Upon arrival in Kathmandu International Airport. You will be met at the Airport & transferred to your hotel. Evening dinner will be organized following with tour orientation program.
Kailash – Mansarovar Overland Tour 13 Days Itinerary
-
Day 01 ARRIVAL KATHMANDU:
-
Day 02 SIGHTSEEING TOUR WITHIN KATHMANDU:
In the morning after breakfast, you will set off for a full day sightseeing tour within Kathmandu valley. You will visit Pashupatinath temple, Guheshowri Mata temple, Budhanilkantha temple (Jal Narayan or Sesh Narayan) and Monkey temple, if time permits.
-
Day 03 DRIVE, KATHMANDU - SYABRUBESHI:
Today you set off early in the morning to Syabrubeshi, a small town that borders with Kyirong in Tibet/China, situated about 170 km north of Kathmandu. This fascinating country drive takes approximately 8 hours to reach Syabrubeshi. Some 70Km part of the highway is very slender; so it can be a risky journey to drive fast. Lunch will be served on the way and you will spend the night in a guesthouse/hotel in Syabrubeshi.
Kathmandu to Syabrubeshi: 170Km | 8Hrs drive (approx.).
-
Day 04 CROSS KYIRONG BRIDGE THEN DRIVE TO KYIRONG TOWN:
In the morning you will drive approx. 10km to the ‘Friendship Bridge’ on the Nepal/China border. You will cross the friendship bridge and go through the immigration formalities and continue drive to Kyirong valley, 22km drive from the Friendship bridge.
-Syabrubeshi to Kyirong bridge: 18km | 45 minutes (approx.).
- Border to Kyirong town: 22km | 1 hr.
-
Day 05 DRIVE, KYIRONG TO SAGA:
From Kyriong town you will proceed to the first Tibetan town, Saga, approx. 4 hours drive. Saga is situated at the bank of River Brahmaputra that origins in Kailash. From Kailash the river flows to Lhasa then it drops down to the plain of Asam crossing vast area of Arunchal Pradesh.
Kyirong to Saga: 154 km | 4 hrs drive (approx.).
-
Day 06 DRIVE FROM SAGA TO LAKE MANSASAROVAR (CHIU GOMPA):
Today is a long journey so you will need to set off from the hotel very early in the morning. Today’s destination is the holy Lake Mansarovar (link to page) where you will reach by the afternoon. En Route to Mansarovar, 150km into the drive, you will reach Old Dzongba; the habitat of Tibet herders. From old Dzongba, you will continue the drive to Paryang through high passes and wide pastures en route. Paryang is a small town with the Chinese military base situated in a wide-open, Himalaya-facing, pastureland. From Paryang, you will continue your journey West with a quick formality stop at the security check post in Horchu River followed by a lunch break.
From here the drive will continue for around two hours to reach Mansarovar. The holy bathe and puja can be performed either today or tomorrow depending on the time of your arrival as well as the weather conditions. The decision can be made after mutual discussion between guide, group manager and tour leader. In the evening we will drive to Chiugompa (West shore of Lake Mansarovar) and perform circumambulation of the lake in a clockwise direction.
-
Day 07 LAKE MANSAROVAR TO DARCHEN (MANSAROVAR – DARCHEN- 35Km | 45 Min. ):
After breakfast, you will go on a short 45-minute drive to Darchen which is the gateway of trekking around mount Kailash where you will stop for the overnight. It is situated on the foothill of mount Kailash, and 35 km in distance from Lake Mansarovar. where you can take rest, here you can enjoy close up views of Mount Kailash and Nandi Parvat .
-
Day 08 DRIVE TO YAMA DWAR THEN START TREKKING TO DHIRAPUK:
Today is the day that you will start the sacred circumambulation around holy Kailash. In Yama Dwar, you will meet with your porter, horses and yaks and set off on together to trek to Diraphuk. Yama Dwar is the best vantage point that provides splendid views of south and west faces of mount Kailash. This is probably the best place to have a close view.*
The complete trek around mount Kailash takes about two and half days. The distance of first day’s trek (from Yama Dwar to Diraphuk) is about 10 km and it takes about 5 to 7 hours to cover the distance.
The entire trail up to Diraphuk is reasonably flat with gentle ascend; however due to extreme elevation of this region, it is normal to experience exhaustion. Frequent breaks are necessary. The last leg of the journey is tough with rapid ascend, but, it is only for half an hour.
