En-route India – Mount Kailash Manasarovar Parikrama (Resurgent India’s Pilgrim Pathfinder)

Kailash Manasarovar is undoubtedly the “Mother of Pilgrimages” for the 1.2 billion Hindus globally. Why only Hindus? This sacred high Himalayan pilgrimage has touched the heart, soul and minds of the discerning world travellers, irrespective of their religious beliefs. The majestic Mount Kailash  is the residence of Lord Shiva and Lake Manasarovar is where his holy consort Mata Parvati dwells, thereby creating an atmosphere of serenity and peace, unmatched by any other spiritual destinations. 

In the past Indian pilgrims had to endure a lot of hardships – difficult terrain, sketchy wayside amenities and the ignominy of entering the site through the Nepal-China borders. What is more, China has imposed stringent Visa rules and increased the Parikrama expenditures, thereby making it a costly pilgrimage to undertake. 

Kailash Manasarovar Highway is a testament and resolve of a “Resurgent India” as it inches its way closer to donning the mantle of a global powerhouse/Vishwaguru. India’s Minister of Road Transport & Highways – Shri Nitin Gadkari has shown the world that one can overpower China’s hegemonic tendencies through well thought out infrastructure plans that penetrate deep into the border areas, thereby encouraging tourism to flourish. After all, isn’t tourism too vast an industry to be swallowed by terror campaigns and intimidation?  

Tibet is an autonomous region of China and Lhasa, the charming mountain town is the capital of Tibet. The magnificent Potala Palace used to be the Winter Residence of His Holiness The Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of the Tibetan Buddhist congregation worldwide. Tibet has been under the jurisdiction of the Chinese ever since the annexation of this region by the Chinese Army in 1951.

True to India’s role as the world’s spiritual melting pot, the present Dalai Lama (14^th ) has been an honoured guest of India since 1951, when he sought asylum in India, on the aftermath of that brutal Chinese annexation of Tibet (1951); he along with his entourage entered into Indian territory through the miniscule mountain town of Tawang in India’s remote North Eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh and ever since then has been living in exile at McLeod Ganj, located in India’s northern state of Himachal Pradesh, from where he runs the Tibetan Government in Exile. 

The Tibetan plateau that rises to 4000 metres above sea level is popularly referred to as the “Roof of the World” and blessed with the highest mountain ranges on the earth – Mt.Everest(8848mm), Kangrinboqe Peak(6638mm), Manaslu(8481m), Shishapangma(8013m) to name just a few.

The Tibetan topography is unlike any other landmass on Planet Earth. First time visitors to Tibet are stupefied by the awesome Trans Himalayan vistas with the average altitude being 5000 m. Tibetan landscape is not just rugged and rarefied; it is plain simple daunting! Literally inviting the mountaineer in you to come and explore the incredibly diverse flora and fauna of this fabled, spiritual land of emancipation.  

The quintessential features of the awe inspiring Tibetan plateau are the endless prairies to the North and the vast woodlands to the southwest. If you are visiting Tibet in the summer months, the Prairies up North takes on a majestic glow in a carpet of greenery. The tall and sturdy Tibetan herdsmen can be seen grazing the cattle and visitors find their exotic costumes, cuisines and folklore to be unbelievably amazing.   Bear in mind that the Prairies get exceedingly cold and the Trans Himalayan rivers remain frozen for eight months in a year.

Tibet is one of the world’s last remaining habitats of the nomadic herdsmen, who for centuries together have raised livestock and engaged in high altitude farming, thereby guarding Tibet’s fragile ecology as sentinels. 

Their unique lifestyle has been the subject of many documentaries. BBC, NatGeo and National Geographic have rather brilliantly showcased the highland nomads of Tibet in documentary format. I particularly liked the BBC Studios’ –“The Nomadic Existence of a Mongolian Herding Family” and I feel this is one great pre-Visit documentary, which every wannabe visitor to Tibet must watch prior to his/her departure. 

Tibetan nomads are renowned for their survival skills in extremely high altitudes and are often compared to the Sherpa mountaineers of Nepal. Yaks are an indispensable part of the nomadic herdsmen and visitors are stupefied by the intricate embroidery skills of the womenfolk as the weave those magic fabrics – blankets, rugs, warm clothing…..from the Yak wool. 

The incredible jaw dropping Mount Kailash, considered to be one of the most hallowed mountains by the Hindus, dates back to 30 million years. Mount Kailash is all off  6,675-m high and Hindus from the most ancient times believe it to be the abode of Lord Shiva and his holy consort Mata Parvati. For centuries together, Mt.Kailash has enticed and beguiled countless pilgrims in search of Nirvana. The pilgrimage or “Parikrama” to Mt. Kailash and the sanctified Mansarovar lake is conducted in all its entirety by the Uttarakhand Govt. run Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) in collaboration with India’s Ministry of External Affairs. 

The new route to Mt. Kailash Mansarovar region is of great significance to India, both spiritually and geo-strategically. Spiritually, India once again will reach out to the contemporary world with the eternal messages of ancient Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana and Mahabharata that the “World is One Family”; that guns and missiles alone can’t be solutions to territorial disputes between countries. An appropriately prepared infrastructure plan aimed at upgrading the nation’s communications, transportation, road and railways connectivity too can and does bring about lasting peace in the most volatile of places, thereby deceiving the opponent country’s monstrous tendencies.