Introduction

When one attempts to write on Mount Kailash and Mansarovar, one can’t help but be spiritually and emotionally moved, and that requires  one  to  do  so  with  the  utmost  care  and  diligence.  One can’t afford to go wrong on any of the descriptions on these twin hallowed sites simply because the sites are hallowed for Buddhists, Hindus, Bons, and Jains. They are so important for the Buddhists that  their  importance  can’t  be  overemphasized  in  any  manner. Therefore, this write-up is an honest and earnest attempt to put forth some of its historical and cultural aspects; and to look at the  route from  the Ladakh  side.

The regions in Western Tibet falling towards the east of Ladakh are called Ngari sKor-gSum, and for centuries the region remained a sanctuary for the Buddhists of the Indian Himalaya. The trail goes towards Mount Kailash, 6,638 m (21,778 ft) and Lake Mansarovar, 4,600  m  (15,100  ft),  the  world’s  holiest  mountain  and  lake  for Buddhists, Hindus, Jains and Bonpas. Ladakhis journeyed to these sacred sites and then travelled onwards to Shigatse in the Tsang Province and thence to Lhasa in Utsang, not really a perilous walk, despite its length, for the people who are religious and hardy enough to take such an adventurous trip.

In the past, the route leading to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake from Leh remained very popular and widely used by the pilgrims including Buddhist monks who went to Tibet to obtain higher studies and traders alike. The tales of past travellers in the region are still narrated by elderly people whose family members had ventured on this  trail. It  is  also  said that  some  of  the routes  passed  through grassland, lakes, streams and rivers; and at times one could see mountain animals such as wild ass called Kiang, marmots, wolves, and occasionally bears. Unlike the beasts of the tropical regions, these beasts were found to be very friendly and of a peaceful nature.

The routes to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake are also there from  other  regions  of  the  Indian  Himalayas  such  as Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. I have been to several mountain passes leading to Tibet, where Mount Kailash and Mansarovar are located. I found two such passes in Tawang, in Arunachal Pradesh, leading to Tibet. One is the Bumla pass, 15,200 ft, just above the Tawang city, and the second is the route via Ken- sa-mani in Lumla Valley. Interestingly, the route from Ken-sa-mani to Tibet was the route that His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama followed to escape from Tibet to India in 1959.

While witnessing the cultural scenario of the area of Lumla, not far from Ken-sa-mani, there exists a village called Ze-ma-thang. Here, I came across a large stupa by the name Gorsam, built in a shape similar to the world-famed Boudhanath stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal.

While travelling in Ken-sa-mani and Ze-ma-thang villages, I was told that the area was the realm known as Mandal-sgang, (Mandal Gang). The name appears in a popular Tibetan story or Namthar Drowa Zang-mo. It says that from there, the legendary king named Kala Wangpo reigned in the mythical past.

Besides the Mon-Tawang route to Tibet, another route that leads to Mount Kailash from the Indian Himalayas is via the Nathula (pass) in Sikkim. This pass was also popular and widely used by the pilgrims to conveniently enter Tibet on the onward journey to the Mansarovar Lake and Mount Kailash. Similarly, from the state of Uttarakhand, there are routes such as the one via Dharchula, 940 meter (3,080 feet), in Pithoragarh district, and the second one through the Lipukh or Lipulekh pass, 5,334 meter or 17,500 feet. I came to learn that the route via the Lipulekh pass is considered the shortest. The Shipki pass (3930 meters) is another pass, a motorable one, on the border between Tibet and the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh which leads to Ngari prefecture and onwards to the sacred destinations.

As per the history of Ladakh, King Singey Namgail (1616–1623) brought Ngari sKor-gSum under his dominion which included the area of Mount Kailash and the Mansarovar Lake. However, during the reign of King Delegs Namgail (1640–1680) of Ladakh, a Mongolian Lama named Dga-ldan- tshe-dbang, a loyalist to the Dalai Lama, entered Ngari with a powerful Tibetan army of 2,500 soldiers. He asked the Ladakhi King to return the Ngari sKor-gSum region to Tibet, but the King of Ladakh refused resulting in Tibetan troops marching towards Leh. The Ladakhi forces headed by the King’s minister, Sha-kya-rgya-mtsho, fought the invaders at Stagla Khar in Purang but failed to stop the advance of the Tibetan force.

