Our journey to Kailash Manasarovar offered us the most breathtaking views of the Tibetan plateau, vast expanses of lush-green meadows, turquoise blue waters of lake Manasarovar, gentle slopes of green hillocks, surrounded by mountain ranges in the distance, clouds gently descending and floating around the hill tops, gushing waterfalls, meandering streams and rivers all along our routes - absolute picture-postcard worthy scenery everywhere you look !
It was absolutely a feast for our eyes and mind throughout the journey. We were extremely fortunate to have been blessed with fantastic weather throughout the trip, esp on the three days of parikrama. It was two weeks of complete oneness with un-adultrated with nature at its absolute best!
And now for the mundane details - excellent teamwork from Ecotrek - good positive attitude by Madhu (the team leader), - who patiently answered our ever increasing number of questions, great food by Shali (the cook) - who served us hot, fresh and tasty food every single day, Raju (the helper) who smilingly attended to all our needs. The entire team was always cheerful and worked really hard to ensure that we felt at home all the time. Sunrise was around 8 am and sunset around 9.30 pm. We got to deal with our bio-breaks amidst the most beautiful surroundings - in desperation, sometimes even behind trucks, hoping that the driver will not suddenly decide to drive away ;-)
From our group - it was Jana-Radha as Florence nightingale with 'Rescue mission' for all sick camps everyday. And Naga-Jana combination was quite something to deal with - every other day there were bulk-purchases being made of something or the other - one day it was colorful hand-knitted woollens for all - hand-knitted knee length socks, gloves, the next day it was 12 numbers of adjustable trekking sticks, and as we hit high altitude it was 12 numbers of oxygen cylinders - all delivered to our room doorsteps !
Our dilemma of to-Diamox or not-to-Diamox was quickly resolved by Naga - with a message from his high altitude trekker friend, who suggested that we all just take it ! Shyam the group leader was consulted for all imp decisions and route planning. With catering being handled by Jana, Radha and Mythily and with ready to eat snacks from Raji, our stomachs were never given any rest ! Suchitra gave us a live demo and lessons on how to fix marriages through remote control ! There was never a dull moment in the bus rides with Janaka, the Antakshari Queen, singing for both sides ! The Hanumans joined in from Bangalore and by the end of the trip Rama Hanuman seemed to have a halo around her head with all the wise counsel that pouted from the grey-headed 'mamis' around (much to Hanuman's chagrin ! ) And Douglas (from the UK) was trapped within the Indian group, was good fun with his ready wit and humour !
We all thought we were prepared reasonably well for the trip but we had our egos beaten - it was not a holiday, nor just a another trek, but was an arduous journey that tested our endurance, increased our faith, smashed our egos, strengthened our bonds and above all increased our gratitude for what we have .... .
Here's a day-by-day account ..
Day 1 - at Kathmandu - 5th July
The group landed at Kathmandu. They went to Pashupathinath temple Jal-Narayan temple and saw the beautiful "Brahma kamal". In the evening, the shopper's group promptly began their long and tireless journey of shopping !
Day 2 - 6th July at Kathmandu
Naga and Lel joined the rest of the group. Evening was reserved for mass purchase of woollens for the entire group !
Day 3 - Kathmandu to Nyalam 7th July
After breakfast, left for Nyalam by bus. Started the journey with listening to chants of Vishnu Sahasranamam.
Beautiful views of verdant green valleys and misty mountains along the ride! Antakshari between two teams split across the aisle. But the solo singer was janaka for 99 percent of the time ! Stopped for chai at 9.30 - had khattha-meetha sandwich with Inji thokku, thanks to Mythily.
Stopped for lunch at Kodari - great view of the gushing waterfall.
Beautiful views of verdant green valleys and misty mountains along the ride! Antakshari between two teams split across the aisle. But the solo singer was janaka for 99 percent of the time ! Stopped for chai at 9.30 - had khattha-meetha sandwich with Inji thokku, thanks to Mythily.
