Holy Yatra to the Abode of Lord Shiva -1

KAILASH   MANASAROVAR YATRA  2014


Golden hued Mount Kailash during Sunset (South face)

The  yatra to the abode of the Lord Shiva,  Mt. Kailash  is  the holiest one. In this perpetual snow layered peak Lord Shiva sits in meditation along with His consort  Mother Parvati and sustains the whole universe. One who undertakes this arduous yatra in high altitude not only scales new heights but also explore natural beauty, experience spirituality and discover oneself.  Only a selected few get this opportunity. In the galaxy of saints of the Saiva fold in South India "Manikavasagar"  is a prominent one. He composed "Thiruvasagam"  a book of Shaiva hymns. In that he tells that " One can worship Lord's  Lotus feet only by His grace". It holds good for the yatra to Kailash also,  only the select few can visit this land of the celestial's.  It is believed that one gets this opportunity after austerities in   many births and will be liberated from future birth. These posts are to share that experience with readers like you. The author was blessed to have performed the Kailash and Muktinath yatra this year (2014).   Please follow the posts  for a nice spiritual experience. 

The first view of the Lord
South and East faces

This time our tour operator was Shri Annapoorani yatra Services , Chennai, It costed about  Rs 1,50,000. The breakup is as follows. 

Fees for 13 Days Kailsh  Yatra (From Kathmandu To kathmandu)  : Rs 80000/-

Fees for 4 Days Muktinath yatra                                                       : Rs 20000/-

Air Fare Chennai to Kathmandu and back                                       : Rs 20000 /- 

Helicopter charges  ( Kodari to Kathmandu)                                    : Rs 15000/-

Extra charges for extra bus                                                             :  Rs 18000/-
Porter and Pony charges ( Rs 40000/-)

Suddenly after 20th August Chinese Govt. imposed a restriction that only 18 passengers can travel in a bus and  a Chinese police man will  also accompany them. So the extra cost was Rs 18000/-  per passenger. Also due to the land slide in Nepal the yatris  travelled by Helicopter during the return journey.  The yatra period was from  4th Sep 2014 to 17th Sep 2014. 

As this year was  Chinese Horse year this year's yatra had a special significance. It is believed that the yatra undertaken this   Kailash Kumbh Mela year year is equivalent to 12 years of yatra and these yatris are eligible for Inner parikrama. 

Maha Vishnu at Muktinath 

During the onward journey as suggested by the tour operator we crossed the land slide by foot as it was very difficult,  some of the on the return travelled by Helicopter from Kodari to Kathmandu which coat them more.  The yatris who travelled in August travelled bothways by helicopter. 

Long wait at Delhi Airport

We left from Chennai to Delhi by Spicejet flight SG - 312. There were about three groups travelling to Kailsh and the  Chennai Airport was full of devotees. We reached Delhi on time but the onward flight to Kathmandu was delayed so we  waited at the airport and interacted with other yatris who will be travelling wiyh us in the yatra.

Our group of yatris

We noticed that some yatris didn't plan their journey properly due to short interval between the flights  at Delhi they missed the flight to Kathmandu and purchased fresh ticket at higher rate. As there are two terminals in Delhi and Domestic and International flights operate from these terminals see to that   you have sufficient time between your flights as you have to travel from Domestic terminal after collecting  your luggage and then again board afresh  at International terminal.

 To Kathmandu

The flight was delayed so much that we reached Kathmandu  very late. We awere accomodated in Lords Mirage Inn Hotel which is located near the airport and Pasupatinath temple.  

Gowri Shankar

Kailash and Manasarovar

West Face of Kailsh

Mirage  Lords Inn

The yatra continues . . . . . . . . .