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from$4,500per person
Overview
This pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar starts with Kathmandu's UNESCO World Heritage Sites, then flies via Nepalgunj to Simikot in the remote Humla district. From there you trek for six days along the Karnali River on an old cross-border trade route, opened to foreigners in 1993, through Dharapuri, Yangar, Tumkot and Yari and over the Nara La (4580 m) to Hilsa on the Tibetan border. In Tibet you drive to Purang (Taklakot), walk to the sacred Lake Manasarovar and complete the three-day kora around Mount Kailash via Dirapuk Gompa, the Drolma La (about 5630 m) and Zutulpuk Gompa. The return drives across the plateau via Paryang, Saga and Lhatse to Shigatse, Sakya and Lhasa, with visits to Sera, Drepung, the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple before flying back to Kathmandu. Whether you drive or walk, there is no quick, easy way to Kailash. All foreigners need a Tibet Travel Permit, arranged through a licensed Tibetan agency, plus a Chinese visa or visa-free eligibility; areas outside Lhasa need additional permits and a guide is compulsory throughout. Tibet can close to foreign visitors at short notice, typically around February-March.
Day by day
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from$4,500
Request to bookAirport pickup and hotel transfer.
Free day while the Chinese visa and Tibet permits are finalized.
Flight to Nepalgunj in the western Terai. Overnight hotel.
Early flight into the mountains of Humla and a first afternoon's walk down to the Karnali.
Follow the Karnali gorge north through Thakuri villages.
Continue up the valley towards the Tibetan border.
Climb into drier, Tibetan-style country.
Acclimatization before the Nara La.
Cross the pass with views into Tibet and descend to the border at Hilsa.
Cross the bridge over the Karnali and drive to Purang (Taklakot).
Walk or drive to the shores of the sacred lake.
Time for puja, a holy bath and reflection by the lake.
Short drive to Darchen, the starting point of the Kailash kora.
Walk up the Lha Chu valley beneath the west face of Kailash to Dirapuk, facing the north face.
The hardest day, crossing the Drolma La and descending to Zutulpuk.
Complete the kora and return to the lake.
Long drive east across the plateau.
Continue along the Yarlung Tsangpo valley.
Cross high passes to Lhatse.
Visit Sakya Monastery and Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse.
Along the Yarlung Tsangpo to Lhasa.
Visit the great Gelugpa monasteries of Sera and Drepung.
Visit the Potala Palace and the Jokhang Temple with the Barkhor pilgrim circuit.
Flight back across the Himalaya to Kathmandu.
Rest and shopping.
Transfer to the international airport.
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