Kailash Manasarovar Yatra -2012 -1

Kailash Manasarovar Yatra -2012

Only the blessed ones get a chance to set foot on this Holy land.  We can visit anybody’s house only by their invitation. Similarly only the  one’s who Shivasakathi wills  can reach Holy Kailash. It is believed that one  gets a chance to have the darshan of Holy Kailash  and a holy bath in Manasarovar after thousand’s of birth by the grace of  Lord Shiva. Though so many faithful are there only a few are  selected by the Lord to visit His home and have his darshan.  Some are lucky enough to undertake the yatra for the second time the author of this blog was fortunate enough to undertake the yatra and have the darshan of Shiva – Sakthi. It is an effort to share that joy with like minded persons.

Tallest Shiva statue at Dhulikal,  Kathamndu

Mother Parvati along with her sons -   Dhulikal

Last time he undertook the yatra  by the Indian route which was sponsored by Ministry of External Affairs, Government if India. This time he undertook the yatra through Nepal. The main difference between the two are that the time taken to complete the yatra through Nepal  is just 13 days only, but definitely acclimatization is a problem,    as the time is short some people do faced some problem.

It was just by chance that the author received a email form a colleague  Shri. Brij Lekh Suthar,  that a group is planning to undertake the yatra  in the month of June those who are interested may join us. The author expressed his desire to join the group and by the grace of lord Shiva the yatra was completed successfully .

Given below is some of the facts about  holy Mt Kailash.

THE MYSTERIES OF KAILASH

1.     Kailash in Sanskrit means Crystal.

2. The word Manas means Mind or consciousness; the name     Manasarovar means the Lake of Consciousness and Enlightenment.

3.   The Lake Manasarovar was created by Lord Brahma and Kailash is Abode of Lord Shiva.

4.     Mt. Kailash's East face rocks  are full of  Silver, West face rocks  are with Ruby, South face rocks with Sapphire and North face  rocks are full of Gold.  (This has been proved correct by scientific explorations).

5.     Kailash (the center of the world mandala); is located at the heart of six mountain ranges symbolizing a Lotus.

6. It is also called Swastika Mountain as the seat of all power. When viewed from the south face, a swastika can indeed be seen.

7.    When seeing the North Face of Kailash from Derapuk, two faces of Shiva & Shakti are clearly visible and the top of it is seen in the shape of face of Hundred Snakes. Close to Kailash, two smaller peaks resembles as Nanadi & Ganesha.

8.     Mount Kailash is the center of subtle Magnetic vibrations of high order. 

9.       Mt. Kailash is known as Linga & Mansarovar as Yoni. Mt. Kailash is also considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva and Parvathi, along with Devatas, Ganas, Yakshas, Yogis, Siddha Purushas and Gandharvas.

10.     Mt.  Kailash Yatra  is mentioned in the  Ramayana, Mahabharatha, Skanda Purana, Meghaduta  etc.

11.     This great mountain is source of four life-giving rivers, the Indus, Brahmaputra, Sutlej  and Karnali (which is a major tributary of India’s sacred  Ganges)  all begin in the area surrounding Kailash. (in 45 Km radius).

12.     Mt. Kailash is worshiped by Hindus (as Abode of Lord Shiva) , Buddhist (as Holy Kang Rimpoche), Jains (as Asthapada, believe it to be the place where Rishabhadev, the first of the twenty-four Tirthankaras attained liberation) & Bons (Original religion of Tibet  also worship Mt Kailash).

13.   In  1950,  China  entered Tibet. Till 1983, no one could go to Mt Kailash from India & outside Tibet on pilgrimage.  In 1984, the area around Kailash was officially opened byChina to Western visitors & Indians.

 14.   Climbing Mount Kailash is forbidden now. The only person  claimed to have ever been atop the sacred mountain is Milarepa, a 11th century Tibetan Buddhist yogi. Few experts say he only travelled over a beam of Sun Rays while in Meditation and not in actual. Many Chinese they tried to climb but all failed.

15.   Russians did lot of explorations and found that Mt. Kailash could be a vast, human-built pyramid, the center of an entire complex of smaller pyramids, a hundred in total. This complex, moreover, might be the centre of a world–wide system connecting other monuments or sites where paranormal phenomena have been observed.

Surya at New Delhi Airport

Kailash Mansarovar Yatra (13 Days)  By Landcruiser/Volvo

Day-1 :  Arrival in Kathmandu.

 Arrival at Kathmandu International Airport or bus park and transfer to Park village Resorts  Spa or similar at Kathmandu , dinner and overnight at  Hotel.( twin sharing )

Day-2 :  Kathmandu – visit temples.

 
 Breakfast at hotel  morning Pashupathinath Darshan, lunch at hotel,   afternoon , clothing inspection and tour briefing - dinner and overnight at  hotel.

Day-3 :  Kathmandu – Nyalam 3750 m ( 150 kms ).

