In the Tibet Autonomous Region, there are countless sacred destinations ranging from lakes and mountains to monasteries and caves. But among all the pilgrimage destinations in Tibet, Mount Kailash is no doubt the most important.

Four major Asian religions have long regarded Mount Kailash as the holiest object of worship.

For Hindus, the 6,714-metre mountain is the domain of Shiva, the Destroyer and Transformer. To the Jains of India, it is the site where the first of their saints was emancipated. In the ancient Bon religion of Tibet, Kailash was the sacred land where the Bon founder alighted from heaven.

Also known as Kang Rinpoche or "Precious Jewel Snow Mountain" in Tibetan, the mountain is considered "the king of all saint mountains" by pious Tibetan Buddhists.

Four great rivers of the Indian subcontinent start there. It is the birthplace of the river Karnali, which feeds into the Ganges, the Indus, the Sutlej and the Brahmaputra (Yarlung Zambo in Tibetan).

Millions of Tibetans and Indians wish to make a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash once in their lifetime to complete the 53-kilometre Kailash circuit (kora in Tibetan).

A circumambulation of Mount Kailash is even more powerful to Tibetan Buddhists in this auspicious Year of Horse of the traditional Tibetan Lunar calendar.

It is said that Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, was born in the Year of the Horse. And Mount Kailash is the abode of Samvara, a wrathful manifestation of Sakyamuni. So a circuit in the Year of Horse is equal to 13 circuits in the normal years to Tibetan Buddhists.

It is said that a single Kailash kora erases the accumulated sins of a lifetime, while 108 are a one-way ticket straight to nirvana. As a result, it offers Tibetan pilgrims a shortcut to nirvana.

However, the kora is a very difficult trek. Snow can fall on the passes during the day at the height of summer, the accommodation possibilities are very limited, food supplies are poor, and pilgrims must get over a 5,600-metre pass.

The mountain is in the centre of Ngari, the most inaccessible part of Tibet. It is about 1,200 kilometres west of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. To see the face of the mountain, pilgrims must first withstand all the sufferings of the long haul.

( China Daily February 21, 2002)