The Kailash kora

The journey in one line

One place in China. Arriving is the journey.

Kailash is a 6,638 metre peak in the far west of Tibet, above the Ngari plateau. Four traditions hold it sacred and none of them climbs it. For Hindus it is the abode of Shiva. For Tibetan Buddhists it is Mount Meru and the seat of Demchok. For Jains it is Ashtapada, where Rishabhanatha reached liberation. For Bon followers it is the nine storey swastika mountain. What people do instead is walk around it. The kora is about fifty two kilometres and crosses the Drolma La pass at 5,630 metres, usually over three days.

This is one of very few places in the world where four traditions share a site without having fought over it. It is also a case where not doing something is the practice. There has never been a recorded ascent. Permission was offered to a Spanish team in the 1980s and to Reinhold Messner, and both declined. Buddhists and Hindus walk clockwise. Bon followers walk anticlockwise. The two streams pass each other on the same path.

The season is roughly May to September, and the Drolma La is snowbound outside it. Independent travel is not possible. A Tibet travel permit and an alien travel permit are required and are issued through an organised group. India runs the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra through the Ministry of External Affairs, by ballot, with medical screening. Nepal based operators run trips overland from Kathmandu. Access has been closed for extended periods, including after 2019, and depends on decisions by the Chinese authorities.

Where it goes

The places on this journey

What a visit means here. A visit means reaching Kailash and its kora route. Whether the circuit was completed, and how, stays a self-reported record. The summit is never a target and this app will not treat it as one.

1. 1

   Mount Kailash

   གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ།

   Burang County, Ngari, China

   

   Kailash is a 6,638 metre peak in western Tibet that Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Bon followers all treat as sacred. Nobody climbs it. The kora is a fifty two kilometre walk around the base that crosses the Drolma La pass at 5,630 metres, usually in three days.

   What counts as a visit

   The kora circuit around the mountain and the Darchen base. The summit is never a target.

   Access

   A Tibet travel permit and an alien travel permit are required and independent travel is not allowed. The Indian government route is the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, which is selected by ballot and medically screened. The pass is above 5,600 metres. Checked 2026-09-17.

   Permit requiredHigh altitudeSeasonal

   Check access · last checked September 17, 2026

Respect and access

The altitude is the main risk. The pass is above 5,600 metres and people die on this walk most years. Acclimatise properly and turn back if you need to. Do not attempt to climb the mountain or to approach the inner kora without the standing of a pilgrim who is permitted to. Pilgrims doing the circuit by full body prostration take about three weeks. Give them room, do not photograph them close up, and do not obstruct the path.

Permit required

Entry needs a permit, a booking or a ticket arranged in advance.

Seasonal

Access follows a season, a calendar or an event rather than being open year round.

High altitude

The place sits high enough that altitude affects who can reach it and how long it takes.

Opening times, prices, permits and eligibility change. Nothing on this page is a statement about today. Follow the Check access link on a place before you plan around it.

Sources

• kmy.gov.inhttps://kmy.gov.in/ · checked September 17, 2026

TravelDay selected and grouped these places. Naming a custodian, a government agency or UNESCO as a source is not a claim that any of them endorsed this journey.