Stopped for lunch at Kodari - great view of the gushing waterfall.
Day 4 at Nyalam 8th July (3700m )
Among the group, we had started displaying all possible symptoms of altitude sickness- nausea, diarrhoea, fever, headache, breathlessness, sleeplessness, extreme dryness of lips and skin, bleeding nose, and as though this was not enough, we had the added symptoms of Diamox, which is like a double edged sword - while it helped in keeping the body hydrated, it caused other symptoms like tingling in fingers, dizziness, nausea, etc.
Had great breakfast of dilute pongal. Very welcome and tasty. Madhu took us for a short hike up a hillock, to help us get a feel of high altitude trekking. All did well! Great feel of the mountains, fresh air lovely weather , cool winds beating on our faces. At the end of the one hour of trekking, everyone was quite thrilled - as though we had scaled Mt. Everest! We then had lovely fruits bought by naga - succulent and sweet peaches, oranges and Aussie grapes!
Later in the hotel, we all listened intently to the experiences of Bangalore based Rahman's group, got psyched about footwear,sticks and went ahead against Madhu's recommendation and bought trekking shoes, adjustable sticks in bulk purchase (as always). And the entire group had started popping in diamox 1/2 tablet twice a day.
Day 5 at Saga - 9th July (4400 m asl)
Rama was a bit under the weather, Raji's night headaches started. We had oats and upma, for breakfast, packed our bags - they were already stuffed, and our battle with the bags had just begun - we just couldn't find what we wanted, although all the important items were neatly tucked away somewhere safe !After a quick wash and getting refreshed, we left for Saga. Stopped at Nyalam pass 5200 m and Dongla Pass at 5100 m. Passed Shishapangma range, the origin of Brahmaputra. The mountains with less vegetation were gradually giving way to absolutely barren mountains. We had lunch at a very colorfully decorated hall - which hosted hundreds of such tourists on our return.
Day 6 at Saga - 10 July
Rama recovered well, Raji still down with severe headaches esp at night, Shyam had fever by evening, many people with headaches or heaviness in the head.
Once again, thanks to Naga-Jana, for the bulk purchase of oxygen cylinders, after believing that it is going to be our elixir of life over the next one week. We all walked in evening with masks on the dusty roads. Wifi in the lobby for mails etc. Florence nightingale in action going around the various sick camps offering head massage with axe oil etc.
Day 7 - 11th Saga to Manasarovar (5000m)
Changing landscapes of the mountains gave us wonderful views of surreal surroundings !
We stopped by at the most scenic spot that offered a surreal background of mountain ranges green pasture blue skies and sand dunes - absolutely unbelievable landscapes !
The idyllic view prompted us for a quick impromptu group photograph. But alas - the splendid background was completely eclipsed by the foreground !
Nevertheless the settings offered a lifetime opportunity to attend to nature's call in the most pristine environment .
Nevertheless the settings offered a lifetime opportunity to attend to nature's call in the most pristine environment .
Stopped for lunch enroute prepared by Shali - pasta, rice, curd with thokku , apples. Reached Manasarovar and had to switch to Eco bus (operated by Chinese Govt) for going around the lake manasarovar.
Went around the beautiful lake by bus, stopped by for dipping our feet in the crystal clear waters, did prokshanam, collected pebbles from the lakeside for gifting to our near and dear ones. Turquoise blue waters and azure blue skies ! A great experience to be on the shores of the lakeside!
Had our first view of mt. Kailash from across the lake as the clouds lifted briefly to give us our first glimpse of the great mt. Kailash. It was the first day of attending to nature's call in open air and waited for sunset before attempting it. Surrounded by wolf-like dogs following you around with their canines, made the task all the more daunting! The other alternative was to use stinky unhygienic soak pits, using a mask and a ball of camphor inside it, to elevate the olfactory experience.
That evening after a brief shower of rain we saw the most fabulous rainbow across the lake - it was more a ball of colors than a typical arc of a semi circle !
