Sacred mountain · Tibet
Mount Kailash (Kang Rinpoche)
冈仁波齐
The sacred mountain of four religions in western Tibet
Mount Kailash, Kang Rinpoche (“precious snow mountain”) in Tibetan and 冈仁波齐 in Chinese, is a solitary peak of more than 6,600 metres in the Gangdise range of Ngari, western Tibet. It is sacred to Tibetan Buddhists, followers of Bon, Hindus and Jains; pilgrims walk a circuit of about 52 kilometres around it, and no ascent of the mountain has ever been recorded.
Key facts
Overview
Kailash stands apart from the peaks around it, a dark, four-sided pyramid capped with snow, its southern face scored by a vertical gully and horizontal ledges that pilgrims read as a swastika or a stairway. At its foot to the south lie two great lakes, Manasarovar (Mapam Yumco) and Rakshastal (Lhanag Tso), and within a short distance rise the headwaters of four of the great rivers of South Asia: the Indus, the Sutlej, the Karnali and the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra).
For Tibetan Buddhists the mountain is the dwelling of Demchok (Chakrasamvara); for Bon it is the nine-storey swastika mountain where the founder Tonpa Shenrab descended to Earth; for Hindus it is the abode of Shiva; and for Jains it is Ashtapada, where the first tirthankara, Rishabhanatha, attained liberation. The walk around the mountain — the kora or parikrama — is believed to cleanse the sins of a lifetime, and pilgrims come from Tibet, Nepal, India and beyond.
How the landscape formed
Kailash is built of conglomerate — rounded pebbles and boulders cemented together — laid down in a basin north of the rising Himalaya and then uplifted as part of the Gangdise (Transhimalaya) range. Its horizontal bedding creates the stepped terraces and ledges of its faces. The surrounding landscape is a high, dry plateau at around 4,500 metres, with the Himalaya and Gurla Mandhata to the south and the lakes lying in a broad basin between the two ranges.
Highlights
Lake Manasarovar (Mapam Yumco)
玛旁雍错
A freshwater lake south of Kailash, one of the three sacred lakes of Tibet and holy to Hindus; pilgrims walk around it and bathe in it.
Rakshastal (Lhanag Tso)
拉昂错
A saltwater lake west of Manasarovar, associated in Hindu tradition with the demon king Ravana.
Drolma La pass
卓玛拉山口
The highest point of the kora, at about 5,600 m, dedicated to the goddess Tara (Drolma), and hung with prayer flags.
Darchen
塔尔钦
The village at the southern foot of the mountain where pilgrims begin and end the kora.
Tarboche flagpole
经幡柱 — “prayer-flag pole”
The great prayer-flag pole on the western approach, renewed each year at the Saga Dawa festival.
Plants and wildlife
The Kailash–Manasarovar region is high, cold steppe with sparse grassland, wetlands around the lakes and glaciers on the surrounding peaks. Manasarovar and its shores are an important breeding and stopover site for waterbirds on the plateau.
Plants
Alpine steppe
高寒草原
Short grasses and sedges grazed by the yaks, sheep and goats of nomadic herders.
Wildlife
Bar-headed goose
斑头雁
Breeds on the lakes and is famous for migrating over the Himalaya.
Kiang
藏野驴
Herds of Tibetan wild ass graze the plains around the lakes.
Culture and legend
Buddhist and Hindu pilgrims walk the kora clockwise; followers of Bon walk it anticlockwise. Most take three days, but devout Tibetans complete it in a single long day, and some cover it in full-body prostrations over several weeks. A kora in the Tibetan Year of the Horse, the year of the mountain's birth, is counted as especially meritorious. According to Tibetan tradition, the yogi Milarepa won the mountain for Buddhism in a contest of magic powers with the Bon master Naro Bonchung. Small monasteries of the Kagyu schools, mostly of the Drikung Kagyu, stand on the circuit.
Chuku (Nyenri) Monastery
曲古寺
A monastery on the western side of the kora, above the valley of the Lha Chu.
Dirapuk Monastery
止热寺
A monastery facing the north face of Kailash, where most pilgrims spend the first night.
Zutulpuk Monastery
祖楚寺
A monastery on the eastern side built around a cave associated with Milarepa.
Saga Dawa
萨嘎达瓦节
The festival commemorating the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and passing, in the fourth Tibetan month, when the Tarboche pole is raised again.
History
Antiquity
Sacred mountain of Zhangzhung
Kailash was the holy mountain of the ancient kingdom of Zhangzhung, whose religion Bon tradition traces to Tonpa Shenrab.
11th–12th century
Milarepa and the Kagyu
Tibetan tradition places Milarepa's contest with Naro Bonchung here; Kagyu lineages later founded monasteries on the circuit.
1907–1908
Sven Hedin in Ngari
The Swedish explorer surveyed the Kailash–Manasarovar region and the sources of the great rivers.
1960s–1970s
Pilgrimage interrupted
Pilgrimage was suspended and the monasteries were damaged during the upheavals of this period.
1980s
Pilgrimage resumes
The monasteries were rebuilt and the kora reopened, including to Indian pilgrims under an agreement between China and India from 1981.
Through the seasons
Spring
Cold and windy; the Drolma La can be snowbound into May. Saga Dawa, usually in May or June, draws the largest crowds.
Summer
The main pilgrimage season from June to September, with mild days, cold nights and occasional snow on the pass.
Autumn
September and early October are clear and cold; the kora becomes difficult as winter approaches.
Winter
Extreme cold and snow make the kora hazardous; few pilgrims attempt it.
Routes and ways in
Outer kora
A circuit of about 52 km from Darchen via Chuku, Dirapuk, the Drolma La and Zutulpuk, usually walked in three days; yaks and porters can be hired locally.
Inner kora
A shorter, more demanding circuit on the southern side closer to the mountain, traditionally undertaken only after thirteen outer koras.
Manasarovar circuit
A level circuit of the lake, usually by vehicle with stops at the monasteries on its shores, or walked over several days.
Practical notes
- The kora starts at about 4,600 m and crosses the Drolma La at about 5,600 m; thorough acclimatisation before arrival is essential, and altitude sickness is the main danger.
- Ngari is a border area: foreign visitors need the Tibet Travel Permit and additional permits, arranged through a registered travel agency with a guided itinerary; see the visa section for general entry rules.
- Walk in the same direction as the pilgrims of your chosen tradition, do not step over offerings or remove stones, and do not climb on the mountain.
- Weather changes fast, and snow can fall on the pass in any month; carry warm, waterproof clothing.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Kailas Range — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Mount Kailas — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- People's Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region — People's Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region (retrieved 27 September 2026)
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