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Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; ; ; , ) is a mountain in Ngari Prefecture,
Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the ...
of China. It lies in the Kailash Range (Gangdisê Mountains) of the Transhimalaya, in the western part of the Tibetan Plateau. The peak of Mount Kailash is located at an elevation of , near the western trijunction between
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
. Mount Kailash is located close to Manasarovar and Rakshastal lakes. The sources of four rivers: Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, and Karnali lie in the vicinity of the region. Mount Kailash is sacred in
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
,
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
,
Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...
and Bon religion. People from India, China, Nepal and other countries in the region undertake a
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
to the mountain. The pilgrimage generally involves trekking towards Lake Manasarovar and a circumambulation of Mount Kailash. While the mountain has been surveyed by climbers in the past, there has been no recorded successful ascent of the mountain. The climbing of the mountain is prohibited by the Chinese government due to its religious significance.


Etymology

The mountain is known as "'" (; var. ' ) in Sanskrit. The name could have been derived from the word "'" (), which means "crystal". In his Tibetan- English dictionary, Sarat Chandra Das states that 'kai la ca' () from Sanskrit is used to denote the mountain. The mountain is also called as ''Gang Rinpoche'' ( Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་; ) or ''Gang Tise'' locally. ''Gang Rinpoche'' means "snow jewel mountain" with ''Kang'' (or ''Gang'') being the Tibetan word meaning ''white mountain'' (snow peak) and '' rinpoche'' is an honorific meaning "precious one". ''Gang Tise'' means "mountain of ice or cool".


Geography and topography

Mount Kailash is located in Ngari Prefecture,
Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the ...
of China. It lies in the Gangdisê Mountains (also called as Kailash Range) of the Transhimalaya, in the western part of the Tibetan Plateau. The peak of Mount Kailash is at an elevation of . The region is located north of the western
tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...
of the border between
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
. The major rivers rising from the western Gangdise mountains are the Yarlung Tsangpo (which becomes the Brahmaputra), the Indus, the Sutlej and the Karnali, a tributary of Ganges. All these river systems originate within a stretch in the region. Mount Kailash is located on the banks of Manasarovar and Rakshastal lakes. Spread over an area of , Manasarovar is the highest freshwater lake in the world.


Geology

The region around Mount Kailash are remnants of large ice sheets that covered the region during the
Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...
period, the last of which retreated about 10,000 years ago. The mountain might be a large metasedimentary roof pendant supported by a base of
granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
. The Indus headwaters area is typified by wide-scale faulting of metamorphosed late-
Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
to mid- Cenozoic sedimentary rocks interspersed with igneous Cenozoic granitic rocks. The Cenozoic rocks represent offshore marine
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
s deposited before subduction of the Tethys oceanic crust. These sediments were deposited on the southern margin of the Asia block during subduction of the Tethys oceanic crust before the collision between the Indian and Asian continents. It also consists of sand dunes covering
late Eocene The Priabonian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age or the upper stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Eocene epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans ...
volcanic forms interspersed with
Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
and Eocene sediments. The Kailash flysch zone extends about from the mountain and marks the northern end of the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
and the start of the Trans Himalayas. The Trans Himalayan range was formed by the subduction of sediments from the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates. The flysch zone consists of alternate areas of peridotites, sandy shales, and dolomites, covered by gravel terraces. The mountain itself consists of thick conglomerate rocks sitting on
granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
. The visible part of the conglomerates extend from to the top with the base located deeper in the mountain.


Climate

The weather is fairly dry during April to June with day time temperatures of and night time temperatures of . The temperature starts to decrease in October and winters have much lower day time temperatures ranging from and further lower in the night reaching up to with January being the coldest. Monsoons bring rain from late June to August with cold winds.
Global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...
is described as happening three times faster (by about 0.3 C per decade) on the Tibetan Plateau than the global average with lesser snowfall in the winter. According to locals, the land around Mount Kailash has been growing warmer in recent years with winters not as cold as it used to be. The retreating
glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
s and thawing of the
permafrost Permafrost () is soil or underwater sediment which continuously remains below for two years or more; the oldest permafrost has been continuously frozen for around 700,000 years. Whilst the shallowest permafrost has a vertical extent of below ...
in the Tibet region might lead to uncertain effects on water resources of the region. These effects along with population explosion and tourism has put severe stress on the fragile ecosystem around Mount Kailash. The intergovernmental organisation International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is involved in a trans boundary project called the Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative in the region around Mount Kailash. The organization is involved in ongoing efforts to generate climate data, and to devise sustainable ways of life for the people of the region.