And that led to the Ladakhi army surrendering in the Rudok and Purang regions of Ngari to the Tibetan army. With those successes, the Tibetan forces continued to pillage the region and ransacked Gonpas and forts of Ladakh, for over three years from 1681–1683. In addition, the Tibetan forces asked the Ladakh royal family to accept the Gelugpa sect’s supremacy in the kingdom as well as the religious authority and sovereignty of the Dalai Lama.

Soon after the end of the war, a treaty was signed between the kingdom of Ladakh and Tibet. Among the several pronouncements listed in the treaty was that the King of Ladakh would retain the village Mensar and the agrarian taxes to meet the religious offering expenses of Lake Mansarovar and Mount Kailash. According to available records, Ven. Lama Kushok Bakula, who was then a Ladakh Affairs minister in the Jammu and Kashmir Government (1953 to 1967), paid an official tour to the region in 1954 along with revenue staff to examine the tax collection procedure in the area.

In his autobiography, Kachen Yeshes Don-grup (1897–1980), gives a clear description of his journey route beginning from Leh up to Shigatse, and says that his party followed the traditional trade route to Lhasa which goes via Gya-Meru, the last village on the Ladakh side in the south-west direction before reaching the present road to Himachal Pradesh, Leh-Manali National Highway 3, and onwards to Taglang-la pass, (5,328 meters or 17,480 ft), the only high pass found between Leh and Shigatse.

It is important to mention that the distance of the first leg of the walk between Leh to Gya-Meru and further to Taglang-la is around 104 km, but it was then quite arduous as one came across several streams, sandy and rocky lands. After scaling Taglang-la, the party made a quick descent and entered the sandy plains called the Tso- kar region. Tso-kar is a lake (tso lake, kar white, clear) and except for a small portion most parts are dry now. The lake being salty, in the past, the people drew huge quantities of salt and put them in small bags, and took them to the Leh market, laden on sheep and goats, for sale.

After Tso-Kar, the party took further descents, entering an area called Puga, situated on the right banks of the Indus. At present, Puga Valley is in the limelight as scientists are engaged in experimenting to  produce  electricity  from  geothermal  hotspots  around  the  hot spring areas there. The distance between Leh to Puga valley is around 170 kms, with Mahe Village intervening in between the two. From there, they came across numerous small and big villages of the Rong valley before getting to a picturesque village called Chumathang which is also famous for its hot springs.

From there, by taking the left side of the Indus River, he reached Nyoma, a comparatively large village with a picturesque Gonpa on a hillock. Next was the Mud village leading to the junction village called Loma, where nowadays a large bridge spans the Indus. It is there that several roads from Leh and Changthang crisscross and form an important staging post for the onward journey. Not far from the bridge was a village called Rong-do, and from there the road led to Anley or Hanley village. Hanley is a large historic village, where it is said that King Singay Namgail of Ladakh was cremated, and the village is also well known as it is situated on an ancient Ladakh-Tibet trade route. At present, Hanley is the home of a Star Observatory, where the Indian Astronomical Observatory has put up one of the biggest telescopes in India. From Hanley the path crossed into Tibet and on towards the sacred sites.

On  the  other  hand, from Loma, another road leads to Kuyul and onward to  Demchok,  the  last Ladakh  village  before entering the  Ngari prefecture  of  Tibet. Demchok  village is situated at an elevation of 4,210  meters  or  13,810 feet above sea level. Near this  village,  there  is  an auspicious  peak  called Demchok  Lhari  Karpo. The hot water springs of the  village  are  also  a popular  destination  for Ladakhis having rheumatic or arthritis problems.

The Lhari Karpo peak at Demchok is held as a sacred religious peak by  the Buddhists.  The meaning  of  Dechok/ Demchok  or  Chakra- samvara, commemorates the  name  of  a  Buddhist tantric  deity,  who  is believed to have resided on  Mount  Kailash.  The Lhari Karpo peak is also referred  to  as  Mini- Kailash.  Demchok  also serves  as  the  boundary between  Ladakh  and Ngari.  From  Demchok when  a  traveller  enters Tibet,  the  first  major relaxing spot is known as Tashigang, in Ngari Pre- fecture, at the confluence of  the  Indus  and  the Gartang rivers. Tashigang, therefore, is the first Tibetan village one crosses from Ladakh towards Mount Kailash and Mansarovar, and here one gets to see a beautiful ancient monastery that dates back to the 11th century.

