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Kailash Mansarovar, Overland
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Kailash Mansarovar

Kailash Mansarovar, Overland

The hardest thing we sell, and the one people spend a life intending to do.

Duration
14 days · 13 nights
Destination
Kailash Mansarovar
Price
Costed to your dates

The journey

Kathmandu to Kerung overland, up onto the Tibetan plateau with two nights built in purely for acclimatisation, then Lake Mansarovar and the three-day parikrama of Kailash. Sold as sub-agent on an established Nepali operator's fixed departure, because this is not a route to learn on.

Before you book

Official access
Permits and the Tibet group visa are arranged by the Nepali operator and are genuinely included — that part is real. What is not ours: the border itself. Chinese authorities can close the crossing or cancel permits without notice or reason, and no operator can insure you against it. Anyone promising a guaranteed departure on this route is not telling you the truth.
Physical grade
Severe. Three days on foot at 4,600–5,630 m, 42 km in total, the middle day being 22 km over the Dolma La. Guesthouse and dormitory nights with shared washing and no heating. This is the hardest journey Champion sells.
Senior & access fit
Attempted successfully by people in their sixties and seventies every season, and also the journey where people are turned back or evacuated. It needs months of walking beforehand, a doctor's clearance and no cardiac history. If you are unsure, do Pashupatinath and Muktinath instead — we would rather sell you that trip than send you to the Dolma La.
Meals & observance
Vegetarian throughout and satvik by default on the Tibet sectors; the group kitchen serves one menu and it is simple. Alcohol and smoking are strongly discouraged at altitude for reasons that are medical, not moral.
When it runs
May–September only. Saga Dawa in May or June and the full-moon departures are the most sought after and cost the most.

What stands out

  • Two acclimatisation nights at Kerung before any higher ground — the single thing that decides who completes the kora
  • Lake Mansarovar at 4,590 m, with a full day and a night on the shore
  • The three-day parikrama, including the Dolma La pass at 5,630 m
  • Tibet group visa and all permits arranged through the operator
  • A doctor or trained medic with the group, and emergency oxygen carried

Day by day

How the 14 days actually run.

  1. Day 01

    Kathmandu

    Arrive, transfer, briefing. Passports collected for the Tibet group visa.

  2. Day 02

    Kathmandu

    Pashupatinath and Budhanilkantha while the visa is processed. Kit check in the afternoon.

  3. Day 03

    Kathmandu → Syabrubesi

    Drive north towards the border through the Trishuli gorge.

  4. Day 04

    Into Tibet — Kerung

    Cross at Rasuwagadhi, immigration at Kerung, and the first night at 2,700 m.

  5. Day 05

    Kerung

    A full rest day. Nothing is scheduled. This day is why people finish.

  6. Day 06

    Kerung → Saga

    Onto the plateau, crossing above 5,000 m for the first time. Night at Saga, 4,600 m.

  7. Day 07

    Saga → Mansarovar

    The long drive west to the lake. First sight of Kailash across the water in clear weather.

  8. Day 08

    Lake Mansarovar

    A full day at the lake — parikrama of the shore by vehicle, puja and havan, and the evening on the water's edge.

  9. Day 09

    Darchen

    Short transfer to Darchen. Rest, final kit check, and porters and yaks assigned.

  10. Day 10

    Yam Dwar → Dirapuk

    Drive to Yam Dwar and begin the kora on foot. 12 km to Dirapuk, under the north face.

  11. Day 11

    Dolma La → Zuthulpuk

    The hardest day: 22 km over the Dolma La at 5,630 m, past Gauri Kund, down to Zuthulpuk.

  12. Day 12

    Zuthulpuk → Saga

    The last 8 km out, then the long drive back east to Saga.

  13. Day 13

    Saga → Kathmandu

    Down off the plateau and back across the border.

  14. Day 14

    Departure

    Kathmandu at leisure, then transfer to the airport.

What's included

  • 13 nights accommodation — hotels in Kathmandu, guesthouses and dormitories in Tibet
  • All meals from the Nepal border onward; breakfast in Kathmandu
  • Tibet group visa, Kailash permits, Alien travel permit and military permit
  • Group transport throughout in 4WD or coach as the sector requires
  • Yak and porter for personal kit on the three parikrama days
  • Supplementary oxygen carried with the group, and a first-aid trained escort
  • Nepali guide throughout and a Tibetan guide inside Tibet

What's not

  • Flights to and from Kathmandu
  • Nepal visa where applicable
  • Emergency evacuation, helicopter rescue and hospitalisation — insurance covering 6,000 m is compulsory
  • Personal trekking kit, sleeping bag and down jacket
  • A personal pony or porter for the rider themselves on the kora
  • Any cost arising from turning back, weather, border closure or political restriction
  • Anything not listed under Inclusions
  • Per person · twin share, on a fixed group departure
  • Pricing on request — season and full-moon dates change this materially
  • MEDICAL FITNESS IS NOT OPTIONAL: a doctor's certificate is required. Kailash parikrama crosses 5,630 m. Cardiac disease, uncontrolled hypertension, severe asthma, epilepsy and pregnancy are absolute contraindications.
  • This is the NEPAL route. The Government of India's own Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is a separate, ballot-allocated programme run by the Ministry of External Affairs and cannot be bought from any agent, including us.
  • The border, the permits and the route are subject to Chinese authority and can close at no notice. We will refund what the operator refunds and we will not pretend that is everything.
  • Temple access, queue length and timing on the day are decided by the temple and its administration — never by us. We apply through official channels for whatever is genuinely bookable, and we tell you before you travel if it has not come through.

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