Later that night, excited at the prospect of witnessing the 'celestial lights' - believed to be a spectacular phenomenon- after midnight - most of us trooped down at 12 midnight for the divine experience! We waited and waited until 2am and with no signs of the lights, we were about to leave, only to be told by the other group, that it is expected from 2am to 3am! They arrived fully prepared with their hotel blankets and made their own covers and tents. We were not disappointed as we saw the sky like never before - lit up beautifully by the numerous stars, jewelled and ornate - that reflected in the waters of the lake. We also saw three shooting stars, but no celestial lights even until 3am, after which we went back to bed :-( . Next morning we received some solace, when we heard that the other group that stayed even longer, until 4:30 am, also had no luck with the divine lights :)
Day 8 12th Jana anniv at Manasarovar
After breakfast, Naga organized for getting a tent pitched and we all trotted down to the hot water spring, and all enjoyed the lovely hot water bath on a pleasant morning, inside the tent !
Shyam a bit under the weather with fever didn't venture out. Being refreshed we headed back for lunch. But that was not enough for naga and jana -they further walked a long way along the lake to take a dip in the lake and got back only by 3pm! Evening spent in packing the day bag and duffel bag for the next day's start of parikrama.
We also got a lovely view of mt. Kailash from the hotel as the clouds lifted for a brief while - caught the sight of beautiful kailash ardha-nareeswari from our hotel window ! Thanks to Douglas's camera for this lovely shot !
We also got a lovely view of mt. Kailash from the hotel as the clouds lifted for a brief while - caught the sight of beautiful kailash ardha-nareeswari from our hotel window ! Thanks to Douglas's camera for this lovely shot !
By night Shyam's discomfort increased.
Day 9 13th July - day 1 of kailash parikrama
Shyam had increased difficulties in breathing early morning - Madhu was called at 3 am, Shyam was given oxygen pillow and Madhu quickly advised him to pack up and get back to Kathmandu. Within half an hour, Dorge was at the hotel with the vehicle! Jana decided to join them and jumped on to the bus before even Shyam or Rama. Suchitra also decided to get back for going ahead with her daughter's engagement. The van left at 3 am heading for Kathmandu. Thankfully his health gradually improved esp after reaching Kathmandu - although they had a tiring day driving the whole day with several hours of traffic jams ! We really missed them all through the rest of the journey. But glad that they all experienced the beauty of Lake Manasarovar and had a wonderful darshan of Mt. Kailash too !
At around 9am, the rest of us left by bus to reach Darchen and then till Yama dwar, after which vehicles are not allowed. Mega negotiation to fix porter and ponies by draw of lots. Here's an arial view of the draw of lots - thanks to Douglas again !
We started the parikrama at 11 am by pony, some of us got off and walked for around 3-4 hours .
Lovely views of the mountains, got darshan of the west face of mt kailash - seemed like a concave face ! Everyone prostrates before the great Lord - Indians, Chinese , Tibetans , Jains. The Chinese and Tibetans do parikrama in the reverse direction !Along the way we saw two Tibetans doing parikrama by prostration.
Next we saw the beautiful North face of Mt.Kailash - as we stopped for lunch around 3pm. Walked almost 8 km till there.
After lunch, took the horse till Derapuk and reached by around 5 pm.
Stayed at Shesh pangma hotel at Derapuk after 1st day of parikrama. Had a lovely view of Mt. Kailash from there as well !
Had a bad stomach that day and began as a doubtful starter for day 2. Had nausea. Couldn't sleep well that night. My stomach was so bad and I was so desperate that I took some small black golis given by a Chinese quack who said he was studying part-time for a doctor's degree - he also gave some ginseng roots that I had soaked in water - but all said and done, the stuff worked ! and next day i felt much better :-) . Raji couldn't sleep well , still haunted by headache in the nights ! Hanumans were clear they didn't want to venture further. Janaka was waiting for company to drop out.
