Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A kora (pilgrimage circuit) of the mountain will take three days and you should allow at
least half a day afterwards to relax at
Lake Manasarovar
, probably at Chiu Monastery.
You could easily spend a half-day at Darchen visiting Gyangdrak and Seylung monaster-
ies. After they complete the kora, pilgrims traditionally visit the sacred hot springs at
Tirthapuri.
An ambitious but rewarding alternative is to travel to/from Lhasa along the longer
(1700km) northern route to
Ali
, making a loop that will take three weeks. The six-day
drive is astonishingly scenic but the towns en route are mostly charmless, so consider
camping somewhere such as
Tagyel-tso
. From Ali you can make a good day trip to
Pangong-tso
and
Rutok Monastery
.
You'll need at least three extra days if you want to add the Guge kingdom sites around
Zanda: you need most of a day to explore the otherworldly ruins at
Tsaparang
, plus a few
hours in Zanda at
Thöling Monastery
. Adventurers could add an extra day on the way to
Kailash, to explore the Bön-school Gurugyam Monastery and the amazing ruins of the an-
cient Shangshung kingdom in the
Khyunglung Valley
.
Finally, if you are heading to Nepal from Mt Kailash, it's well worth taking the short cut
south via stunning
Peiku-tso
and its views of Shishapangma to join the Friendship Hwy
near
Nyalam
.
