1. Kailas - Mansarovar YATRA
by Jayant Doshi
(I decided to call this article Yatra instead of
expedition. Yatra literally means a religious pilgrimage,
and that is what this trip turned out to be. - but in
many ways this was truly a memorable expedition.
….This is an account of the trip and I hope readers will
enjoy it.)
(Photos in this article are not from this trip but from
my later treks.)
Geographical Location : Mount Kailas and
Mansarovar ( literally meaning a big lake) are
situated just North-West of Nepal in Tibet.
While Mount Kailas is considered part of the
Himalayan range, it is distinctly away from
the actual Himalayan range. Mansarovar is a
very large lake with a circumference of 105 km, and four major rivers come out of it including
the Brahmputra, Indus and Sutlej. Kailas
and Mansarovar are two different places,
separated by about 30 km distance.
Significance : Mount Kailas, as per the
Hindu myth and belief, was the abode of Lord
Shiva and Parvati , and it is said that they
bathed in Mansarovar. For devout Hindus
going to Kailas and Mansarovar is the most
important pilgrimage of their life. Parikrama
(meaning going round the temple, or round
Mount Kailas in this case) is considered as the
essential part of this pilgrimage or Yatra.
Devout Hindus believe that one can see the
shape of AUM made from snow on this
mountain, and I was sent photograph of this
AUM on the internet. On our visit most claimed
to see the shape of Lord Ganesh on one side of Mount Kailas. Buddhists consider Mount Kailas
as the centre of the Universe, and they also consider Parikrama of Mount Kailas as the most
important religious rite of their lives. They
believe that one Parikrama will wash their
sins, while one hundred Parikramas will give
them salvation. Jains believe that Tirthankar
Rushabhdev resided there, and that Gautam
(first disciple of Lord Mahavir) visited this
mount. Some believe that those who are lucky
may sight Astapad on the Mount Kailas.It is
interesting to note that while these three
religions claim their distinct identity, they all
seem to believe in the same thing when it
comes to Mount Kailas.

2. Our Group : Since my holidays in Himachal
Pradesh , I wanted to take another holiday in
the Himalayas. I also had heard a lot about
Kailas Mansarovar. When one of my relations
in Bombay told me about a tour agent
organising this tour, I immediately decided to
take up the opportunity. I knew no one when
I started the trip. So I met the rest of the
group for the first time when I reached
Kathmandu. A brief introduction would help
my narration later. Mukherji from Calcutta,
the most senior member was quiet but always
had words of wisdom when someone fell ill, or
when one of the vehicles had mechanical
problems. Barot from Baroda was always
obliging and thanking others for the slightest
favours. He was very humble and full of humility, and always ready to help but rarely accepting
any help. Pushpaben of Bombay, but originally of Uganda , was remarkable in more than one
ways, and with all the supplies she had
brought with her, she became the saviour for
the rest of the group on this tour. For last
sixteen years she takes only one meal a day,
and during the trip while everyone was
struck with some sort of physical problem,
she always kept her smile and her health in
total control. Khandekar couple, originally
from Bombay but now living in Rajasthan,
were different in their own way, less forth
coming and mixing, they were both in ill
health for most of the trip. Husband was
chain smoker, and avoided walking
whenever he could avoid it. Yogi couple from
Bombay were friendly; husband was life of
the group and made jokes, mostly at the cost
of the wife, and later the victims were
Khandekars. Sanjiv, from Bombay and the youngest member of the group, was conned into
believing that not only had I the interests that matched his, but that I was much younger (he
actually gave my age as 42) then I actually was. When he saw me at the airport it must have
shocked him, as I was much older than he was made to believe. But I assume that he very soon
realised that I was up to his expectations in walking and other activities. I can say with
hindsight that without him my trip would have been boring and a total failure, and I can say
that with confidence that he must have had the same feelings.
Most of the group members never walked or
did any sort of physical activity. Even if the
hotel room was on first floor they grumbled.
