Mount Kailash Manasarovar Lake Tour - 14 Days

Once you are at the Kathmandu Airport, a representative from Himalayan Trekkers will meet you, transport you to the hotel, and help you with the check-in process. On your early arrival, we will collect your passports, signatures, and other necessary paperwork for the Chinese Group Visa applications. But if you have a late arrival, the paperwork will be picked up the following morning. Three working days are required for the visa process.

We will also have a short discussion session regarding your Mount Kailash Manasarovar Lake Tour before we hit the streets of Thamel Bazaar. 

The guided sightseeing starts after breakfast and the Budhanilkantha Temple will be our first stop. It is situated about 10 kilometers from the center of Kathmandu at the base of Shivapuri Hill.  The centerpiece of the temple is a 5-meter-long statue of Vishnu dozing on a pond. The figure is one of Nepal's largest and most exquisite stone carvings. Buddhists also go to the temple to pray in Budhanilkantha, in addition to Hindus.

We will then travel to Boudhanath Stupa after touring the Budhanilkantha Temple. The largest stupa in Nepal and one of the largest in the world, Boudhanath or Boudha, symbolizes Tibetan Buddhism. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 and is a popular tourist site for both international visitors and residents. Numerous tourists and pilgrims make a counterclockwise round around the stupa every day while Buddha watches over them. Additionally, the stupa is said to have the remains of both "Siddharta Gautama Buddha," the fourth and most recent Buddha, as well as "Kasyapa Buddha," the third Buddha of the Bhadrakalpa.

After lunch, we will drive to Pashupatinath Temple, one of the four most important Hindu monuments in the world. It is one of the oldest temples in the country and is also a World Heritage Site. It is situated on the bank of the revered Bagmati River. The main temple is devoted to Lord Shiva but pictures and non-Hindus are not permitted in the main shrine. 

However, anyone can view the other 200-plus monuments here. You will also get to witness the open-air cremations beside the river and attend the evening aarti ceremony which is one of the highlights. Then we will return to Kathmandu and spend the remainder of the day as per your interest before going to bed. 

As Kathmandu is surrounded by high hills, there are many renowned hills or hill stations for a day of hiking and viewing the Himalayas. Some of the most famous hills are Champadevi, Nagarkot, Shivapuri, Jamacho, Namobuddha, Phulchowki, etc. Hiking to these hills helps in acclimatization purpose if you are traveling to a higher altitude. So, we have set this day for you to experience hiking to one of the above-mentioned hills and get used to a higher altitude also enjoy the landscape, Kathmandu valley, and Himalayan views (the Himalayas are seen only on a clear day since they are very far from Kathmandu).  

Note: Hiking is not compulsory but we recommend it for acclimatization purposes as we will be traveling to higher altitudes in this Mount Kailash Manasarover Lake Tour. If you prefer to stay in the city, we can organize the city activities as there is plenty to see in Kathmandu city. 

Our representative will collect your Chinese Group Visa and your passports from the Chinese Embassy in the first office hour and deliver them to your hotel. Then, we start our Mt. Kailash Manasarovar Lake Journey with a long scenic hilly drive. The drive on the highway along the Trishuli River, lush hills, small villages, and terraced farms will keep us occupied. After 3-4 hours, we will reach Trishuli Bazaar where we will take the lunch break before continuing another 3 hours drive to Syabrubesi. 
Once we get there, we will check in at the designated lodge and rest. Later, you can take a town tour if you feel like it. 

Note: We can drive even farther up to Kerung if your immigration and visa processes were already finished the day before. Also, since Kerung is far away (about 10 hours away from Kathmandu) and we have to leave very early in the morning. If not, we'll stay the night in Syabrubesi and travel to Kerung the next day in peace.

After breakfast, we begin the brief trip from Syabrubesi to Kerung through the Nepal Tibet Friendship Bridge. On the Tibetan side of the bridge, you will bid your Nepali guide and driver farewell and meet our Tibetan guide and driver. We will spend the night in Kerung County, a little town tucked into the Himalayan slope, after completing the border formalities at the border port. We will see Kerung top attractions after checking in and taking a short break to relax and gradually acclimate to the higher altitude.

Kerung, also known as Gyirong, is a great area to stop for a break while traveling from Nepal to Tibet. Gyirong offers a beautiful nature view, as well as various historical and cultural monuments, making it more than just a place to rest. One of the town's top attractions, Bhrikuti Cave, may be closed without notice depending on the time and circumstances. Additionally, you can go to Pakba Monastery, a Gelugpa shrine constructed by Tibetan King Songtsen Gambo to guard the border. Dolma Lhakhang is another site to visit here. 

