Mount Kailash, situated in western Tibet, is a mountain commonly sacred to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Bonpos, those adherents of ancient animistic beliefs. In Sanskrit, it is called “Mt. Meru or Sumeru”, in Hindi, “Kailash or Crystal Shining”. To Tibetans it is Kang Rimpoche or the “Precious Jewel of the Snows”. It rises from the shores of the sacred Manasarovar Lake (4600 M) soaring to 6723 M.
Traveling west across southern Tibet is an adventure into another way of life. Nomads herd their sheep and yaks in company of devout pilgrims making their way to the holy sites. Hindus believe that it is the World’s pillar described in ancient texts around which all else revolves, its roots in deepest hell, its summit kissing the heavens. Here resides Lord Shiva with his consort, the Goddess Parvati. To Manasarovar come Hindus, to drink of its holy waters, to shed the sins of a hundred lifetimes. To circumambulate the mountain, Tibetans, earnest in their beliefs, that a single circuit will cleanse them of the sins of a lifetime and 108 such will ensure the attainment of enlightenment in this life.