Barot had sever health problems including
breathing problems. His doctor had forbidden
him to do this trip. He lied to his family that
he was just going to north India and had
come with us. He had got into his mind that
God had sent me from Lodnon to make his
Parikrama successful. He kept offering to
help me, get my things and even offered to
massage my legs and I kept telling him not to
do that. I explained that I can do my own
work and appreciate his offer but do not want
him to do that.

3. Our Convoy : Besides the nine of us , we were to be accompanied by four Chinese drivers who
did not understand any language other than Chinese, five Nepali sherpas who were all cheerful
and helpful, and a Chinese guide who was
not very co-operative or helpful, and difficult
to communicate with even though he spoke
reasonable English. We were travelling in
three land cruisers, which by our standard
were pretty old and in reasonable condition,
considering that my land cruiser had already
clocked 330,000 kilo meters which indicates
the age of the vehicles. We also had a lorry
carrying all our needs for the trip, including
fuel for four vehicles for total journey of
almost 2000 kilometres, our tents, food
supplies and even drinking water, as once we
enter Tibet nothing is available. When we
camped, we had five tents for nine of us, and
one for the guide. Our tents were reasonable
sized, enough for sleeping but not possible to stand and change clothes. There was one large
tent for dining purposes, which later on some of the passengers used for sleeping, and a tent for
cooking which the sherpas used for sleeping also. A small tent, no more than a person could get
in and sit, was put up for use as toilet. This was the sum total of the convoy, the sum total of
our world and our life for the next fifteen days.
Relaxing in Nepal : We spent three days in
Nepal before starting our trip. Sanjeev and I
had three wonderful days. We walked through
the bazaars of Kathmandu, did some
shopping and took some photographs. Next
day, on our way to Pokhara we decided to try
river rafting. Three hours of rafting with two
others from Hong Kong and two from Italy
was great fun and something I always wanted
to try. We were all wet while rafting, and also
had a dip in the river after taking lunch, but
three hours seemed too less. That evening, we
saw local traditional dancing and singing in
the hotel. Next morning, we had a very early
morning walk to the top of a hill from where
we had a wonderful view of the mountain ranges and the sun rise. Next day in Kathmandu, we
all took a flight which took us to the Himalayan range, and we had a wonderful view of the
Everest and all the other peaks of the Himalayan mountain range. That, everyone agreed, was
the most wonderful experience of our stay in Nepal. That evening we drove to a hillside hotel
half way to the border of Tibet. Next day we
drove to the border, went through the
formalities of customs and immigration, and
all our supplies were moved to the vehicles
waiting for us on the other side. As there is
two and a half hour time difference between
Nepal and Tibet, it was a short day for us,
and we spent the night in a border town
guest house. The guest house was by any
definition rudimentary and in terrible state.
Daily Routine : This was mine, and I guess
everyone else’s, first experience in camping
holiday. Every morning, around 7.30 the
sherpas would wake us up, and leave a cup

4. of tea outside the tent. We would be all
sleeping in the same clothes as we wore
during the day. By the time we finished our
tea, the sherpa would come with a bowl of
hot water. We would then put on our shoes,
leather jacket, and come out of the tent with,
brush our teeth and wash our face. After
use of the toilet tent, we would come and
pack our bags. We then have breakfast
consisted of hot milk (made from milk
powder) and cereals, biscuits and sometimes
bhajias or some such hot item. By the time
we finished out breakfast, all the tents would
have been packed and our luggage put on the vehicles. We would leave the site promptly by
9.00. Each one would be given packed lunch. We would stop for packed lunch around mid-day,
and then in the evening any time between as early as 4.00 or as late as 9.00 we would stop for
the night camping. The camp site is always selected near some river.
Journey to Mansarovar: We started our journey on Monday. After crossing the Nepal border we
stayed in Zagmu, the first and possibly the last town we see on our trip. After dinner, Sanjeev
and I were strolling along the small street
when we decided to go into a good looking
hotel to see what it was like and there we met
three Gujarati ladies from USA who had just
come back from Kailas. They had some
terrible experiences and told us all about
their experiences, giving us hints on what
precautions to take and what to expect.