As we go from Kerung to Saga, the wonderful trip through Tibet's mountainous topography and subsequently its plains offers us a breathtaking perspective. Turn northward and cross the Yarlung Zangpo (Brahmaputra River), arriving in the lovely town of Saga (4640m). Saga is a lovely Tibetan town with some decent hotels or guesthouses, some excellent local eateries, and a market where you may have fun while adjusting. 

Note: If time and circumstances allow, we can also drive further up to a village named Dongba. 

Today is a significant day in our Mt. Kailash Manasarovar Lake journey because we will not only arrive at the revered Lake Manasarovar but also catch the first view of the revered Mount Kailash. 

Our trip begins early in the morning on the paved road. We will pass through many small Tibetan settlements and meadows with Tibetan cattle. On the way, we halt in Horchu to get our first look at Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. We continue our drive to Chui Gumba near the lake and spend the night there in a monastery guest home that offers a view of Mount Kailash's south face clearly.

After breakfast, we will do morning rituals such as puja and hawan along the lake's edge before starting our drive to Darchen. The tour takes only an hour and offers beautiful views of Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar while passing by the Rakshasa Taal (Devil Lake) and Chui Gompa. A sizable number of hotels can be found in Darchen, which is also home to a significant number of Chinese and Tibetan drugstores. In addition, it serves as Mount Kailash's base camp and the beginning and finish of a 53-km, 2.5-day "Parikrama" or "Kora" (circumambulation of Mount Kailash).
When we get to Darchen, we check into the hotel and take the rest of the day off to acclimatize and get ready for the circuit.

In the morning, we travel 10 kilometers from Darchen to Taroche Village, where we will make a halt for Yam Dwar (Yam is the Lord of Heaven & Hell, and Dwar means door). Here, we will also meet the porters and begin the trek or Kora to Diraphuk. To reach our destination, we will walk for about six hours while taking in the close-up view of Mount Kailash. In Diraphuk, we stay the night in a guesthouse.

Note: During the famous Saga Dawa Festival, Diraphuk is renowned for planning a significant celebration. Therefore, if we travel during a festival, we will have a fantastic opportunity to have a deeper understanding of the culture and traditions.

If the weather is clear, we rise very early before dawn to witness "Golden Kailash's" splendor as the first sunlight touches the mountain's summit. After this wonderful experience, we will eat breakfast and go for Zuthulphuk on the second day of the Kora. This day is the longest and most challenging of the entire trip because we will be climbing a 22-kilometer-long track and crossing the Drolma La Pass at 5680 meters, which is also the highest point of Mount Kailas Manasarovar Journey. 

We pass by a location where we can view Milarepa and Shiva Tsal's footsteps on our journey to the Dolma La. In order to represent the act of leaving this life behind and wishing for the end of a miserable life, pilgrims offer a drop of blood, a lock of hair, or their goods at this site. 

We'll spend a good deal of time at the prayer flag-draped Drolma Las Pass before continuing our ascent. With only a few steep hills, the remaining portion of the journey is mostly downhill. We will go a little way from the pass before arriving at Gauri Kund (also known as Parvati Kund). We will pause for a while to explore the Gauri Kunda before continuing to descend to Zuthulphuk. Before calling it a day, we will have a trip about the area and stop by the Zuthulphuk Monastery in the evening.

The final day of Mount Kailash Manasarovar Lake Yatra Prikarama is today. After breakfast, we trek a long, steady 10-kilometer descent to the settlement of Hor Qu, where our vehicle will be waiting for us. After that, we drive to Darchen. Then, we'll carry on driving to Saga for the night. 

Note: Due to the accessibility of the road to Hor Qu Village, we stop our trek here and start the driving journey. However, we can arrange a trip from Darchen to Darchen if you want to complete the full circuit, which is done for spiritual reasons. Before making your travel arrangements, you would need to confirm this plan.

We set out on our journey to Syabrubesi after breakfast. We will travel across the vast, open Tibetan grasslands after crossing the bridge over the lovely Brahmaputra River while enjoying beautiful Himalayan views, especially of Shishapangma and the Pieko-Tso Lake. Then our vehicle goes on a steep road across high terrain before arriving at the Kerung Border where you will bid farewell to your Tibetan guide and the driver. From here, you need to proceed to the Rasuwagadi Nepalese immigration checkpoint to complete the necessary entrance procedures before being transferred to your vehicle to take you to Syabrubesi for the night. 

Biding farewell to the Himalayan region, we will return back to Kathmandu after breakfast via the same route we used to get there. Upon arrival in Kathmandu and after your hotel check-in formalities, take in a brief rest before we gather for the farewell dinner. 

As your Mount Kailash Manasarovar Lake Tour comes to an end, you will be transferred to the airport 3 hours prior to your flight to your home country or onward destination. If your flight is scheduled in the evening, you can spend the day as per your interest.