Kora at Mysterious Mount Kailash

The Kora if you search on Wikipedia, will come up to be an African musical instrument. Adding the word pilgrimage to Kora and search and it will come up to be a Tibetian practice of pilgrimage. It actually means "turning" or "cicumambulation". The kora is a practice by the Tibetian Buddhist turning in a clockwise direction, whether it be turning the prayer wheels or just to go around a temple, some holy sacred place in circles. The purpose is to gain good karma and it is also believed that by doing the Kora, the person can gain enlightenment and also atone for their sins.

Background about Mt Kailash

Mt Kailash is only over 6000m but Mt Everest had been conquered but not this mountain. The Mt Kailash is considered the Holy Mountain for 4 religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Bon, and Janism. It is believed that doing the Kora around the mountain will cleanse away your sins for the year. Most Tibetians will rush for the kora during the year of the horse in Tibetian calendar as it is believed to be the lucky year. A lot of Hindu pilgrims do their kora as Mt Kailash was thought to be the abode for Lord Shiva and his consort, it is the place that Lord Shiva resides.

In the Beginning

The decision to take on the trip was really a get away that I long needed, being a Buddhist myself, after a few years I would make such a pilgrimage to recharge and rewind myself. The last time I did such a religious trip was in 2009 to Bhutan, and I must say, it is really a good recharge for me. I came back setting the right perspectives in mind and clearer of what I needed. Tibet had always been a place that I longed to visit since young because of its remoteness, the inaccessibility, its mysterious nature and also its beauty.

Day 1: Darchen to Dira Puk Monastery

Day 1 of the Kora starts off from a one street town called Darchen, basically this place is the main starting point for all the pilgrims. This will be the last point that you get all the basics ( food, daily needs ) before the kora which is really remote. We set off from the guest house in Darchen and move off towards the west side. We were lucky that the weather was good and sunny. There were not much elevation for the first day, most of the roads were flat and simple slopes. The whole scenery was amazing and the air was really fresh, there were streams along the way and it felt like a nature playground.

The first supply point is about 17km away. The supply points are mainly tentages built by the locals for refreshments and drinks. They also sell simple food stuff like biscuits and instant noodles. Throughout the trek, there are no proper toilets or even to talk about bath. So basically we have been doing it in the open. My group of 4 trekkers, Tanya, Elena and me ( for the first day) and subsequently Jonas ( for the last two days) were taken care by the driver Tashi, while the rest followed on with the tour guide Tashi.

We could see Mt Kailash only after leaving the first supply point. I remember the first time seeing so close was really a breathtaking moment for me. Grappling with altitude sickness for the past few days, the stories about altitude sickness is not a joke. Although I kind of exercise a lot back home, I felt that this sickness has nothing to do with your sports efforts. My experience was a severe headache which occurs when I sleep or lie down. Some how my appetite in the trip was really bad, and did not eat much and I also did not feel hungry.

Day one ended at the foot hill of the North face of Mt Kailash. It was impressive and amazing to be so near to the mountain. You can even feel its mystic powers there. Opposite the mountain is a monastery, there are also guests houses on that side while we took tents on the mountain side. The weather was really unpredictable. As we were walk to the monastery, it started to rain. We sought shelter inside the monastery and get ourselves away from the howling cold wind.

As we stepped out when the sun starts to shine again, an arch of rainbow was spotted. Really a blessing, the monk told our guide that it was a sign of good luck, I really hope so, because tomorrow we are doing the 5660m high dolma la pass.

DAY 2 : Dolma La Pass

To speak the truth, the exact height might not be accurate but I am sure it is at least 5600m. The day started early at 7 am. The sky does not turn bright until 08:30am. So we were so of like moving in the break of dawn. Locals say that the Dolma La Pass is a test of your Karma, if you find it tough to go up the pass then you must have accumulated a lot of bad karma. But I find it difficult to find a person who can go up easy breezy, the cold, the steepness, the wind, the altitude. Maybe if you do it a few times a year, then you can overcome all these. 4km into the foot hill and my vibrams was giving me problems. Too thin too cold, why had I not brought my real trail shoes? I simply found myself quite foolish. I guess I was the most under packed trekker. One small china bag, and my sleeping bag. The walking stick was a gift from the driver, I didn't even bother to bring mine. Again another ego play I guess, but I somehow felt that this trip was destined for me. Weather had been good with sunshine on the days we need to travel out and most importantly the transport was not impeded by road works, which according to the guide, it is a common thing in Tibet. Despite the altitude headaches, I was all prepared to go for the kora.

