Photo Corner: Paryang to Chu Gompa - View of Kailash

The road taken to the final destination. We are just a short distance away from our first view of Kailash.

A slightly closer view of Kailash as soon a we turned around a bend. Note this mountain towers above every other mountain in the entire range.

First view of Lake Mansarovar...conveying a sense of tranquility.

The closest view yet on our way to our place of stay. The left ridge looks like an arm of the Divine throne.

The massive Gurla Mandhata range opposite the Kailash (a good 75 odd kms away). Its glaciers feed the Mansarovar.

Chu Gompa - a beautiful monastery on the banks of Lake Mansarovar.













Lake Mansarovar seen from the compound of our guest house.














Our guest house just beside the Lake.

A full moon shining down on the still lake and creating a surreal atmosphere.

Another view of the shimmering lake.

Paryang to Chu Gompa - First View of Mt Kailash

We were a little tired of the long journey and wished that we reach K-M asap. This was the last day of a long drive and today we would get our first look at the holy mountain and lake.

We met many groups returning and so much unnecessary information would get exchanged. I exhorted my group yatris not to enquire about the parikrama as we would only sap our determination to complete. Unfortunately, some of returning yatris started advising caution and there the seed of doubt had been planted. Soon every one started imagining the worst and started their fight against imaginary monsters. One yatri even announced that he would drop out from the parikrama and atleast two others began wavering.

I could see this was a perfect recipe for disaster. I had to shake out of this first and proclaimed loudly that I was comfortable and would definitely go ahead the parikrama. Soon we had to convince only one yatri. An important point for all planning a yatra hereafter. Do not ask any returning group about their experience. You will definitely meet atleast one person who has had a bad experience. That feedback may just ruin your trip.

We were driving through vast plateaus watching the road construction crews working at a frenetic pace to get a decent road in place. The landscape had returned back to being dull.

After a drive of over five hours we were just a mound away from our first view of Mt Kailash and there it was. What a sight....towering head and shoulders above the other high-rises, majestic, wearing a snow robe and reclining in deep meditation.

I shall upload closer views in the Photo Corner. The sky was overcast but cleared as we got nearer.

It was soon time to get the first gimpse of Lake Mansarovar. A huge waterbody with an area of almost 115 sq kms, it has a magic like quality. Very serene it transports you to another world.

We crossed an outpost at Hor Chu (spelt differently by Chinese, Tibetans and Indians) and then wonder of wonders we joined a superb highway which extended all the way to the Indian border just about 100+ kms from Lake Mansarovar. We sped to one corner of the lake where we would be camping near the Chu Gompa, a beautiful monastery.

It was a beautiful spot with Mt Kailash towering on one side, the lake on the other and the monastery in between. We were there and that is all that mattered.

Photo Corner: Saga - Paryang

Hotel Saga was a welcome relief to us but is a civil engineers nightmare. The steps are irregular and was probably constructed by students whose foundations were not yet cemented.

A view of the entrance and the reception within. The only proper hotel on the entire circuit.

A one street wonder with a huge military camp. Soldiers keep strutting around with over-sized miltary caps.

The spot where we stopped for lunch. The grounds beyond the street were once withness to the unholy massacre of Tibetans whilst the mountains at the very end hid the Tibetans on their escape to Nepal.

Lunch being unpacked for the not-so-hungry yatris.

These structures have witnessed the bloody past but have gone silent now.

A stupa sitting pretty on top of a hill near about the same spot.

The Divine Spectacle.....What an amazing phenomenon?

Note the clear skies all around and the sun partially hidden by the roof at a petrol station.

A slightly more audacious attempt. The sun shining brightly and it was pure light....only light.

Grasslands after miles of desolate landscape...the second surprise.

....and sand dunes against the backdrop of a completely bald hill.

See the Creators magic. His imagination ran wild...shrub land followed by sand dunes and then a river, hills and mountains.

A closer look at this collage...it was enough to send us to the high heavens...I was ecstatic.

Our jeeps in the distance dwarfed by mountains on the other side.

Authentic sand dunes....reminds me of Rajasthan or the Desert Safari at Dubai.

That's me spending a quiet moment and contemplating on these rare sights.

That was perhaps some unfortunate yak which landed on some poor villager's table.

It now serves by scaring away all "evil spirits" from the vicinity.

That is the traditional Tibetan house built with stones, clay and dung.....

Our guest house whose claim to fame was a shower facility, though kept locked and away from any visitor.

Saga - Paryang: An Amazing Journey

The break at Saga was a relief to all of us. We were up next morning fresh and ready for the next leg of the journey - to Paryang about 250 kms away.