 Early breakfasts at hotel, today we arrive at Tibet , lunch at border ( Nepal  side ), after immigration and custom formalities - we proceed to Zhangmu ( border Tibet side ), here we meet our Chinese guide, drivers and vehicles(Toyota Land Cruiser) - continue drive to Nyalam ( our first              overnight in China) , dinner and overnight at Nyalam lodge or similar.

Day-4 :  Nyalam – Day free for acclimatization. 

 Whole day we are here for the acclimatization , all meals will be provided – ernight at lodge ( Nyalam lodge or similar ).

Day-5 :  Nyalam – Saga. 4640 m (335 Km)

  After breakfast we drive Saga , en-route you will be passing                through Lalungla pass ( 16000ft ) - huge lake Paigu-Tso ,           Brahmaputra river, Overnight stay at Saga Hotel.

Day-6 :  Saga - Mansarovar 4558 m ( 450 kms ). 

Today is the day for the lifetime that you are going to have darshan of the     Holy “Mt. Kailash & Lake Manasarover” - day's program as usual, after    breakfast  at around 8 am , we drive through Mayumu - la pass ( 17000ft ). - the highest point of the driving , lunch on the way , dinner and     overnight at Camp Horchu ( tent/mud-house ) .

Day-7 :  Mansarovar Parikrama - Darchen .

Till 2 pm free for pooja and hawan , drive to Darchen via Mansarovar     parikrama , overnight at Darchen lodge( 3- 4 pax dormitory accommodation)

Day-8 :  Darchen – Tarboche – Dirapuk ( 4860 m ).

 "Tough day” - after breakfast drive to Tarboche (8 kms) and start trek for   Kailash parikrama to Diraphuk ( 16,500 ft ) - 12 kms , light lunch on the  way, Dinner overnight at Camp (tent/mud-house )

Day-9 :  Dirapuk – Zuthulpuk ( 4760 m ).

 Dolma-la pass ( 5200 m ). This is the day every pilgrims talk about, the    most difficult journey throughout the yatra - trek up to the 18,600ft.            ( Dolma- la Pass) - descend to Gauri kund and further trek along with              the river to Zuthulpuk , dinner ; overnight at Camp (tent/mud-house )

Day-10: Zuthulpuk- Darchen – 

 Mansarovar. After breakfast we trek around 6 kms, and we will be reaching   to the point where the jeeps will be waiting for us - drive to Darchen , after   lunch we drive to Lake Mansarovar ( Horchu side ) 70 kms , overnight  at Camp (tent/mud-house )

Day-11: Mansarovar to Saga.

 
 We are returning home - leaving this holy place, after breakfast drive up to    Dongba , lunch en-route , dinner & overnight stay at Saga. (Saga hotel)

Day-12:Drive to Zhangmu – Kathmandu. 

 After breakfast drive to Zhangmu, after the immigration and custom    formalities – cross over to Nepal border , lunch at border guest house and  drive to Kathmandu (144 kms). Overnight at Park village Resorts & Spa  or similar.

Day-13:Kathmandu.

Transfer to Airport for departure and back to Delhi.

 The yatris at Delhi Airport

This was the tentative itinerary for the yatra.  There were lot of improvement  on the Chinese side  but still the accommodation and toilet facilities remain primitive.   We will see about them in the coming posts.

Shri  Suthar co-ordinated with the tour operator Shreshta holidays of New Delhi for this yatra.  The cost was Rs 68000/-  from Delhi to Delhi which included food, mineral water bottle , accommodation , Visa fees, transportation in Nepal & Tibet  and one day tour of Kathmandu.

The yatris on board  Spicejet flight to Kathmandu

The beautiful image of Garuda at Kathamandu Airport 

Along with the author and  two of his  friends  Mr Sundar and Mr Babu accompanied him. Sundar  is very much interested in photography so this blog is going to be full of high quality photos which you will enjoy very much.

As Kailash Manasarovar yatra  involves  high altitude trekking in inhospitable terrain and  unpredictable  weather it needs a lot of preparation. Especially woolen clothing, trekking shoes and other essential items required for travelling has to be made ready.  By the Grace of Lord Shiva  all the three from  Chennai  left for Delhi  on 28/05/2012 by Spicejet  SG321 to worship the Lord at His abode of Kailash. One of their  friend Mr. Udaykumar was kind enough to accommodate them  in his residence and also arranged for a vehicle along with a driver and another friend Muralidharan took care of other needs. In Delhi they  collected the water proof bag for carrying  their  luggage during the  and shoulder bag (Pithu bag) from the tour operator Shreshta Holidays . Also foreign exchange conversion and travel Insurance formalities were completed on  that day. On the next day (29-05-12) a group of 30 yatris left  for the darshan of Holy Kailash and a holy bath in Manasarovar by Spicejet SG 45.  The  flight was full of Kailsh yatris only. As this was the start of kailsh yatra time almost all of them were travelling to Kathmandu.   After about two hours of flight we  reached Kathamandu, the capital of the mountain Kingdom of Nepal.