Day 10 - 14th 2nd day of parikrama (6 km uphill by horse+ 6km downhill by foot+ 10 km flat land by horse/foot)
Next morning had nausea, wasn't sure again. But decided to go. Raji, Janaka and Hanumans dropped out. Last minute, Bakupa dropped out after setting forth and crossing the stream to board the pony, due to some discomfort in breathing and being a bit unsure of going ahead.
We left at 9 by horse - uphill 6km to reach Dolma La at 5600 m. Naga deboarded from horse on our way up, since the horse couldn't take the weight. Once we reached Dolma La, we all had to get off the horse, and started our descent of 6km by foot. Crossed the glacier, green waters of Gauri Kund. Terrain was a bit steep, but definitely do-able. A good stick is a must for the descent. Rains would have made it very difficult. Thanks to great weather the descent was quite simple. We then took the horse ride to Zutulpuk. Spent the night comfortably in tin walled rooms with very comfortable beds. Much to the relief of one and all, Subha had no problems during the parikrama - all thanks to the "muff" that got express-delivered from Bangalore to Chennai and had to be personally collected by me at 9:30 pm from Mylapore the night before I left for Kathmandu. That was my visa for Nepal!
Day 11 - 15th July 3rd day of parikrama and back to Saga
We set forth by pony and some of us enjoyed a lovely walk along the mountains, mosly descent, listening to the sounds of the stream flowing by amidst the stillness of the mountains.
With Lord Shiva's grace all those who started, completed the parikrama in good health. Om Namah shivaya !
We joined the rest of the group at Darchen , had lunch and left for Saga by bus. Reached saga by 8,30. Enjoyed the much awaited hot water bath at Saga and running water for the loos ! For the first time our food was delayed - the eco-trek team served coffeee at 10 pm and late dinner around 10:30 or 11 pm when we were all ready to hit the sack. We all found it much easier to deal with the stairs than the first time at Saga when we had been puffing and panting before we could climb two flights of stairs.
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Day 12 Saga to Nyalam
Left for nyalam after a hot and tasty rava upma for breakfast. Left around 11, long day driving. Stopped for lunch and reached nyalam at around 4. Still quite cold and chilly. Went for a nice evening walk to a nearby monastery. Nyalam was filled with more tourists going to kailash - batches from salem, kerala, andhra etc. all singing bhajans etc. till late into the night. Madhu's loving call of Naga has been recorded for posterity, and has given me an additional sense of purpose in life - to practice the call hard !
Day 13 Nyalam to Kathmandu
Group photo with eco trek team at Nyalam hotel courtyard. We bid farewell to madhu and team, - special farewell to Madhu - in his typical sing-song style as we left Nyalam.
Crossed the border at kodari. had great puri bhaji at same hotel.
Terrible road from kodari to Kathmandu though filled with wonderful waterfalls all along the entire way! Had to reach border by 10 am , reset clocks by 2 hours. The bad roads were more than compensated by the dense lush green vegetation and the gushing waterfalls every few meters on one side of the road, while seeing the river Kosi on the other side. Tyre puncture enroute. Reached Kathmandu by around 4:30 pm.
Terrible road from kodari to Kathmandu though filled with wonderful waterfalls all along the entire way! Had to reach border by 10 am , reset clocks by 2 hours. The bad roads were more than compensated by the dense lush green vegetation and the gushing waterfalls every few meters on one side of the road, while seeing the river Kosi on the other side. Tyre puncture enroute. Reached Kathmandu by around 4:30 pm.
Went to Pashupathynath temple at 5:30 - as we got ready to leave, suddenly appeared a new-look younger clean-shaven Naga ! Back from a quick visit to the local Nepali barber !
Day 14 - at Kathmandu
The next day at Kathmandu was devoted to Shopping and more shopping - with the shop- till-you-drop mantra by the Shopper's group ! And soon it was time to bid farewell and get back to our respective cities !
On the whole a truly special and unforgettable trip ! Om namah shivaya !
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