We were out of Saga in double quick time and soon on the gravel roads ascending up the mountains only to come down on the other side and get on a bald table top.

The journey now seemed to get a trifle boring and at times, I dozed off and realised that we had not missed out on anything...till we saw huge herds of yaks at close quarters....That broke the tedium and we looked around waiting to see some yaks or other animals...

We stopped for lunch at a small dining house as on previous days. This, we were told by the sherpa team, was the spot where hundreds of Tibetan soldiers and citizens were massacred by the Chinese Army in 1959. Thousands, who chose to flee, went to Nepal - the nearest safe haven before they eventually wound up in India. This historical fact has been erased from all written records and the new generation has no knowledge of this.

Post lunch was the surprise package.

First, was the "Divine Spectacle". It was an unbelieable sight and truly something that none of us in the group had ever seen, heard or experienced in our entire life. We saw a semi-circular rainbow around the sun against the backdrop of a clear and stuningly blue sky. We were stunned and just kept clicking snaps of this spectacle and watching through our "dark glasses". The funny part was this phenomenon dis-appeared in about five minutes. This was taken as a blessing and we were unanimous in our view that the yatra would be successful and all of us would complete the "parikrama".

The second was the landscape which just floored us. It appeared that the "Creator" had gone berserk and had conjured up the most bizzare but beautiful landscape for us. We were passing grasslands.....a surprise in itself. This was followed by a small desert with sand dunes exactly the way we would see in Rajasthan. To leave us wondering, HE added a river, low hills and high mountains to complete the painting. I remembered that old Hindi song sung by Mukesh..."Yeh kaun chitrakar hai....".

I sat down on the sand dunes and was lost in wonder at this amazing spectacle. Sitting silent, I realised later that my mind was blank and not a thought crossed my mind. It was time to express gratitude for everything and be "hollow and empty" as the wise Guru says.

The rest of the journey did not matter after this. I do not know when we reached Paryang.

Paryang, is a very small village and the only reason it is on the map, is because, Kailash-Mansarovar yatris stop over for the night. There is a small but comfortable guest house constructed by some enterprising Tibetan entrepreneur. It also claims to have "hot shower" facility, but we found this facility to be firmly shut and out of bounds. Wonder who were the lucky ones to be let inside.....an unsolved mystery.

We were nearing our destination and the next day we would have our first view of Mt Kailash and Lake Mansarovar. There was a air of expectation.

Photo Corner: Nyalam - Saga

Freshly laid out all-weather metalled roads from Nyalam












The first sun rays kissing the mountain tops.














Nature's handiwork. Jagged rocks at the top lend immense beauty to the plain mountains.

A small hamlet nestled in the foothills at peace with itself.

Mountains tower in the background. I appear a bit off balance due to the high altitude.

Up at the Lalung-la pass (5100 mtrs) braving biting cold winds howling past us.

A sample of the desolate landscape and endless plateaus.

Tibetan kids wanting to be photographed. This was after eating chocolates, dry fruits and biscuits.

The cozy little dining room near Lake Peigutso.













Note the vibrant colours and elaborate designs.













One more....












Lake Peigutso.














Some reflections.......













literally speaking.......

Is this an Tibetan owl?......my attempt to get some unique snaps.

Nyalam - Saga

Nyalam to Saga is part of a fascinating journey of over 800 kms across the Great Tibetan Plateau till our final destination. You traverse across flat land (even an aircraft can land here) ringed by bald mountains. Not a single tree is visible till the horizon and you have the landscape painted in myriad colours.

We set off from Nyalam early just before sunrise. We had a queasy feeling as it was around 7.30 am and it was funny to see a pre-dawn like atmosphere at that time. (All thanks to setting the clocks ahead by 2h-15m).

We had some excellent highways from Nyalam onwards but soon had to switch over to "Kachcha" roads as these highways were still under construction. Hundreds of trucks, dumpers, excavators and other equipment were furiously at work as if there was no tomorrow, a sharp contrast to an almost leisurely pace back in India.

The road to Saga was through the La-lungla pass at a height of around 5100 mtrs (16,800 ft above MSL). We halted at the very top to experience our highest altitude so far. It was cold with a howling gale blowing there. All mountains around were behind a thick cover of clouds. Tibetan prayer flags adorned the place as is normal at every peak or pass. It was not entirely unpleasant and I felt good to look around and walk around a bit.

