Mount Kailash (22,028 ft, 6,714 m), the famed holy peak, is situated to the north of the Himalayan barrier in Western Tibet. This legendary snow-shrouded rock dome is one of the most revered pilgrimage sites for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Bonpos (Pre-Buddhists) and draws pilgrims from India, Nepal, Mongolia, Tibet, Japan, China, Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. At the slopes of Kaila
s, a stream is said to pour into Manasarovar and from this lake, flow four of Asia's great rivers the Indus, the Brahmaputra, the Karnali and the Sutlej. For well over a thousand years, pilgrims have journeyed here to pay homage to the mountain's mystery, circumambulating it in a ritual that continues to this day. Their faith proclaims that not just the mountain's ice - capped summit but the entire region is the abode of the Gods.