Mountaineering

In 1926, Hugh Ruttledge, the deputy commissioner of Almora, visited the area to meet the Garpon (local Tibetan leader) of Ngari. As the Garpon was away, he circumambulated Mount Kailash while studying it. As per Ruttledge, the mountain was about high and utterly unclimbable. He thought about an ascent along the northeast ridge and had been exploring the area with Colonel R. C. Wilson, who was on the other side of the mountain with a Sherpa named Tseten. As per Wilson, Tseten told him that the southeast ridge represented a feasible route to the summit. Wilson explained that although they attempted to climb the mountain, they ran into heavy snowfall, making the ascent impossible. Herbert Tichy visited the area in 1936, attempting to climb the mountain. When he asked the local people whether Kailash was climbable, a Garpon replied: "Only a man entirely free of sin could climb Kailash. And he wouldn't have to actually scale the sheer walls of ice to do it — he'd just turn himself into a bird and fly to the summit". Italian mountaineer
Reinhold Messner Reinhold Andreas Messner (; born 17 September 1944) is an Italian climber, explorer, and author from the German-speaking province of South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent o ...
was given the opportunity by the Chinese government to climb the mountain in the mid-1980s, but he reportedly declined, saying "If we conquer this mountain, then we conquer something in people's souls. I would suggest they go and climb something a little harder." In 2001, permission was denied to a Spanish team, who requested to climb the peak. Chinese authorities stated that any climbing activities on Mount Kailash were strictly prohibited. To date, there have been no known successful ascents of the mountain.


Religious significance

Mount Kailash is considered sacred in
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
,
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
,
Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...
and Bon religions.


Hinduism

In
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
art and literature, the mountain is described as the abode of
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
, who is depicted as residing there along with his consort Parvati and their children,
Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...
and
Kartikeya Kartikeya (/Sanskrit phonology, kɑɾt̪ɪkejə/; ), also known as Skanda (Sanskrit phonology, /skən̪d̪ə/), Subrahmanya (/Sanskrit phonology, sʊbɾəɦməɲjə/, /ɕʊ-/), Shanmukha (Sanskrit phonology, /ɕɑnmʊkʰə/) and Murugan ...
. In early Hindu depictions, Kailash was described as one of the mountains in the Himalayas. In Hindu mythology, Mount Meru is considered as a stairway to
heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...
, where the devas reside and the '' Vishnu Purana'' states that it lies in the center of the world surrounded by six mountain ranges similar to a lotus, one of which is the Himalayas. In the later Hindu theology, Kailash came to be identified with Meru. Shiva is described as sitting in a lotus position, engaged in meditation within the confines of the mountain. Kailash and Manasarovar are mentioned in the Hindu epics ''
Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...
'' and '' Mahabharata''. According to the Hindu scriptures and sculptural depictions, the demon-king
Ravana According to the Mahakavya, Hindu epic, ''Ramayana'', Ravana was a kingJustin W. Henry, ''Ravana's Kingdom: The Ramayana and Sri Lankan History from Below'', Oxford University Press, p.3 of the island of Lanka, in which he is the chief antag ...
shook the mountain after he was refused entry to Kailash. This enraged Shiva, who pressed his toe upon the mountain, trapping Ravana in between. Ravana sang hymns in praise of Shiva for a thousand years before he was released. This representation of Shiva is also referred to as Ravananugraha (meaning "form showing favour to Ravana").


Jainism

According to Jain scriptures, Rishabhadeva, the first Tirthankar of
Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...
attained moksha (liberation) on Mount Kailash. It is believed by Jains that after Rishabhadeva attained moksha, his son emperor Bharata Chakravartin had constructed three stupas and twenty four shrines of the 24 tirthankaras in the region with their idols studded with precious stones and named it ''Sinhnishdha''. He also performed a fortnight of worship termed ''Mahamaga'' and attained moksha from Kailash. Large pits were dug around the mountain later and the River Ganges was made to flow through it. The 24th and the last Tirthankara,
Mahavira Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...
, was taken to the summit of Meru by
Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes Indra is the m ...
shortly after his birth, after putting his mother into deep slumber. There he was anointed with precious unctions.


Buddhism and Bon

As per Buddhist texts, Mount Kailash (Kailasa) is known as the mythological Mount Meru. Kailash is central to its cosmology, and a major pilgrimage site for some Buddhist traditions. In Buddhism, Kailash represents the father of the world and Lake Manasarovar symbolizes the mother. Numerous sites in the region are associated with Padmasambhava, who is credited with establishing Tantric Buddhism in Tibet in the 8th century CE.
Vajrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...
Buddhists believe that saint Milarepa () had a challenge with Naro Böncham, a follower of Bön religion of Tibet. The two engaged in a battle of wits with neither able to gain a decisive advantage. Finally, it was agreed that whoever could reach the summit of Kailash first would be the victor. While Naro sat on his magic drum to climb up the slope, Milarepa reached the summit riding on the rays of the Sun, thus winning the contest. He also gave the nearby mountain, since known as ''Bönri'' bequeathing it to Bön. For the Bon people, the mountain is the abode of sky goddess Sipaimen and the mountain was the centre of the ancient Bon empire of Zhang Zhung. As per Tibetan beliefs, the mountain was the centre of the universe ''Mandala'' and the source of the mythical Lion, Horse, Peacock, and Elephant Rivers which flowed in the four cardinal directions.


