China Guide
Tibet
Mount Kailash and around
Top of most itineraries in western Tibet is Mount Kailash (6714m), Gang Rinpoche to the Tibetans, the sacred mountain at the centre of the universe for Buddhists, Hindus and Jains. Access is via DARCHEN, where there's a guesthouse used as a base by visiting pilgrims. The 58-kilometre tour around the mountain takes around three days; you might consider hiring a porter and/or yak (from about ¥45 per day each) as it's a tough walk and you need to carry all your gear, including a stove, fuel and food. On the first day you should aim to reach Drirapuk Monastery, on the second day you climb over the Dolma La Pass (5636m) to Zutrulpuk Monastery, and the third day you arrive back in Darchen.
After the exertions of Mount Kailash, most tours head south 30km to Manasarova Lake (Mapham Tso), the holiest lake in Asia for Hindus and Tibetan Buddhists alike. For the energetic, it's a four-day, ninety-kilometre trek to get around the lake, but plenty of travellers just relax by the lakeside for a day or two. Travel agencies in Lhasa charge around ¥22,000 for one jeep for a seventeen-day trip.
The third major pilgrimage site in Western Tibet is TirthapuriHot Springs, which are closely associated with Padmasambhava; they're about 80km northwest of Mount Kailash and accessible by road. Pilgrims here immerse themselves in the pools, visit the monastery containing his footprint and the cave that he used, and dig for small, pearl-like stones that are believed to have healing properties.
The only remains of the tenth-century kingdom of Guge, where Buddhism survived while eclipsed in other parts of Tibet, are the main monastery of Tholing, 278km from Ali, and the old capital of Tsaparang, 26km west of Tholing. Both places are famous for their extensive ruins, some of which are around 1000 years old, and there are many well-preserved murals, but it's all even less accessible than Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarova.