What to pack for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

The Tibetan plateau does something specific to packing lists: it is genuinely cold before dawn, genuinely hot in direct afternoon sun, extremely dry throughout, and at an altitude where the ultraviolet is punishing. You are packing for all of that at once, and you are carrying some of it on your back for 52 kilometres.

Clothing: layers, not bulk

One heavy coat is the wrong answer, because you will be too hot in it within an hour of sunrise and unable to adjust. Three or four layers you can add and shed is the right one.

Base layer

Two sets of thermal top and bottom, merino or synthetic. Not cotton — it holds sweat, and wet fabric at altitude is genuinely dangerous.

Mid layer

Fleece or light down jacket. One of each if you feel the cold.

Outer layer

Windproof and waterproof shell, jacket and trousers. Wind on the plateau matters more than rain.

Trekking trousers

Two pairs, quick-dry. Avoid jeans entirely.

Extremities

Warm hat, sun hat, buff or scarf for dust and cold air, two pairs of gloves — a thin liner and a warm outer.

Socks

Four to five pairs of proper trekking socks. This is not a place to economise; it is where blisters are prevented.

Footwear

Broken-in, ankle-supporting waterproof trekking boots. The emphasis is on broken-in. New boots on the kora is the single most reliable way to ruin your yatra, and it happens every season to someone.

• Trekking boots, worn for at least 50 km before you travel
• Light shoes or sandals for evenings at the guesthouse
• Gaiters if you are travelling early or late in the season, when snow is more likely

Sleeping

Guesthouse accommodation on the kora at Dirapuk and Zuthulpuk is basic, unheated, and at 4,800 to 4,900 metres. Bedding provided is not reliable and not necessarily clean.

• Sleeping bag rated to at least −10°C comfort, colder if you feel the cold
• Sleeping bag liner — adds warmth and solves the hygiene question
• Inflatable pillow, small and worth its weight
• Earplugs and an eye mask for dormitory nights

Sun, dust and dryness

At 5,000 metres there is far less atmosphere filtering ultraviolet, and snow reflects it back at you. People get badly burnt on cold days because they did not feel hot. The air is also extremely dry, which cracks lips and skin quickly and dehydrates you faster than you notice.

• High-factor sunscreen, SPF 50, and enough of it to reapply
• Lip balm with sun protection — take two, you will lose one
• Category 4 sunglasses or glacier glasses, plus a spare pair
• Heavy moisturiser and a nasal saline spray for the dryness
• Dust mask or buff for windy sections

Personal medical kit

• All prescription medication in original packaging, with a copy of the prescription, in more than one bag
• Blister kit — plasters, tape, and a needle. Take it seriously.
• Basic painkillers, rehydration salts, anti-diarrhoeal, antihistamine
• Throat lozenges — the dry air produces a persistent cough in most travellers
• A pulse oximeter is small, cheap, and gives you and your guide objective data

Documents and money

• Passport with adequate remaining validity, plus photocopies kept separately
• Permits and visa documentation as issued by your operator
• Passport photographs — more than you think you need
• Medical certificate as required by your operator
• Travel and medical insurance covering high-altitude travel and emergency evacuation, with the policy number written down somewhere that is not your phone
• Cash in Chinese yuan for the Tibet side. Cards are not reliably usable.

What lives in the daypack on kora days

This is the list that matters most, because it is what you actually have with you during the hardest hours.

• Water — at least two litres, in an insulated bottle. Bladder tubes freeze before dawn on the Dolma La.
• Snacks with real calories: dry fruit, nuts, chocolate, energy bars
• One warm layer and the waterproof shell, regardless of how the morning looks
• Sunscreen, lip balm, sunglasses
• Headtorch with fresh batteries — day two starts in the dark
• Personal medication and the blister kit
• Power bank. Cold destroys battery life, so keep phones and banks close to your body.
• Toilet paper and a small bag to carry it out

The things people most often forget

• A headtorch. Day two of the kora starts before dawn and this is not optional.
• Trekking poles. They take a great deal of load off the knees on the Dolma La descent.
• An insulated bottle. A normal bottle freezes.
• Enough cash. There is nowhere to withdraw more.
• Broken-in boots. Again, because it is the most common and most avoidable mistake.