Some of their tales were chilling and
frightening, and kept me awake at night.
Because the tour agent had told me not to
bring more than one small bag, I was the
least prepared for the conditions we were to
face. But luckily, Pushpaben saved me and
others with her spare supplies. But talking to
those ladies , it helped also as we prepared
ourselves mentally and materially whatever
we could do to face those problems . We talked to the rest of our group and told them what to
expect. Next day we started our journey, and we soon realised that once the Nepal border is
gone, there is nothing but desert with no greenery or much life to be seen. The journey is not
very comfortable as the seats in the land cruisers were not what we are used to, and the terrain
made the ride bumpy and rough. We did not
travel a lot in distance, but we climbed from
about 4000 feet above sea level to about
10000 feet, which for one day is quite a climb,
and unaware at that point we paid for that
steep climb very badly.
We stopped at about 4.00 in the afternoon to
set up our first camp. The site was near a
river, and when we stopped it was sunny and
warm and everyone was in good spirits. We all
decided to go for a walk as soon as the camps
were set up. Within minutes, everything
seemed to have changed. The altitude and
the thin air takes getting used to, and we were
neither aware of this change nor had we been
warned about the same. One after other,
everyone started complaining of either headaches, or nausea feeling or fever. I had three vomits

5. within the next half hour or so. The warm
weather turned nasty in minutes, and we
had severe cold wind blowing in no time.
Later, as I was told, it rained with
snowflakes. I had gone inside the tent to lie
down as the vomits had taken its toll on my
body. The night became the nightmare of the
trip for most of us. I put on two long
woollen socks, had long john and trousers,
two woollen cardigans and a leather jacket,
scarf, gloves and monkey cap, and I was
still shivering inside the sleeping bag. It was
our first night sleeping on the rough ground
and inside a tent, and with the after effects of
vomiting, and the cold I could not sleep for
most of the night. Sanjeev felt so cold that
he screamed for help during the middle of the
night. He thought he had fever and would
not survive the night if he did not get help. I
was in no state to get up and help, but while
lying down I struggled in the dark and
opened my little suitcase which was near my
head, and fumbled through the contents and
found my woollen shawl. I gave the shawl to
him and after that he seemed to have
overcome the extreme cold. Barot in the next
tent could not breathe properly in that confined space and decided to go and sleep in the larger
dining tent. Mukherji started screaming in the middle of the night “Yogi help me…I can’t
breathe…I am going to die…please come and help me.” Whilst I was right next door, I was in no
state to stand up and help him. Luckily, Yogi came to help. Mrs Yogi was not well for almost the
whole week, and she did not recover till we reached Mansarovar. She could not eat anything as
she kept vomiting. Khandekar couple were in poor state also for better part of the week. Rest of
us recovered from this ordeal by next day. During that night, if anyone had even mentioned of
going back, then it was possible that I would have been the first one to say that I will go back.
The sudden travel to a great height where the air is thin, and atmosphere completely different
than it takes a long time for the bodies to get used to. Unfortunately we were not warned or
prepared for this. After the nightmare of the first night, we slowly got used to the conditions.
For the first few days most of us did not feel like eating anything, and even eating was like a
difficult chore. After eating a few nuts, the mouth seemed to be tired. I lost over a stone in the
first week. For the first few days I hardly ate anything and even after that I was eating a little.
Travelling in the land cruisers was not easy.
Pot holes and bumps in the road meant that
one got bumped around the vehicle and lifted
from the seat. We had a crossing of
Brahamputra in some antiquated ferry which
took considerable time to ferry all the vehicles.