Diraphuk stands at an elevation of 4,920m. The north face of Mount Kailash is just a few thousands meters away from here. This is the only place to have a close view of north face.
- Tarboche (Yama Dwar) to Diraphuk: 10 km | 5 to 7 hours walk (approx.).
Note: Those who are not attempting Parikrama will go to Darchen and wait there for two days and wait for the other members of the group to return from circumambulation. It is imperative to follow a simple rule in China, ‘ENTRY TOGETHER AND EXIT TOGETHER’.
-
Day 09 TREK TO SHIVASTHAL, GAURIKUNDA (5,620 m) THEN CONTINUE ZUTULPHUK:
Today is the toughest part (physically) of the trip. You will set off from Dhiraphuk at 5am and embark on an approximately 22km trek that will take you through rugged highlands to reach Zutulphuk – here the team will set up camp. Initially the trek from Diraphuk is uphill but after around two hours walking the trail becomes easier with mild ascend. Half of the trail passes through an elevation of 4,900m/16,000ft or above, so do not be surprised if you experience some forms of breathlessness or headaches. Keeping this in mind, the group will proceed at a slow and steady pace.
After hiking for about 4 hours or so, you will reach Dolma La pass at 5,800m – a picturesque high pass full of fluttering Tibetan prayers flags. This is the ultimate highest point of this divine trip. After making a gentle descent from this pass, you will spot a tiny glacial lake on the right side of the trail. This is ‘Gauri Kunda’. The legend of this pool is connected with Mata Parvati, the consorts of Lord Shiva.
From Gauri Kunda, the trail leads you rapidly down through the icy region for a while then follows a trail that is full of boulders and loose pebbles. Descending can be more difficult than going up, so please pay much attention while walking down.
Note: If someone has taken horse, the horse cannot be used here, after Dolma La pass.
After trekking down for around 90 minutes from Gauri Kunda, you will eventually arrive at the valley floor. From this point on, the trail becomes flat and easy all the way to Zutulphuk – approximately 2 hours walking - where you will spend the night.
- Deraphuk to Zutulphuk: 22 km | 9 hours.
Note: Members who may abandon their parikrama from Dhiraphuk, will return to Darchen on the 2nd day of the trek (Day 09). Please be informed that returning to Darchen at this point will not always guarantee a hotel booking in the same place as the non-parikrama members (depending on availability). Our team will do its bets to arrange accommodation in the same place.
-
Day 10 TREK, ZUTULPHUK TO TREK ENDING POINT (ZONGDAU), & RETURN TO SAGA:
Today is the last day of this divine circumambulation. In the morning you will pack up and move on to Darchen, an easy and flat trail, which will take about 3 hours to complete.
In Darchen, your vehicle will be waiting for you and the group who did not do the parikrama will join here. We will drive over the Mayum La pass, military barricade, Paryang, sand-dunes area then eventually reach to Saga in the evening. A picnic lunch will be served somewhere after the Mayum La Pass.
- Zutulphuk to trek ending point: 08Km/3Hrs.
- Trek ending point to Saga: 600Km/9Hrs Approx.
-
Day 11 SAGA TO KYIRONG BRIDGE THEN RETURN TO SYABRUBESHI (NEPAL SIDE):
Morning after breakfast, we pack up our belongings then set off for Kyirong bridge. Today, we traverse approximately 155km to reach Kyirong town then another 22km further drive will take us to the Kyirong bridge.
We will clear immigration formalities then cross into Nepal side, and drive to Syabru Beshi.
- Saga to Kyirong town: 155 km | 4 hours (approx.).
- Kyirong town to Kyirong bridge: 22 km | 45 minutes drive.
-
Day 12 MORNING AFTER BREAKFAST, DRIVE BACK TO KATHMANDU:
Morning after breakfast, we will proceed to Kathmandu which will take about 7-8 hours. In the evening you can finally relax and enjoy the comforts of your hotel in Kathmandu.
- Syabru Beshi to Kathmandu: 170 km | 7-8 hours (approx.).
-
Day 13 DEPARTURE:
Transfer to International Airport for your flight back to home. As per the International flight rule, you should be reporting at the Airport counter 3 hours prior to the departure time.
