Location
Mount Kailash (Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ, Kangrinboqê, meaning “Precious Snow Mountain”) is located in Burang County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is the main peak of the Gangdise Range (Kailash Range).
Coordinates
- Latitude: 31°04′N
- Longitude: 81°18′E
- Elevation: 6,638 m (21,778 ft)
Though its elevation is far lower than Everest, Mount Kailash’s religious and cultural significance surpasses any other mountain on Earth.
Geography
Mount Kailash sits in the western Tibetan Plateau, at the heart of the Ngari region. Its surrounding geography is highly distinctive:
- North: Sengge Zangbo (Lion Spring River, headwater of the Indus)
- South: Lake Manasarovar (one of the highest freshwater lakes) and Rakshastal (Demon Lake)
- East: Tamchok Khambab Yumco (Horse Spring River, headwater of the Brahmaputra)
- West: Langchen Khambab (Elephant Spring River, headwater of the Sutlej)
Source of Four Great Rivers
Mount Kailash is known as the “Water Tower of Asia,” feeding four major rivers:
| River | Direction | Length | Outflow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indus (Sengge) | North | ~3,180 km | Arabian Sea |
| Sutlej (Langchen) | West | ~1,450 km | Indus River |
| Brahmaputra (Tamchok) | East | ~2,900 km | Ganges Delta |
| Karnali (Macha) | South | ~1,080 km | Ganges River |
Getting There
The nearest town is Darchen (Tibetan: དར་ཆེན།), elevation ~4,575 m, which serves as the starting and ending point for the kora (pilgrimage circuit). Darchen is approximately 1,200 km from Lhasa by road, roughly a 2-day drive.