Mount Kailash, which is believed to have been formed 30 million years ago when Himalayas were in their early stage of formation, is one of the most revered places in the Himalayas. It is at 6714 metres in elevation.Spread out on the Tibetan plateau beside Mount Kailash is the giant lake of shifting colours - Lake Mansarovar. Brahma, the creator, had a mind (¡®Man¡¯) for the creation of a lake (¡®Sarovar¡¯), hence its name. A pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and a bath in the Mansarovar is believed to bring about salvation (Moksha). Besides,the mountain is known in Tibetan as Kang Rinpoche, or "Precious Jewel of Snow".
    A great mass of black rock soaring to over 22,000 feet, Mt. Kailash has the unique distinction of being the world's most venerated holy place at the same time that it is the least visited. The supremely sacred site of four religions and billions of people, Kailash is seen by no more than a few thousand pilgrims each year. This curious fact is explained by the mountain's remote location in far western Tibet. No planes, trains or buses journey anywhere near the region and even with rugged over-land vehicles the journey still requires weeks of difficult, often dangerous travel. The weather, always cold, can be unexpectedly treacherous and pilgrims must carry all the supplies they will need for the entire journey.
    After the difficult journey getting there,Pilgrims are then confronted with the equally arduous task of circumambulating the sacred peak. This walking around the mountain is known as a Kora, or Parikrama, and normally takes three days. In hopes of gaining extra merit or psychic powers, some pilgrims will vary the tempo of their movement. A hardy few, practicing a secret breathing technique known as Lung-gom, will power themselves around the mountain in only one day. Others will take two to three weeks for the Kora by making full body prostrations the entire way. It is believed that a pilgrim who completes 108 journeys around the mountain is assured enlightenment.
    Hindus believe Mt.Kailash to be the abode of Lord Shiva. Like many of the Hindu gods, Shiva is a character of apparent contradictions. He is the Lord of Yoga and therefore the ultimate renunciate ascetic, yet he is also the divine master of Tantra, the esoteric science that regards sexual union as the most perfect path to spiritual enlightenment. According to legend, immortal Shiva lives atop Kailash where he spends his time practicing yogic austerities, making joyous love with his divine consort, Parvati, and smoking ganja, the sacred herb known in the west as marijuana, Hindus do not interpret Shiva's behaviors as contradictory however, but rather see in him a deity who has wisely integrated the extremes of human nature and thus transcended attachment to any particular, and limited, way of being. For a Hindu, to make the arduous pilgrimage to Kailash and have the darshan (divine view) of Shiva's abode is to attain release from the clutches of ignorance and delusion.

Notes :

  1.For Tibetans, pilgrimage refers to the journey from ignorance to enlightenment, from self-centeredness and materialistic preoccupations to a deep sense of the relativity and interconnectedness of all life.
  2.By traveling to sacred sites, Tibetans are brought into living contact with the icons and energies of Tantric Buddhism.