Kailash Mansarovar Yatra - Tips for the Wanderers II

Going forward........

Preparations: Physical fitness is always welcome and more so at those heights. It would be preferable if you can work out and build stamina for atleast six months before the yatra. Long walks with packed backpacks will help give you some idea of the effort. I used to walk for an hour or so but discontinued after monsoons commenced in Mumbai. Other than this, I had not undertaken anything special. I confess this left me out of sorts on the trip would have welcomed some more physical strength.

There is nothing one can do to counter high altitude problems. The body has to get used to high altitudes and it will take a couple of days. Taking medicines and following common sense precautions should do the trick. One has to have patience and a positive attitude as the body acclimatises.


Packing: This is the classic dilemma. What to pack and what not. Most websites give a low down on what items to pack.

The Nepali agency gives each yatri a down jacket. This is perfectly adequate. One can carry fleece jackets, a couple of sweaters, head caps that will adequately cover the ears, muffler for the neck should be adequate. Thermal inners may replace a t-shirt but you tend to sweat in the afternoons and that may make it a little uncomfortable. Socks and plenty of inner wear makes sense. We tend to err on the side of caution and overpack. One realises that most of the stuff has to be let behind at the parikrama point as you are permitted to carry just one backpack then.

It is important that our entire stuff is carried in two medium sized duffel bags. It is advisable not t carry your stuff in a suitcase. At the commencement, each yatri is given a huge dufffel bag. One can just dump in these smaller bags in the bigger duffel bag. You will not be permitted to dump your suitcase in the larger duffel bag.

You may want to pack a few sweets-chocolates, dry fruits and "namkeen" snacks and carry with you.

Time to visit: May and June will be cold but yatris can experience snow. July is dry but it is also peak season and could get crowded. August is peaceful with fewer groups crossing over but one may get rains. There are groups crossing over till September but I understand the major Indian invasion is in June and July and this tapers down later.

Communication: Mobile connectivity is available at all the halting spots, except during the three day parikrama. It can be horribly expensive if you use Indian sim cards. I used my Vodafone connection and was slammed with a Rs. 9000/- bill. Will make a lot of sense to buy a local sim card or use local telephones to call India. Puts an automatic brake on long conversations and daily updates.

Electricity: Generator power is available from 9.00 pm to mid-night at the smaller spots. At Nyalam and Saga one has supply through the day. You could buy a cheap local multi plug point connector and the entire group can charge their mobiles and camera batteries. We do not need adaptors in China.

Camera: A very valuable addition to our baggage. I carried a Panasonic - Lumix FZ28 with three memory cards 1X8GB and 2X2GB. A digicam with spare memory cards and a spare battery is more than adequate. One may carry a separate video camera but it can become heavy and can become a burden during the parikrama.


Caveat: After the crossover, except at Saga Hotel, one will face problems with toilets. At certain spots like Mansarovar, Darchen and Zulthulpuk, the great outdoors may be a good option. Not a place or time to be squeamish. One has to learn to adjust to the available facilities and like true yatris take these inconveniences in one's stride. There is no other choice.

I end this series on my trip to Kailash Mansarovar. I thank all of you who have read these posts and seen photographs uploaded. I thank you for your encouraging comments and suggestions to convert this series into a book. I hope all this and more comes true. It is my hope that many of you who hav been with me through this blog journey may want to undertake a yatra themselves. I would encourage them to plan and go ahead with their dream journey and see for themselves the wonder that God has created for us.