The driver, Tashi was hollering to me, I wonder how he can climb so fast, and unlike us, he did not have a walking or climbing stick! My vibrams are not protecting my feet, they are all numb now, I was worried that I will lose my toes, and it doesn't help that I was not wearing any socks , I mean hey its Vibrams! I pulled down my knee socks to cover at least half the feet. Continue, up and up, the progress was slow, nearly every 5m up we too a small break, and it just got worse and worse with the mist. That feeling of giving up came creeping, but this is not one place you can call it quits and just leave, because to return you will still need to walk back yourself. I finally understand what it is called point of no return. Really glad that my mates, Elena, Tanya and Johannes were with me in this one way ticket. Johannes tried to calm us down by taking pictures and the driver chanted Om mani mantras to us, while me, Elena and Tanya just Keep Calm and Move On.

Just when I thought I cleared the pass, the driver told me hey that was just half way through. Johannes' watch had altitude calculations and he say that we are only 5330m, this is also the place that sky burial was made. I was already dying, seeing stars. We made many small breaks and rested here and there. Eventually through the clouds, we saw the Tuoji Lake, the green turquoise lake meant that we are descending. What a relief, we sat down, took pictures with the immense number of prayer flags around. There must be really so many pilgrims here.

The descend was no joke, coming from a country which highest point on the island is 168m. I totally had no training to go down hill fast and safe. Rocks with bare vegetation were every where. The driver took his steps like a breeze, I really admire him, while I struggle with my walking stick. Through ice sheets ( this is where my feet was really gone), finally another of 2-3 km of rocky down hills, we make it to the tent rest area. When we went in, all of us just laid on the chair, taking off our bags and just laid there. Really wish I could have the luxury to just stay there and not move on, but we had another 7 km to reach out final rest point for the day.

As we waited for the rest, we were so tired that we did not even have appetite. Just simply laid there, the driver soon told us to move so that we can really rest at the next monastery which is our last point for the day. Although 7 km is not far, but after the Dolma La Pass, every meter is hell. The only comforting thing is that the land is flat and no more high altitude, the scenery was also amazing. We pushed to the last point, the Dzultripuk monastery was where we put up for the night, it was really a nice place although still poor in sanitation, we were just glad there is a place to put up for the night. The four of us stayed at the courtyard of the monastery, room no.8. Eventually Olga came to join us. We had dinner at the monastery restaurant, which really made the tastiest food for us.

Day 3 : Back to Darchen

Tough times don't last tough men do. After yesterday's crazy hike up the Dolma La pass, the rest of the journey was much more relaxing. To speak the truth, I am quite confident that if I want, I can complete the whole Kora in two days. The rest on the first day was not really that essential for me. But the one after Dolma La Pass is. The third day was all flat ground with our last glimpse of this nature wonderland. Weather had not been that cold in the lower altitudes. My feet had regained its numbness from the extreme cold it went through yesterday. Although, there were no hot water, I covered it up with a lot of blanket and socks. Tanya and Elena had been kind to offer me their thermal socks but I did not take it because really the Vibrams cannot work with normal socks too.

We had a nice breezy walk back, before reaching Darchen, there was a tea house, the guides had a break there, I guess they were all tired from having to take care of us. We took some pictures with the yaks and slowly made our way back to the Dachen guests house.

After thoughts

Maybe a kora to the locals is nothing, doing it almost every other time, and some even go for the sacred 108 times for a lifetime of good karma. But I must say, this kora was one thing I am proud to say I did it. Travelling so far just to walk the mountain. Tibet is really still very underdeveloped, sanitation is still poor, food is really very limited and quality is not that good compared to big cities like Shanghai and Beijing. People living outside of Lhasa and Shigatse are still in the very remote position. But the scenery is really breathtaking. Everyday you get unbelievable mountains and rivers. The clouds the clear blue sky, I would do it again if given a chance. But now let me take a bath first , and in a public bath .......