Kailash Manasarovar: Brahmaputra and Onwards to Paryang

Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra: Brahmaputra, Day 6,7
Paryang Elevation: 4,540 m (14,895 ft)

From Saga to Paryang, 185 km east, was a very boring ride. We were making a bee-line to the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, which remained very featureless; the skies were overcast and far in the distant south we could discern the grey-brown outlines of the Himalayan mountain range. It was even more desolate – if that was even possible – and we didn’t even pass any settlements along the way! Just us and a long dirt road.

The dirt roads were not much better than ‘off-road.’ They were badly rutted and in many places the roads were cut by streamlets creating ditches. The ride was extremely bumpy and we were constantly jostled from side to side. We longed for stepping out to stretch our legs and bodies, but the biting cold and relentless winds were a constant companion; making us dart back to the refuge of the van. Thus even simply riding was torturous and everyone appeared fatigued and listless in their interactions. We were only eager to get to Paryang, because that would be our last stop before Lake Manasarovar.

Paryang was essentially a tiny ashram in the middle of nowhere. Our outdoor restroom facilities were even more challenging here, considering packs of wild dogs roamed the wilderness and came close to attacking some of our group!

As we had left Saga, we had generally followed the river Brahmaputra east towards its source in Lake Manasarovar. According to legend, Brahma (of the Hindu Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) initiated creation of all life on this planet at Lake Manasarovar. Since one of the streams exiting Manasarovar go on to form the mighty river, it is called the Brahmaputra (Brahma’s son) river – and the only Indian river with a male name.

Lake Manasarovar itself is fed by melting snow and run-off from the many mountains in the area (including mount Kailash). Water spilling off mountains ringing the plateau, crisscross it in a network of streams. At places these appear as tiny streams cutting across our roads, or flowing in ditches. In other places, many such streams had obviously merged forming larger and rapidly moving streams, and eventually forming the distinct river Brahmaputra, much further east of Manasarovar.

It is called the Tsang-po in Tibet and is its primary river, flowing east from Manasarovar the entire length of the Tibetan Plateau. Flowing at an average elevation of 15,000 ft, it is also the highest river in the world. Nearer to Lhasa, the roaring Tsang-po dips south cutting a deep gorge through the Himalayan range, which remains uncharted to this day. It then doubles back west again through Arunachal Pradesh, through Assam and downwards to Bangladesh. Here it meets with the Ganga and deposits into the Bay of Bengal through one of the largest Ganga-Brahmaputra delta regions. See satellite-based image of the Brahmaputra valley in India.

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At Saga it is a broad river. Till last year the jeeps had to be ferried across the river taking a few hours, but with a newly built bridge we zip by and barely pause.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!

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Next on the Kailash Manasarovar Travelogue: Rest Area En route to Manasarovar

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To start at the beginning of the Kaliash Manasarovar Travelogue, click link below:
Rendevous with Sagarmatha (Everest)