Crossing rivers, I mean actually driving
through the water, was quite standard and
occurred a few times in a day sometimes as
many as five times. One or the other vehicles
getting stuck in the sand or in the river was
also very common, and luckily we got out of
those situations with the help of our other
vehicles, or sometimes help from passing
vehicles. While it was sunny and warm during
the day, and it felt very warm inside the

6. vehicles, it was not possible to keep the
windows open for two reasons. The wind was
always chilly, and winds brought a lot of sand.
On the second day, the driver missing a big
hole on the way, drove fast over it and I got
lifted from my seat and when I fell back , my
back side hit some solid metal bar at the back
of the seat. I screamed with pain. After that
time, I could not sit straight as it was painful.
Later, on reaching Bombay, I had an X ray
done, and it was found that I had a hair line
fracture of the tail end of the spine which was
causing pain. Luckily this was not serious
except it could cause discomfort for a few months.
Arriving at Mansarovar : By Friday mid-day we could see the Mansarovar and Mount Kailas. It
was a pretty sight. Mansarovar, a vast lake, had crystal blue water. We reached Mansarovar by
early afternoon. Everyone seemed happy having reached the destination. Feeling of reverence
and appreciation to god were expressed in different forms of prayers and worship. Some lied
down on ground and prayed, some bowed and closed their eyes, some had tears of joy in their
eyes when praying. Sherpas, in the traditional Tibetan way, piled stones like a building and
prayed. From there we drove to the other
end of the lake to camp. It was very windy,
and impossible to stay out or walk around so
we all sat in the dining camp. Barot called
me to one side and told me something that
touched me, and caused apprehension in my
mind at the same time. He said that for
some time he wanted me to know that if
anything was to happen to him on this trip,
then I should personally take the
responsibility for his final rites – that I
should deliver the ashes to his family. I
could not get the conversation out of my
mind for the good part of the evening and the
night. We walked up to the lake but the
bank was very muddy, and it was cold and
windy. Instead, we walked to the nearby hill,
with a nice view of the lake. The hill had some sort of Tibetan worshipping place, though it did
not seem to have any idols. Surprisingly everyone followed us, and everyone, except Sanjeev and
I, were totally out of breath just climbing this little hill. At this stage I assume everyone realised
that walking round Kailas would not be easy, perhaps not possible. I got the chance to video
everyone and introduce them for the record.
Up to now discussion about Parikrama had
been academic, but now reality was facing
everyone. Up to now it was talk but now we
had to face reality. Everyone was adamant
and determined that they will at least try and
walk. Each one believed that their prayers
and their faith in God will give them the
strength to do the walk. Sanjeev and I were
asked for our opinions, and we frankly told
them that if they cannot walk for long time
and distance, then it would be difficult for
them to do this Parikrama. The alternative
was that one could hire a yak and ride on
them when walking became difficult, but we
had also been warned that yak rides are very

7. difficult and not advisable. In spite of that,
Khandekar couple, Yogi couple and
Pushpaben decided to rent yaks and I was
asked to arrange them with the guide. All the
strong talk about doing the Parikrama at any
cost petered out after the walk on the hill that
evening.
Next day, it was calm and sunny, and lovely.
Sanjeev and I climbed the hill again and took
some beautiful photos and video of the rising
sun. Coming down the other side we saw a
Tibetan house and we went inside. The house
consisting of one room and an open compound
was neat and clean and well arranged. What
impressed us was the side board and a table. The furniture had some nice artful paintings and
engravings which enhanced their beauty, and I am sure they would be worth a lot in antiques
market. We all went to the edge of the lake where one tent was put up to change clothes. Most
of the group had come prepared to do pooja near the lake. Barot and Mukherji put their
swimming trunks and walked into the lake till the water reached just below the knees. It was
muddy and water was shallow but there was
thick ice on the top which they did not notice
and when they came out they had cut their
legs which were then bleeding. Others,
seeing this, decided to keep full body covered
when going into the lake. Even then the water
was freezing and no one dared to go much far
into the lake. Sanjeev and I decided not the
take the chance and wait till we had finished
Parikrama, and take a dip into the lake on
our return. Most of the crowd performed
pooja and I took the video.
