The Kailash kora, day by day

The kora is the heart of the yatra. Everything before it is travel; this is the part you came for. It runs roughly 52 kilometres around the base of Mount Kailash, and it is walked clockwise in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions and anticlockwise by Bön practitioners. Three days is the standard. Tibetan pilgrims sometimes complete it in one, and some perform it in full-body prostrations over several weeks.

Day one — Darchen to Dirapuk

Distance

Approximately 20 km

Elevation

From about 4,670 m to about 4,900 m

Terrain

A broad valley floor, gradually rising. Gravel, river stones, some stream crossings.

Typical time

Six to eight hours at pilgrim pace

The day begins at Yama Dwar, the gateway where the circuit formally starts. From there the path follows the Lha Chu valley north. It is the gentlest of the three days in gradient, and the longest in distance — a steady walk rather than a climb.

Somewhere along it the north face of Kailash comes into view. It stays with you for most of the afternoon, and it is the sight most people carry home. Dirapuk sits directly beneath it, which means that if the weather is clear you wake up to the face at close range.

Day two — over the Dolma La

Distance

Approximately 22 km

High point

Dolma La Pass, approximately 5,630 m

Terrain

Steep boulder-strewn ascent, then a sharp rocky descent, then a long valley walk

Typical time

Ten to fourteen hours

This is the day. Groups usually start in the dark to have enough daylight margin, and the first hours are a sustained climb over rough ground toward the pass. There is no technical difficulty — no ropes, no exposure — but there is a great deal of altitude and very little oxygen.

The Dolma La itself is marked by prayer flags, and by the quantity of clothing and personal items left there by pilgrims. In the tradition the crossing is a death and rebirth: you leave something of the old life on the pass. Whatever you make of that, the physical fact of arriving at 5,630 metres on your own legs tends to produce something.

The descent is steep and rocky, and harder on knees than the climb was on lungs. Gauri Kund — a small emerald lake also called the Lake of Compassion — sits below the pass on the descent. From there the trail flattens into a long valley walk to Zuthulpuk, and by then most people are simply tired.

Day three — the walk out

Distance

Approximately 10 km

Elevation

From about 4,790 m, descending gently

Terrain

Valley trail, mostly downhill

Typical time

Three to four hours

The shortest day by some margin. The trail follows the Zhong Chu valley back out to the road, where vehicles meet the group. Most people walk this one quietly.

Ponies, porters and what they do not solve

Ponies and porters are generally available at Darchen and can be arranged for the kora. A pony carries you on the flatter sections; a porter carries your daypack. Both are worth considering, and neither is a failure of nerve — Tibetan and Indian pilgrims have used them for as long as the route has existed.

What they do not do is remove the requirement to be capable. Ponies typically cannot be ridden on the steepest sections of the Dolma La approach and descent, so you walk the hardest part regardless. And if weather closes in or an animal is unavailable, you need to be able to complete the day on foot.

What the conditions are actually like

• Temperature swings hard. It can be below freezing before dawn on the Dolma La and warm enough for a single layer by mid-afternoon in the valley. Layers, not one heavy coat.
• The plateau is very dry and the sun at that altitude is fierce. Sunburn and dehydration arrive faster than you expect, including on cold days.
• Accommodation on the kora is basic — guesthouse dormitories at Dirapuk and Zuthulpuk. Bring a sleeping bag rated properly for the cold.
• There is no reliable medical facility on the circuit. Whatever your group carries is what you have.
• Weather changes quickly. Snow on the Dolma La is possible in any month of the season.

Walking it well

A practical observation from having walked it: the people who struggle least are rarely the strongest. They are the ones who have already learned to keep a steady rhythm and a steady breath for hours at a time, and who are not fighting their own mind about how much further there is.

That is trainable, and it is most of what a daily sadhana in the months before departure is actually for.