We soon descended onto yet another plateau before crossing another pass and onto the next plateau. Luch was near the Diamond Lake of Lake Peigu-tso (co-ord: 28deg-46' N and 85deg-35' E and seen very prominently on Google Earth) in a small dining house - a cozy place elaborately adorned with paintings depicting local folklore. Just behind this towered the massive Mt. Shishpangama (Ht-8020 mtrs - 26,500 ft).

The lake is pretty big with placid and clear waters. There are mountains on the northern shores. Glaciers on the Shishpangama and the ridge mountains feed the lake with water through a multitude of surface and subterranean channels.

After a leisurely lunch (remember eating fast is an effort enough to get exhausted) we skirted the southern and western shores of Lake Peigu-tso as we made our way to Saga.

Saga is a small town on the banks of the river Yarling-Tsangpo. This river originates from Mt Kailash - Mansarovar, drains the Himalayan ranges and moves eastwards to become a huge and mighty river and enters India as the Brahmaputra. Read more about this river in this Wiki article.

Saga is predominantly an Army town with a huge army camp. The Saga Hotel adjacent to this camp and we were warned not to photograph anything from the rooms. I believe this hotel is run by the Army authorities. Imagine, Indian pilgrims contributing to the Chinese Army commercial ventures......a "Breaking News" topic for all our English News channels.

This was a regular hotel with running hot shower and we all had long baths. It was a welcome relief after a gap of two days. Well the Army camp would play Chinese martial music and that was good "entertainment" and the soldiers doing their drill was another spectacle. We slept like logs and were relaxed as we would not have to rush for our morning chores from the dorms.

Photo Corner: Nyalam

From the terrace of our guest house, this hill with ribbon like clouds towered above us.

That is Nyalam and its only street. It is a slow morning where signs of life are just about visible.

Bird's eye view of this small town. Much is occupied by the Chinese Army.

On the trek...my Mumbai co-yatris with our sherpas Neema and Autar. Celebrating before reaching the top.

Yours truly - some well deserved rest on the way up.

Up above the sky so high.....A small victory of sorts and it was celebration time. Out came all the goodies.

Hill tops or peaks are characterised by stone pyramids known as "chortens" and prayer flags tied to many posts covering a large area.

Fickle weather and we were soon swamped by clouds.

That's me....Lord and master of all I survey.












A sample of some ankle high flora.












Mahjong...the favourite passtime.

Our guest house at Nyalam bordering a China Telecom building.

Rest and Acclimatising at Nyalam

I never knew that latest Hindi film songs and re-mixes had a lullaby effect on tired limbs and I soon trailed off into dream world full of colourful dragons and chinese kites......

Woke up at about 6.30 am and found it was still dark. Sunrise was nearer to 8am and sunset well past 8 pm. Took a while to understand that though we were within India co-ordinates, our watches were set to Beijing time. It seems China also has a single time standard for the whole country, even though the size warrants more.

We were to go on an acclimatising trek today. We were told that the outing would last about three hours and the trek would be a fairly easy one.

Packed our back packs and we were out by 9.30 am. A short walk and we were at the base of the hill we supposed to climb up. This walk, about a kilometre and half was the first strenuous effort we put in at high altitude. It seemed a great effort and some of us seemed a little out of breath. As we started climbing the effects became more pronounced. Two of them gave up and I was the last.

I was the laggard and falling further back. Sherpa Autar was with me gave me a few tips. I decided that I would not give up and I would successfully complete the trek. I slowly kept increasing the number of steps I took a break and this worked. Huffing and puffing, I finally reached the top.

The backpack, camera and jacket seemed a big burden and just slowed down my progress. However, as I reached the top, there was a cold wind blowing and the down jacket was just what the doctor ordered.

It was a magnificent view - stark and desolate. After spending about half an hour there, we descended. It was not so much an effort this time around and I took my time just soaking in the serenity and beauty of the place.

The rest of the day was free but there was precious little one could do apart from walking up and down the main and only street in town. Many shops selling trekking gear, foodstuffs, groceries, bottled water, fresh fruits and vegetables and ofcourse every shop was stacked with cartons of "Lhasa Beer" and cigarettes. Every local and the Chinese soldier seems addicted to Lhasa Beer and cigarettes out there.

Bathing facilities are absent or very primitive. Taking this opportunity, a few shops have modern bathrooms with shower facilities which are rented out at 15 - 20CY on a single use basis. You are advised to remember the cardinal rule: Bargaining is permitted and if you are lucky, the price may lowered a bit.

Soon it was time for dinner and "tuck-in" as the next morning we would commence our journey of over 750 kms across the Great Tibetan Plateau or quite literally "Roof of the World"