Three days circling the 6,714 m peak via Drolma La (5,648 m), with Manasarovar and Guge ruins
Mount Kailash (6,714 m) sits in Tibet’s Ngari Prefecture, 1,200 km west of Lhasa. It is sacred to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Bön — none climb it; the religious practice is the kora, a 52 km circumambulation completed in three days via the 5,648 m Drolma La pass. Most Tibet Daily Mount Kailash tours run 13 to 16 days, pairing the kora with Manasarovar Lake (4,590 m) and the 10th-century Guge Kingdom ruins at Tsaparang.
This is the highest-altitude product on the site. Pre-acclimatisation in Lhasa (3,656 m) and Shigatse (3,840 m), plus a planned night at Saga (4,640 m) on the way west, is non-negotiable. We cap groups at twelve so a single 4WD covers the cohort with a spare seat for high-altitude rest.
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A Mount Kailash tour is an 11- to 16-day expedition from Lhasa to western Tibet (Ngari Prefecture) to walk the 52 km Mount Kailash kora and visit the holy lake Manasarovar. The peak itself is unclimbed and unclimbable under both Chinese law and pan-religious convention. The kora is the religious and traveller experience: three days of high-altitude walking from Darchen (4,575 m), over the 5,648 m Drolma La pass, returning via the south face of the mountain.
Most Tibet Daily expeditions also include the Guge Kingdom ruins at Tsaparang (10th–17th century), the Tirthapuri hot springs, and the Tholing Monastery murals. Routes ending at the Gyirong border are popular for travellers continuing into Nepal.
| Days | What’s covered | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 11 days | Lhasa – EBC – Saga – Manasarovar – Kailash kora – return | Tightest viable schedule |
| 13 days | + Gyirong border exit (overland to Kathmandu) | Most popular long route |
| 14 days | + Northern Tibet loop (Shiquanhe, Gaize, Wenbu Nancun) | Adds remote Changtang plateau |
| 15–16 days | + Guge Kingdom (Tsaparang, Tholing, Dungkar caves) | Best historical depth |
The Kailash season runs mid-May through early October. The Saga Dawa full moon (early June 2026) is the most spiritually charged date — the Tarboche flagpole at the kora’s southern base is re-erected on Saga Dawa and tens of thousands of pilgrims walk the route in a single week. Demand is high; we open Saga Dawa departures in October the previous year. The September–early October window is drier and cooler, with the cleanest views of the south face and Manasarovar.
The Drolma La pass carries snow from late October to early May, closing the kora. We do not run Mount Kailash departures in this window. Permit lead time is 25 working days minimum (Tibet Travel Permit + Aliens’ Travel Permit + Military Permit for the western border zone). Book at least eight weeks ahead for any departure; twelve weeks for Saga Dawa.
Group sizes are capped at twelve, distributed across two or three Toyota Land Cruisers (4 pax + driver per vehicle, with one seat held for rotation). Yaks and porters for the kora are arranged at Darchen the day before departure — pricing for a yak is roughly CNY 230/day and a porter CNY 220/day. We carry portable oxygen on every vehicle and a Gamow bag (portable hyperbaric chamber) for the Kailash leg only.
Our Lhasa-based Tibetan guides know the kora intimately. They walk it with you, pace the cohort to the slowest member and call rest stops at Dirapuk (4,890 m) and Zutulpuk (4,790 m). The middle day — Dirapuk to Zutulpuk over Drolma La — is 22 km of walking with a 750 m elevation gain to the pass. We start at 04:30 to clear the pass before midday wind picks up.
Tibet Daily’s 2026 Mount Kailash group tour prices start from USD 2,029 per person for the 13-day Lhasa–EBC–Kailash–Gyirong overland and rise to USD 2,754 for the 15-day Sichuan–Tibet overland with Yading. Includes the Tibet Travel Permit, Aliens’ Travel Permit, Kailash kora arrangements, hotels and Darchen guesthouses, Tibetan guide, 4WD with driver, and entry tickets. Yak and porter hire is optional and quoted at cost.
The Mount Kailash outer kora is 52 km, walked clockwise by Buddhists and counter-clockwise by Bön practitioners. The route starts and ends at Darchen (4,575 m) with three days of walking. The maximum altitude is the Drolma La pass at 5,648 m, reached on the second day. Total elevation gain across the kora is about 1,100 m, with a steep descent on the back side after the pass.
No. Foreign passport holders cannot enter Ngari Prefecture independently — the Aliens’ Travel Permit and Military Permit require a registered Tibet travel agency, a guide, and a designated 4WD vehicle for the entire western Tibet leg. The kora itself is walked at your own pace, but the agency and vehicle wait for you at Darchen between days 1 and 4.
Saga Dawa is the fourth Tibetan lunar month, marking the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and parinirvana. Its full-moon day (early June 2026) is the holiest day of the year for a Kailash pilgrimage. The Tarboche flagpole at the southern foot of the mountain is re-erected by monks; tens of thousands of pilgrims walk the kora that week. Hotel and yak prices spike; we open Saga Dawa departures eight months early.
No. Mount Kailash is unclimbed and unclimbable. Both the Chinese government and the four religious traditions that hold it sacred forbid climbing. The traveller and pilgrim experience is the kora — a circumambulation, not a summit. The peak’s south face is best photographed from the Tarboche valley on day one of the kora.
Yes. Yaks (CNY ~230/day) carry duffles and tents; porters (CNY ~220/day) carry packs and walk with you. Tibet Daily arranges both at Darchen the day before the kora starts; you pay in cash on the day. Most travellers hire a yak for personal duffles to keep the day pack weight under 5 kg, and walk the pass themselves.
It is high (5,648 m) and exposed but not technical. The path is well-trodden; no ice axe or rope is required from mid-May to early October. The risk is altitude, not terrain — pulmonary or cerebral edema can develop above 5,000 m. We pace the day with a 04:30 start, use portable oxygen on demand and carry a Gamow bag for emergency descent.
Choose a date and itinerary from the Mount Kailash Tours archive — pay attention to Saga Dawa for the spiritual peak or September for the clearest skies. We begin permit processing within 48 hours of deposit; the Aliens’ Travel Permit takes 5 working days on top of the standard 15 working day Tibet Travel Permit lead time, so allow 8–12 weeks total.