Kailas : Before we got ready to move to
Darchen , the base camp for Kailas, the guide
came and informed us that no yaks were
permitted on Kailas as conditions were bad.
It had snowed the day before and snow was up to hip depth. One person was reported to have
died and one had broken his leg. We all got packed to move on to Kailas. There was stunned
silence and everyone started discussing the next step to take. We asked the guide about the
alternatives. Khandekars announced that they were not going for Parikrama. Mrs Yogi joined
them. While Mr Yogi kept saying that he will at least try, later we found that he had dropped out
without any more discussion. Pushpaben
was quiet and her silence implied that she
had dropped out. Mukherji said that the feet
he cut in ice that morning meant that he
could not walk so he dropped out also.
Sanjeev and I were determined to go no
matter what. Barot was also determined in
spite of our feelings that he was not prepared
for such a walk.
Near the Mansarovar, there was a hot water
stream coming out of the mountain. Barot
and I went and had our bath in the open, the
first one since we started on our journey a
week before. We drove to Kailas and stayed
at Darchen camp guest house which is at the
base of Kailas. There were lots of vehicles
and people around. It was early evening by the time we settled down in our rooms. While the

8. comments by the guide had been unsettling,
we had come to mistrust our guide. Sanjeev
and I decided to go out and talk to other
people and luckily we met a group from Delhi
which had just come back from Parikrama,
and they told us that things were not that
bad. Talking with them gave us more courage
and we told the guide that we were going. As
yaks were not allowed he promised that he
will arrange for porters to carry our camping
and other equipment. We went back to our
rooms and announced our decision. The next
few hours became full of emotion for us.
Everyone chipped in to help us, to give us items which we might need and help us in every way
possible to prepare ourselves for the walk
around Kailas. Sanjeev and I were nervous and
sceptical. We developed a fear that after all the
confidence being heaped on us, what if we were
to fail? We both started comforting each other
and boosting our morale.
Now, after all this moral and emotional support
expressed by all, we had a moral duty to finish
this Parikrama. “If we do not do the Parikrama,
at least our clothing or other personal item will
do the Parikrama, and we will be happy with
that.” This statement expressed the feelings of
all those who backed us up. While I was
confident that Sanjeev and I will be able to
walk, I was scared about Barot. Not only I
thought that he would not be able to walk that much, but that he would also possibly stop us
from carrying on as it would be difficult to leave him half way if he had any problem or if he
could not walk any more. I noticed that when he came from the outside he was breathless for a
few minutes, and thinking of what he had told me the day before I could not sleep at night. I
started putting two and two together. He talked about his final rites and his ashes. Did he have
a plan to end his life on this sacred mountain? These thoughts bothered me whole night and I
could not sleep. In the morning I tried to convince him not to come but he was determined as
ever - not adamant but humble. He kept saying that he will not stop us or be a burden on us,
and he will come back on his own if he felt he could not walk.
When we came out with our bags, the guide informed us that he could not find any porters but
that he was trying. After waiting for some time, it seemed that we would have to give up as there
were no porters, when luckily two of our sherpas said that they will carry everything and that
they will come with us. We asked them to
reduce the load, and suggested that the gas
tank could be dropped as we were ready to
eat cold food. We said our goodbyes to all,
those left behind were emotional and in tears,
while we had tears of fear and apprehension.
Parikrama : We started walking around 10.30
a.m. We were fresh and full of energy. We
knew we had a very long walk ahead and as
such we were trying to cover as much as
possible while we were fresh and strong.
Sanjeev and I walked at a steady speed. We
were walking in the valley between two
ranges of mountains. We were walking on
rough surface and stones, climbing up at

9. times and coming down at times. The sherpas
normally stay behind, rest a lot, but catch up
also as fast. Barot was walking at a great
distance behind us. In the beginning, we did
not think that he was going to make it so we
did not worry or wait for him. After three hours
of walking we stopped to wait for the sherpas.
