Tattva

This is the first of a 3-part series on Sowmya Ranganathan’s Kailash Yatra, a journey that was a life-changing experience for her. She was 15 years old at the time that she embarked on this 18-day yatra. Below, Sowmya shares her diary account of the pilgrimage.

Mt Kailash is considered Lord Shiva and Lake Manasarovar is the form of Devi Parvati. This pilgrimage is most superior to all other Hindu pilgrimages. In this holy place, the form of worship is most ancient. There is no temple or idol. We worship nature- pure and untouched. There is a certain aura about this lake and mountain that separates them from all others. It is said that Kailash is a place for Gods to enjoy. The beauty at this place cannot be expressed in words.

Till we sight Kailash, every snow-capped mountain catches our eye and we are left in awe; but Mt Kailash, once sighted, seems to diminish all other mountains and alone stands majestically, in all glory. The only equal to Kailash’s beauty is the lake Manasarovar. This lake is the largest fresh water lake at an altitude of 15,000 ft. The water in the lake is crystal clear. There are numerous hues of blue in the lake that together give a feast to one’s eyes.

Considering the greatness of the spot, obviously, it cannot be easy for human beings to experience it. This brings me to the Yatra itself. This journey is one of the hardest land journeys on earth. For one to successfully accomplish this Yatra, physical fitness and tremendous will power are a must. The tour can be done either through the Indian government or privately. We opted to go privately from Katmandu, Nepal. Our tour was organized by Sree travels, Chennai and Cosmic Journeys, Nepal. Although there are helicopter trips to Mt Kailash, it is better to go by road. Due to the high altitude we reach, it is essential that we give our body enough time to acclimatize. By road, it takes 4 days journey to reach Manasarovar and Kailash, approximately traveling 9-10 hours each day.

DAY 1
After landing in Tribhuvan International Airport Katmandu, the travel agent transferred us to the hotel. After refreshments, we are free to do what we like. Some people went to Pashupatinath Temple while others went shopping. In Katmandu, woolens and other essential items are quite cheap and they are of good quality also. The essential Down jacket and sleeping bag can be rented. The weather was quite good.

DAY 2
We woke up and had an early shower. As per schedule, we went for our Katmandu tour. First we went to Swoyambhunath, that is a Buddhist monastery situated on top of a hill. From here we get a beautiful view of Katmandu city. We then went to Bouddhyanath, that is supposed to be the largest Buddhist stupa. From there we went to Guhyeshwari temple. This is a shakthi peetam. Finally we proceeded to Pashupatinath temple. Within the temple, there is a ‘sahasra linga sannidhi’ (thousand shiv lings) and the passage is built in such a way that you can do “pradakshinam” of each lingam. We had very nice darshan of Shiva. Interestingly, no leather items are allowed inside the temple complex. Just outside the temple, we bought rudrakshams, spatika malas, etc. and returned to the hotel.

DAY 3
Originally, we were scheduled to leave Katmandu on this day but due to a delay in the issue of our Chinese visa, we were instead taken to Manakamana Temple. It took us about 5 hours to reach there by bus. On the way we crossed several mountain peaks and throughout, a river was flowing alongside the road. After a certain point, we had to go by cable car. This was very exciting and quite scary too. We crossed a ferocious river and two mountain peaks before we reached the temple. The distance covered by cable car in 15 minutes takes about 4 hours by road. After darshan we came back down. It was scorching hot that day. The heat was almost unbearable. By the time we reached Katmandu it was late in the evening.

DAY 4
I went up to breakfast thinking we were finally going to leave that day when we were informed that due to a Maoist Strike we would be able to leave only the next day. Immediately, we hired a taxi and went to pashupatinath again. We also went to Dakshina Kali temple. This deity is considered very powerful among the Nepalese. Every Tuesday and Saturday, ‘Bali’ is given to the goddess. We happened to go there on a Saturday and I had an experience I will not forget soon. There were heads of goats and hens and drops of blood all over the place. The crowd at the temple was very big but we managed to get darshan. We returned to the hotel. In the evening, we got our currency converted to Chinese Yuan. The rate was Indian rupees 6= 1 Chinese Yuan. We also packed our bags and left unnecessary suitcases at the hotel.

DAY 5
We started journey at 5 30 am IST. From Katmandu to Kodari ( the village at the Nepalese border) it takes about 6 hours by bus but we took longer due to a breakdown. At Kodari, we had to walk a short distance carrying all our hand bags but there were porters available. After Nepalese border formalities, we crossed the friendship bridge( length 65 m) by foot. We then reached the Chinese office where they checked our visas. Simultaneously, they held out thermometers to check each of our body temperatures! We then got into the land cruisers ( accommodating 4 passengers each) and started journey. At Zhang Mu, we completed the immigration formalities and started for Nyalam. Nyalam is at an altitude of 14000 ft and this is the place where we can see how our body responds to the changes in altitude. It is very common for people to experience head aches, vomiting or nose bleeding , just to name a few. All these are symptoms of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). Diamox tablets are quite useful as they can assist your heart to adapt to the altitude. We were to lodge in a hotel. In the evening, I took a stroll around. It was cold and I put on my Down jacket. There was a Chinese Telecom booth from where we could call home.

Sowmya Ranganathan is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Waterloo, Canada. She can be contacted at rsowmya90@gmail.com. This was the first of a 3-part series on her Kailash Yatra. Please be on the lookout for Part 2 in the next issue of Tattva.

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