We pack and move on with our yatra, and Manasarovar is still three days away! Click link below for the next post on the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: Across the Tibetan Plateau to Saga To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] Adjacent to the check post was a tiny, one room store/restaurant/home. I saw this mother and three kids comfortably settled. Btw, the locals love the 'bindi' and every time they see an indian woman, they ask for a bindi by pointing a finger to the center of their forehead. The women in our groups would oblige and from their purse remove and stick a bindi on the girl's forehead. [...]
[...] As we drive east towards Manasarovar, we are generally following the river upstream, even though we do not see it again. But the entire time we know the river is close by somewhere, and we are riding to its source; and as legend would have it – the source of all creation on earth! Click link below for the next post on the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: A Rest Area En route to Manasarovar To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] The entire drive in Tibet, over so many days, I had not seen a single bird. Here was a brilliant white one! Just one! And then I remembered something from one of the books on this yatra: Flocks of white swans, geese and other water birds made their home at Lake Manasarovar! I had seen the first one! In my fever and low oxygen induced delirium, that white goose seemed like a divine messenger! A lead scout, which was even now returning to the lake to inform its flock of our arrival. Lake Manasarovar was very close! [...]
[...] It was interesting to note that Rakshas Tal representing evil, is right next to the holiest of Lakes. Perhaps it reminds us that good and evil on this planet are so closely intertwined: like yin and yang. And we need wisdom to distinguish between the two and choose wisely. And it is ever so easy to flip from good to evil and vice versa. And thus the need for divine grace! Click link below for the next post on the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: From Lake Manasarovar: A Glimpse of Kailash To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] Under a picturesque evening sky, our campsite sits on the banks of the Manasarovar! The largest are our dining and kitchen tents. Click link below for the next post on the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: Kailash Parikrama: Hiking around Kailash To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] More of the parikrama, later. really! Click link below for the concluding post on the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: Kailash Finally! To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] On seeing so many fabulous pics, M wants to go. For her I will have to go again. Now I am ready for the next yatra: Chaar Dhaam and Valley of Flowers in the foothills of the Himalayas for the Summer of 2008! If others are interested, let me know. We could organize something together. This is the concluding portion of the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue. Miscellaneous pics from the trip will follow in subsequent posts. Select the “Kailash Manasarovar” Tag in the sidebar. To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] The waterfall itself. I too this pic during our return from Kailash Manasarovar. To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] This kids seems to be wondering about the folks in the bus. To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
Thanks!
[...] These kids were tending shoes and chappals outside the temple. They should have been in school instead! Rather than place money in the temple hundi, I gave money to these boys. They were puzzled, but accepted it. I intentionally over-paid the women selling flowers. Click the following link to continue with the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: Baudhanath Stupa To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] Another observation was that kids here (as well as adults) were apprehensive of tourists and particularly of being photographed. I attributed that to the history of chinese brutality. Tibetans generally averted their eyes when chinese passed. A kid herding yak and yak-cow hybrids through the streets of Nyalama A farmer's shed along the mountains was covered with these cow/yak dung pancakes. Click the link below for the next post on the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: Blue Skies in Nyalama To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click the following link: Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest) [...]
[...] year on my return from the Kailash Manasarovar yatra, I had a severe case of acid reflux which was affecting my throat and vocal chords. Apparently, [...]
[...] 18, 2008 by Arun Shanbhag Reminiscing about my Kailash Yatra from two years ago. On the way to Saga [Elevation: 4,600 m (15,091 ft)], a remote Chinese Army [...]
[...] inner consciousness called me on the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra. There I understood how surrender and sacrifice are necessary to sense the divine in your own heart. [...]
Dear Arun,
Greetings !
I am Shiv from Singapore, and I was pleased to chance upon your blogspot and go through the section on Kailash Mansarovar.
Like you, I am a keen spiritual aspirant and also a frequent visitor to several of our holy pilrimages in India. In my travels over past 15 years, I have so far been twice to Char Dham Yatra (and also trekked to Gomukh), and of course I been to several other pilgrimages in India as well.
Next year, with Lord’s Shiva’s blessings, I am planning to go for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. So I wanted to touch base with you and seek some inputs from you. Please let me know how can I contact you by Email or Phone.
My Contact details are as follows:-
EMail – (edited)
Skype / GTalk ID – (edited)
Looking forward to hear back from you soon,
Regards,
Shiv
Thank you Mr Shiv Kumar:
I just sent you an email.
It is impressive that you have already visited Char Dham; That is one of my next trips and looking forward to it.
And wishing you the best with your Kailash Manasarovar Planning. it is a difficult trip, but certainly worth it!
Go for it!
Arun
Hello Arun,
My name is Gurunath Bharne, a resident of Holland and 57 years of age.
In recent years, I have managed to complete a few pilgrimages in India, viz. Girnar, BadriKedar, Vaishnodevi and Kumbh Mela. Nothing nearly as arduous as Kailsh-Mansarovar; and that is next on the list for 2011. Read with great interest your personal account. Would be delighted to be able to talk with you, if you would care to provide me your tel. no. My email address is ggbharne@hotmail.com. Thanks.
Hi Gurunath:
Congratulations on completing so many of the fabled yatras – you are fortunate.
Yes, this was a particularly difficult yatra, and in hindsight, despite ALL the issues, it was absolutely worth it.
You can email me at arunshanbhag At gmail
we can discuss further.
Best Wishes
Arun