We had lunch, and started walking again. We
stopped again at about 4.00 and waited for the
sherpas, who had planned to camp there. After
lunch, Barot kept up his pace with us all the
time and we three were walking in unison. We
camped, one camp for three of us and one for
the sherpas. The tent was too small to fit two people but here we had to sleep three in a tent.
We all had wonderful sleep. Next morning we felt fresh and energetic, and ready for a long day’s
walking. After breakfast, the sherpas suggested we start walking as it was going to be a long
day. We started to walk at 8.30. From where we had camped, we could see a steep mountain
covered with snow, and hundreds of people walking. The sherpas pointed to that side and told
us to keep walking and following everyone. It was a purnima (full moon) festival, which meant
that hundreds of Tibetans were doing Parikrama. This was lucky for us because that meant that
a track was created in the deep snow by the time we started walking.
The morning walk was difficult. We were
walking through snow, so we had to watch at
all times that there was no soft spot or snow
was covering a water pool, or a hole in the
track or we do not slip in ice which would
have formed on the ground. It was also uphill
walking which meant that after every hundred
yards or so we sat down to recover our breath.
But we kept walking, and we kept going. It
was hard work. We were sweating, and
breathing heavily all the time. Sanjeev and
Barot had walking sticks but I was relying on
my instincts to keep my balance, and to check
the snow surface I was walking on. By 12.00
noon we reached the top of the mountain. The
sherpas, needless to say, had long overtaken
us and been waiting for us. They seemed happy with our progress. We were given lunch, and
then they said that it was easy now and we could even finish that day instead of spending
another night in the mountains. We did not wish to spend another night cramped in one tent
and suggested to the sherpas that we might as well stay in a guest house.
It was downhill walking now. We kept walking
and reached the base of the mountain by 2.00
p.m. After that we had to walk between two
range of mountains which seemed almost
straight and level walking, but we soon found
out how much more difficult this easy part of
the walk was. We soon found that we had
rivers to cross every other minute literally, we
had stones and big boulders to jump over and
overall it was more difficult walking. Jumping
over all those boulders and stones caused
pain in my right knee and I found walking
difficult. Sanjeev always said that he found
going up difficult but found it easy to walk on
flat ground. He was tired but he was very
eager to reach the guest house quickly. While Barot and I were stopping for rest in between, he
kept walking at a steady pace, and was far in front of us. We came across a river where there

10. was no easy crossing except getting our feet wet, and in that cold it was not a good choice.
Luckily, one of the sherpas show us and came
to our help. Also I had a knee support in my
bag which was with the sherpas. The knee
support gave me a bit of relief in the knee, and
made walking easier.
It was 4.00 p.m. and we were really tired. If
Sanjeev had been there we would have
suggested to camp just there, but as he was
out of sight, we had no choice but to carry on
walking. We kept walking, and walking. Now
the walking was up a hill, then down the other
side, and then up another hill and so on.
Every time we were going up a hill slope, we
were hoping and praying that when we reach
the top we would be able to see the guest
house, and once we reached the top we were disappointed. And this kept happening again and
again. I had no strength left in my legs. If given a choice I would have just sat there and refused
to move. We kept resting after every few minutes walking. It was after 6.00 that we sighted the
guest house, and it was 6.30 by the time we entered the guest house. I removed my shoes, and
the jacket and just dropped on the bed. I hardly was in a mood to talk or eat. In minutes I was
fast asleep. Everyone had long deep sleep.
Next morning we woke up feeling fresh from
good sleep, but our faces showed the effects of
tiredness. We took some photos, and looking
at those photos I realised how tired and aged
we looked after those two days of walking.
But now we were in a relaxed mood as we had
only half a day to walk. But even that walk
seemed to be endless. After almost 6 long
hours we came to the end of our Parikrama.
