How to get to Kailash from Lhasa?
Ultimate Guide from Lhasa to Mount Kailash
As a world-recognized sacred mountain, Mount Kailash is considered to be sacred in four religions: Bon, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. Together with its neighbor, Lake Manasarovar, Mount Kailash has attracted many tourists from all over the world. This article will introduce you how to get to Mount Kailash from Lhasa.
Where is the Mount Kailash?
Located within Burang County, Ngari Prefecture, Mount Kailash at an altitude of 6,638 meters is about 1,300 kilometers from downtown Lhasa and about 250 kilometers from the Shiquanhe Town, the seat of Ngari Prefecture. Mount Kailash is located on the north side of National Highway G219. Darchen Town, the starting point of circumambulation of Mount Kailash, is only 3 kilometers away from National Highway G219.
Lake Manasarovar is located south of National Highway G219. To the south of Lake Manasarovar stands the highest peak of the Himalayas in Ngari Prefecture, the Naimona'nyi Peak with a height of 7,694 meters.
How far is Mount Kailash from Lhasa?
Every year, thousands of tourists come to Tibet and enjoy their unique highland trip from all over the world. A majority of tourists choose Lhasa as their first station in Tibet as to acclimate the high altitude there.
Despite the long distance from Lhasa to Mount Kailash, the transportation between the two places is developed. Hence, tourists, old and young, can reach the holy mountain without too many troubles.
How can you get to Mount Kailash from Lhasa?
1. Train + highway
You can take the train from Lhasa to the Shigatse, taking about 2.5 hours. Then you can start the road trip via G318 and G219 National Highways from Shigatse to Mount Kailash. The road trip is about 1000 kilometers.
Compared with the third choice, this way can save you some time. But you may miss some classic tourist attractions, such as the Lake Yamdrok and Karola Glacier.
2. Flight + highway
It takes 2.5 hours flying from Lhasa Gonggar Airport to Ngari Gunsa Airport. Then you can head for Mount Kailash via G219 National Highway.
This is the fastest way to reach Mount Kailash. But through this way, you can easily get altitude sickness ascending from 3,600 meters to 4,270 meters in only 2.5 hours. Therefore, we do not recommend you to fly from Lhasa to Ngari. But if you have been to high-altitude areas many times before, you may choose this way to save yourself more time.
3. Highway
The whole journey is 1300KM. Some may think it is too time-consuming. But on the magnificent roof of the world, slowing down and enjoying the beautiful scenery is the first priority. Along the way, you are gonna visit many famous tourist attractions.
