Mt Kailash - Mansoravar Trekking Small question...???

InsideTheOutdoors

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to clarify whether it if POSSIBLE to do the trek to Mt Kailash and mansarovar by ANY OTHER MEANS apart from going thru tour agencies or the Govt of India...????

Im fantasizing about doing this journey and would like to know just this little bit.....Plan to enter from Indian side....

Is there a secret trail from Uttaranchal...?? Can any chinese guards be bribed into letting me in Tibet side...??

u guys have any info at all to avoid those touts and the Govt and just Walk Freely in a Free World......cos thats how Life should be???

Cheers and Regards,

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kolobar

Prepare a big bribe budget. Before you will be able to bribe any chinese border guard you will have to bribe a lot of ITBP staff. Aproaches to the border are heavily guarded already on indian side.

NEVSAY_D

I think u wud b shot dead before u cud bribe...

sirensongs

Dear ITO,
I know 2 Russian girls with moxie who went to Nepal, then to Lhasa with an informal tour group (group is necessary to get the Chinese visa required). In Kathmandu, you can always hook up informally with folks headed to Lhasa - no need to sign onto a big expensive tour.

Then once in Lhasa, they acclimitised for 3 days (mandatory) and again asked round for others who'd share a Land Rover for the 3-day drive to Kailash (yet another acclimitising stop is required). They did not join any govt. tour group. But it still cost about $400 round trip (Land Rover out there and back is expensive). Land Rover sharing is the only way, and it's one of the drawbacks of the trip (3 days in a hot dusty LR with strangers and no amenities along the way). Anyway, they did it about as cheaply as you can get. Don't know if there are any "Indian Prices" for Indians once you get into Chinese Tibet. These Russian girls were pretty resourceful and not loaded financially so I don't think it gets much cheaper.

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AvidTrekker

Indians are being quoted Indian rupees 55k to 60k Kathmandu to Kathmandu [USD 1200 to 1350 approx].

400 dollars is not imaginable for the ordinary traveller..... the Russian girls were very resourceful indeed !!

400 dollars is around 18000 Indian Rupees.... If this budget is possible, [somehow or the other] I know lots of people who would jump at this opportunity...... meself included

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sirensongs

Well, they still had to get to Lhasa but you can do this on a bus from Kath. nowadays! Unless they have once again discontinued it....

And of course that was just the LandRover...not the visa, or Lhasa hotels, or food or anything....

Just have one request, don't fly to Lhasa - it's $300 one way which is ridiculous. Why give the Chinese govt. that kind of money? Extortionate.

ash

It is not worth risking an illegal entry into the Chinese occupied Tibet unless……
If you are a citizen of India than I strongly advise you to fill in your application for the only way (via Lipu Lekh Pass) to Kailash across the Indian boarder organised by Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam. The application form and details are on this KMVN site. http://www.kmvn.org/. Although this is a lottery format you have nothing to loose but if selected it will work out to be cheapest (50,000 rps approx) and best way to get to holy kailash and certainly more adventurous. All the other ancient routes across the Indian boarders are closed. I was not eligible as I do not have an Indian citizenship therefore took the expensive route via Simikot (Western Nepal). My friend and I had our 17-day (2003) expedition organised by an agent in Kathmandu and it cost us $3000 dollars each. This included guide costs, visa, permits, food, porters, pack animals and Jeep/driver/liaison officer on the Tibet side.
This extraordinary journey took us through the hidden Humla valley in Nepal's western most Tibetan frontier. To begin this pilgrimage we started by taking the flight to Simikot (what a flight!!!) in Nepal's remote Humla District. From here, our six-day trek followed the ancient salt trading and pilgrimage route towards the Nara Langa pass and to the border trade post at Taklakot. Once in Tibet we met up our Tibetan liaison officer and drove overland north past Gurla Mandata mountain to the shores of Lake Manasarovar and Rakas Tal Lake and on to small settlement of Darchen situated at the foot of Mt. Kailash. From here we successfully completed the 'kora' (holy-walk) of the mountain. After completing the Kora we camped by the banks of lake Manasarovar and then drive eastwards by jeep along the mighty Zangpo river and through the vastness of the Tibet Plateau. We enjoyed fantastic mountain views of the Himalayas as we journey south towards the border town of Zangmu to re-enter Nepal at the Friendship Bridge.

I T I N E R A R Y:
Days 01: Fly to Simikot [2870m] & trek to Dharapari [2350m], a Thakuri village past the villages of Majgaon & Tuling. Camp.
Days 02: Trek to Kermi [2790 m], a Buddhist town with a small gomba & a hot spring above the school. Camp.
Days 03: Trek to Yalbang Gomba.[2950m.] Camp
Days 04: Trek to Tumkot Khola [2800m] Camp
Days 05: Trek to Thulo Dunga. [3854m.] Camp
Days 06: Trek over Nara Pass [4450m] and camp Hilsa Nepal border. Camp
Days 07: Trek half an hour Sher, Meet Tibet guide and jeep. Drive to the trading town of Taklakot. Taklakot Guest House.
Days 08: Morning drive to Manasarovar Lake [4440m]. Afternoon free for exploration. Camp
Days 09: Drive to Darchen at the foot of Mt. Kailash [4500m]. Darchen Guest House.
Days 10: Start around Kailash trek to Dira Puk [4909m]. 18 Kms. Overnight Camp.
Days 11: Trek over Dolma La Pass [5630m] camp near to Zutulphuk.[4900m.] Camp
Days 12: End trek near Darchen and drive to Lake Manasorovar [4440m]. Camp.
Days 13: Drive from Darchen to Paryang [4050m.] 277 Kms. 7-8 hrs. Camp.
Days 14: Drive from Paryang to Saga [4840m]. 185 Kms. 8 hr. Camp
Days 15: Drive to Nylam [3220m] 235 km. Nylam Guest House.
Days 16: Drive via Zhangmu to Dhulikhel. Lodge.
Days 17: Drive to Kathmandu. END.

Best wishes and would love to do this again via the Indian route.

Ash