This is followed by Gar-gunsa, a town where the merchants from several directions of the Indian Himalayas and the Ngari prefecture met during the peak trading season. The route then led to Darchen, the foot of Mount Kailash, from where Skora, or the circumambu- lation of Mount Kailash is carried out.

The fascinating revelation of the route to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar lake came into the light by reading the auto-biography of Kachen Yeshe Don-grup, a notable member of elite society of Ladakh in the 20th century.

The Kachen was one among the many Ladakhis who ventured to track the trail, heading from Leh to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake and the onward journey to Shigatse, his destination. Kachen went to Tashi Lhunpo Monastic University at Shigatse to obtain higher education in Buddhist philosophy and metaphysics at the age of 14, in 1911. Interestingly, his journey to Shigatse coincided with the biennial Lo-phyag (Lopchak), Ladakh’s tribute mission to Lhasa (lo year—phyag  literary  hand  and  by  extension  something  offered, homage or annual salutation tribute). Since the Kachen was very young, his parents placed him under the care of Khoja Rashid (the leader of the Lopchak) to ensure his safe passage to Shigatse by pledging a small bag of barley flour, popularly called tsampa and  20 as a token of money for escorting the young Lama from Leh to Shigatse. After almost two decades, Yeshe Dongrup returned to Ladakh, via Lake Mansarovar, having obtained the prestigious degree of Kachen from Tashi Lhunpo monastic University.

Interestingly, half the way between Shigatse and Leh, he came across another important leader of Lo-phyag (Lopchak), named Sra- nga-ra-don-Yod Shah, from an aristocratic family of Leh. What was interesting was that I knew Sra-nga-ra-don-Yod Shah in my younger days.

Anyway, they met at a nomadic village called Zang-zang, loaded his merchandise on twenty horses and twenty donkeys. The other companions of Don-Yod Shah were the Manager of Pethup Gompa, Leh, who too was returning from Lhasa with loaded goods on five horses. On the other hand, the party of the Kachen had four monks with twelve donkeys. This way,  meeting  all  these known persons to perform their  return  journeys together  proved  helpful for all.

While the  party reached  close  to  Zang- zang,  it  encountered  a mountain pass called Lar- tse  below  which  was  a river  that  could  only  be forded on a wooden boat.

The  wooden  boat  was strong  enough  to  carry men  as  well  animals  to carry  with  the  assured safety  in  numbers  they continued  their  journey. After having a treacherous and tiring walk for several days they set up a camp in place of splendid surroundings and settled for  a  well-deserved  rest.  However,  Sra-nga-ra-don-yod  Shah immediately left with his gun and one assistant for hunting. In those days, hunting of mountain animals such as deer was quite common in the regions of Changthang. The Kachen observed don-Yod Shah ascending a mountain pass and soon heard several gunshots. The Kachen prayed that the hunting should not be successful. After some time Don-Yod Shah returned and said that he had fired at least six shots without any success. A relieved Kachen felt good and advised Shah to desist from doing this kind of sinful deed. The Kachen reminded him that he hailed from a noble family of Ladakh, and such acts were below his dignity.

It is to be noted here that in 1934, Sra-nga-ra-don-yod Shah along with King Jigmet Dra-dul of Ladakh and Kalon Tsewang Rigzin, for the first time, represented Ladakh in the legislative assembly known as  the  Praja  Sabha  during  the  Maharaja  regime.  These  Ladakhi representatives,  under  the  guidance  of  Pandit  Shridhar  Koul, succeeded in getting a law passed dealing with the equal distribution of inherited land to all the brothers in a family. Polyandry was also outlawed in 1941, and the Maharaja’s government promulgated the Polyandrous Marriages Prohibition Act.

For the next halt, the party had to cover a long rocky and sandy plain, completely a wilderness with no sight of human habitation. Thereafter, the team reached another pass called Mang-yul-la where the team found a camping ground just below the pass at a corner of a hillock. That was an ideal place to take a good rest as they knew the distance to Mount Kailash was not very far. Since going to Mount Kailash for Skora (circumambulation) was the Kachen’s wish, he left behind some of his companions and animals and ventured forth with two of his enthusiastic colleagues, for Mount Kailash. After walking for two days, they reached a place called Thog-chen and from there they saw, at a distance, a tent on an open ground. They thought it could belong to bandits, but they continued nevertheless. As they reached close to the tent, they saw some sheep, goats, and a dog moving around the tent. Upon getting even closer, they noticed a spear and a large knife hanging on a pole. Their initial assumption was that the weapons belonged to the bandits. But before they could react to the adverse situation, suddenly a lady came out from the tent saying: “Ye, where are you coming from and to which direction are you headed?” The team was now at ease and the Kachen politely replied that they were monks from Tashi Lhunpo monastery at Shigatse and were headed towards their native land of Ladakh. In reply, the lady said, “Oh, very interesting. All of you are monks from Tashi Lhunpo and we ourselves are Tibetans camping here on our way to Mount Kailash.” Kachen and the party were courteously invited for tea and were surprised that the lady had astonishingly, initially thought that Kachen’s party was instead a band of bandits.