Pilgrimage

Due to its perceived sacredness to various religions, people undertake a pilgrimage called ''yatra'' to the mountain. While it is not known when the first pilgrimage started, it is one of the oldest pilgrimage routes, which has been in existence for many years. Pilgrimage to the mountain increased in the 1930s but was affected later due to both China and the British Empire claiming the region. Religious pilgrimages to Mount Kailas and Manasarovar were permitted by China after its occupation of Tibet in 1950-51. While pilgrimage from India was guaranteed by the 1954 Sino-Indian Agreement, access was restricted after the subsequent 1959 Tibetan uprising and the borders were closed after the Sino-Indian War in 1962. After nearly two decades, pilgrimage from India was allowed in 1981 after an agreement between the governments of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and China. The pilgrimage was suspended for three years since 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The route was re-opened in 2023 with new regulations. Since the reopening of the pilgrimage route from India in 1981, the numbers of pilgrims going on the annual yatra has grown considerably. Before the closure in 2020, several thousand pilgrims from India were going to this pilgrimage every year. Since 2015, aspiring pilgrims from India were required to apply in advance to the Ministry of External Affairs and specific number of passes were issued to pilgrims by computerized random selection with preference given to first timers. In India, the pilgrimage is organized by the Government of India and is permitted between June and September. Pilgrims from India travel through two routes opened for the purpose with border crossings at Lipu Lekh pass in
Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...
and the Nathu La pass in
Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...
. Since 2020, a motorable road is available till the Lipu Lekh pass through the Indian side of the Mahakali valley, before crossing over to China. The Nathu La route was opened in 2015 and involves traveling to Gangtok before crossing the Nathu La pass into China. Since 2015, the pilgrimage from Nepal is generally done from the nearby
Humla district Humla District (), a part of Karnali Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Simikot as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has population of 50,858 as per the census of 2011. Namkha is the larg ...
in northwestern Nepal. The April 2015 Nepal Earthquake resulted in the closure of the border crossing at Tatopani- Zangmu. Pilgrims also pray to Mount Kailash from within Nepal where it is visible from the Lapcha La pass above the Limi valley on a clear day. Another route exists through the crossing at Rasuwa- Gyirong. Pilgrims could reach
Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...
by air before the journey to Lake Manasarovar or Darchen. The pilgrimage involves trekking towards Lake Manasarovar and a circumambulation of Mount Kailash. The path around Mount Kailash is long. The circumambulation is made in a clockwise direction by Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains, while Bönpos circumambulate the mountain in a counterclockwise direction. The circumambulation usually begins and ends at Darchen, a small outpost located at an elevation of with the highest point at the Drölma pass situated at . Trekking around the mountain can be done on foot with support from a
pony A pony is a type of small horse, usually measured under a specified height at maturity. Ponies often have thicker coats, manes and tails, compared to larger horses, and proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavier , thicker necks and s ...
or domestic yak. The circumambulation takes three days on average with the first day trek from Darchen to Dirapuk gompa for about , followed by a journey from Dirpauk to Zutulphuk via the Drölma pass for on the second day and the final trek back to Darchen on the last day. The most extreme method of doing the circumambulation (called ''Kora'') in Tibetan Buddhism is performed by doing full body-length prostrations over the entire stretch around the mountain. The pilgrim bends down, kneels, prostrates full-length, makes a mark with her fingers, rises to her knees, prays, and then crawls forward on hands and knees to the mark made by her fingers before repeating the process. With this method, the pilgrimage takes three weeks on average to complete.
Pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...
s believe that doing a circumambulation of Mount Kailash is a spiritually beneficial practice that can bring various positive effects, such as the cleansing of one's sins. Each circumambulation is considered to have fulfilled a life-death cycle. There are many stupas, flag poles, Buddhist monasteries and praying stations along the route. Many of the cultural artifacts along the route were destroyed during the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
of China from 1966 to 1976. Hindus take a ritual bath in the Manasarovar before doing circumambulation. Hindu text '' Skanda Purana'' states that "There are no mountains like the Himalaya, for in them are Kailas and Manasarovar. As the dew is dried up by the morning Sun, so are the sins of mankind dried up by the sight of the Himalaya." Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims often chant ''om mani padme hum'' (jewel in the lotus) and sing ''nyelu'' songs while crossing the Dolma La pass which are believe to proclaim a fraternity amongst all pilgrims who cross paths on a Kailash pilgrimage. As the mountain is located in a remote area of the Himalayas, very few facilities exist to aid during the pilgrimage. For varied reasons for the different faiths that revere the mountain, setting foot on the slopes of the mountain or attempting to climb it is forbidden by law.


See also

* Adi Kailash * Gurla Mandhata * '' Kailash: A Journal of Himalayan Studies'' * Kinnaur Kailash * Manimahesh Kailash * Om Parvat * Sacred mountains * Shrikhand Kailash


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Kailash Hindu pilgrimage sites in China Kailash Sacred mountains Buddhist pilgrimage sites in China Hindu tantra Tibetan Buddhist places Padal Petra Stalam Six-thousanders of the Transhimalayas Mountains in Buddhism Mountains in Hinduism