Kailas: A Holy Pilgrimage
ITINERARIES

Day 1-2 - Depart from home.

Day 3-4 - Arrival in Kathmandu and transfer you to the hotel for check in. Since ancient times the Kathmandu valley has been an intermingling point for travelers and merchants from Tibet to the north and India to the south. This ideal location and highly fertile soils have left Kathmandu Valley with a plenitude of both Hindu and Buddhist temples as well as the spectacular medieval cities of Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur. We'll take a morning tour of the valley to see the key sites such as the classic Newari (the original inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley) architecture in the medieval city of Bhaktapur, the Hindu temple complex at Pashupatinath (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and the Buddhist stupa at Bodhnath. The afternoon is yours to freely explore the many interesting sites in Kathmandu and Patan.

Day 05 - Fly to Nepalgunj in the remote southwestern corner of Nepal. Nepalgunj lies in the flat lands south of the Himalayan chain. Stay here for the night and explore the markets of this bustling town, overnight at Hotel Batika

Day 06-11 - Begin the trek through the Himalayan Mountains. We fly to Simikot (2950 m.) high in the Himalayas, then trek 6 days north and westward through the remote Humla river valley. Our route takes us through numerous small towns, ever higher to the border with Tibet.

Day 12 - Once in Tibet, we will rendezvous with our land cruisers and drive to our Lake Manasarovar camp (5410 m.). Along the way we will pass many nomadic camps and small villages as we cross the relatively flat terrain of the Tibetan Plateau. The broad peak of Gurla Mandata (7728m) will be with us all day.

Day 13-14 - The next two days are spent visiting the ancient kingdoms of Tholing and Tsaparang. The numerous ruins, preserved buildings, and artworks of these lost kingdoms hint at the magnificence of this region during its heyday in the 9th & 10th centuries. We will end up at the base of Mount Kailas in the jumping-off town of Darchan (4560 m.)

Day 15-18 - Trek around Mount Kailas. The crystalline peak of Mount Kailas will keep us and the thousands of Buddhist, Hindu, and Bon pilgrims company for the next four days as we circumambulate this holy mountain. It is said that any pilgrim that completes this trek 108 times in their life will be guaranteed access into heaven. The pilgrims here are from all over the world, but primarily Tibet. You will be come very accustomed to the droning sounds of prayers, "Om Mani Padme Um" cymbals, bells, and the squeak of prayer wheels turning as we complete the trek alongside the devout. We will end up once again in Darchan

Day 19-20 - Return to Lake Manasarovar and spend a day and two nights relaxing on the shores of this aquamarine lake, enjoying the nomadic people around us and the clear skies above.

Day 20-24 - Drive eastward, following the Himalayan Mountains, to the border with Nepal and ultimately back to Kathmandu. We will once again cross the Himalayas, this time on the Lhasa to Kathmandu road. It follows the amazingly steep canyon of the Bhote Kosi River downward through alpine, then scrub, then fir forests, oak-fir forests. and finally the terraced slopes typical of the southern foothills of the Himalayas. We will reach Kathmandu in the evening.

Day 25 - Free day in Kathmandu to relax, explore, eat ice cream.
Day 26-27 - Depart Kathmandu and arrive home.