It was nearing dusk and the team decided to spend the night close to the tent of the Tibetan pilgrims. The following day, early in the morning, they moved forward towards Mount Kailash. They took a shortcut and ventured to cross a stream whose water was icy and the current was very strong. Hence, they crossed the stream holding firmly to each other’s hands.

Without taking a break, they continued their walk and by noon they arrived at a monastery which was situated at the entry point of Skora (circumambulation) to Mount Kailash. Here, they spent the night and the next morning they observed a good number of pilgrims doing Skora. Among them, some Bonpos were circumambulating Mount Kailash in an anti-clockwise direction in contrast to the Buddhists who did it clockwise.

The Kachen has explained his observation of the vicinity of Mount Kailash in the following words: “Upon getting to the base-camp of Mount Kailash, one finds prayer flags, and in the vicinity a cave named Driraphuk, ‘cave of the female yak horn’, a retreat cave associated with great Yogin Gotsangpa who stayed there from 1213–1217. The second cave called Zuthul Phuk, ‘Miracle Cave’, was the cave where the great Yogi of Tibet, Milarepa, meditated. Yogi Milarepa is believed to  have  climbed  Mount  Kailash,  and  as  a  spiritual  master,  he discouraged others from climbing the mountain.

Mount  Kailash,  according  to  Mahayana  Buddhism,  was  the residential capital of Arhat or gNastan Yan-lag-jung, one of the sixteen disciples of Lord Buddha. As per the Snagas or tantra or Vajrayana Buddhism, it is the realm of god bDe-chog, in Sanskrit Samvara or Chakrasamvara. Commenting on the Mansarovar lake, the Kachen said that the holy lake is the realm of the king of serpents or Nagas, named as (Ma-tos), and underneath the lake lies the fire of hell.

Though, it is said that the lake stays cool, always!

I would like to add that my interest in writing this article on Mount Kailash was spurred by reading a Xerox copy of the autobiography of  Kachen  Ye-she  Tundup.  It  was  presented  to  me  by  Peter Richardus  of  Keran  Institute  of  the  University  of  Leiden,  The Netherlands, during a seminar of the International Association of Tibetan Studies at the University of Leiden, in 2000. In fact, Peter himself is an admirer of the literary career of the Kachen, and in the years 1995–96, Peter visited me twice in the Academy with his writings on the Kachen.

Kachen wrote his autobiography while working as a staff member of the Asiatic Society, Bengal, a task delegated to him by John van Manen (1877–1943), the Secretary of the Asiatic Society, in 1940. Accordingly, he wrote it in his cursive handwriting spread over 200 pages, narrating the stories of his parentage followed by his enrolment in Pethup Gompa as a novice. He later travelled on foot to Ngari prefecture and then onward to Shigatse and Lhasa.

Several  years  after  receiving  the  Xerox,  I  published  the autobiography in the original form taking permission from the Kern Institute with my commentary in English under the aegis of Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, Leh, in 2004.

It is my life’s bliss that I had the opportunity to work closely with the Kachen for several years. One of my research projects handled in  collaboration  with  the  Kachen  in  1972  was  on  the  topic  of successive incarnations of Kushok Bakula Rinpoche, the Lord Abbot of Pethup Monastery, Leh. We succeed in determining the number of successive incarnations of Bakula right up to the 19th incarnate Arhat Bakula, who truly turned out to be the greatest socio-cultural and religious leader of Ladakh. His full name was Gyalsras Bakula Lobzang Thupstan Chognor. The incumbent, the 20th, is Thupstan Ngawang, born at Kyagar village of Nubra in 2005.

By way of conclusion, I am happy to state, with gratitude to Kachen, that my association with him decades ago very much eased my attempt at writing this rather long article. I hope that I have been able to do justice to the memories that I hold so dear.