We just could not wait to get into our land
cruisers. Barot wanted to go to a temple on
top of the hill but neither of us was in any
mood to walk any more. One vehicle had
come to pick us up while the rest of the group
was at the camp site near Mansarovar. The
drive from the base camp to Mansarovar seemed too long and I was getting tired sitting and
waiting to reach the camp. It took over an hour - seemed like hours - but the emotional
welcome we received was overwhelming. All the Chinese drivers, who up to now had never
bothered even to return a smile, came and
shook our hands and one could see pleasure
and pride in those faces. The Sherpas showed
the same emotions. Others came and greeted
us with tears in their eyes. We had
accomplished what they so much wanted to do
once in their life. I had come for the fun of this
adventure, but here for once I felt as if I had
also done the Yatra. Barot stooped down and
bowed to Pushpaben and others. To me, the
hero of this long walk was Barot. I found out
afterwards that my earlier fears were true,
almost as if I had premonition. He had been
warned by five doctors not even to come to
Mansarovar, and to forget about Parikrama.
Every family member had pleaded and
prohibited him to go on this trip. His breathing
problems were so bad and visible, that the way he walked for those 50 km was miraculous.

11. We all went into the dining tent. We were given very warm welcome, and very tasty food for the
first time on this trip. We sat and talked about
our walk. It became apparent that some of
them started feeling that they could have done
the Parikrama and did not do it. Pushpaben
declared her intention to come again. Later,
Pushpaben suggested that everyone give up
something as a gesture of this Yatra. I
suggested that everyone vow to spend some
time everyday to look after their bodies - their
health.
The Return Journey : When we were in
Kathmandu and a suggestion was made that
we might finish the trip in 13 days instead of
the scheduled 14 days, everyone strongly objected to that and said that they will spend 14 days
no matter what. But when the time came for the return journey, everyone wanted to get back as
quick as possible. We kept asking the guide about the time schedule, and even offered that we
would not object to long days of travelling. We did keep on the road till 9.00 on some days. We
had got used to the atmosphere and the height and now we had got used to the environment.
We started removing extra warm clothing. But now there was no anticipation or surprise at
what we were to see. Now everyone wanted one thing only - to get back as quickly as possible.
On the second day, the lorry got stuck in the
sand and after half an hour’s efforts the lorry
started moving and our driver took off first.
Ahead was a hill to the left of the track, and a
huge vehicle was stuck at the base of the hill.
The right side was sandy plane but where the
vehicle could easily get stuck. The driver took
the option of climbing the hill, and when he
came down the other side we gasped in fear
as it was the most dangerous drive down a
hill we had experienced. The driver stopped
after coming down the hill. Other vehicles
were not behind. We waited and waited. We
signalled to the driver to go back to see what
had happened to others but he refused. It
was almost three hours and our minds were filled with all types of thoughts. There was no food
in our vehicle, and what if the other vehicles had taken a different route? Will we be able to find
them, and if not how will we survive without food and water? And what if we got stuck
somewhere? Finally, Barot and I decided to walk back to see if we could find the others.
Walking in the sun and in the soft sand was not easy. But after half an hour’s walking we
luckily saw the other vehicles exactly where
we had left them. Since they were all in
motion, we felt relieved and went back to our
vehicle. We found out later that the lorry got
stuck again soon after we left it and other
vehicles stopped to help it.
In spite of long day’s travelling, we realised
that even if we reached the border early we
could not cross it until the due date and
because the bus to collect us would not be
there. The bureaucratic system meant that
dates on the permit have to be adhered to
strictly. But at last we reached Kathmandu
and everyone was happy. Everyone who found
out that we had done Parikrama, looked at us

12. with reverence and respect. Some had brought big gallons of water from Mansarovar, and people
asked to be given a little water. We all departed our ways. Some exchanged addresses and
promised to keep in touch.
This trip was a different sort of experience,
wonderful in many ways, frightening at times
and yet satisfying in many ways. I did not go
for the religious Yatra but the satisfaction I
got from that 50 km walk was great. It felt
great to be able to walk that much. It felt
great to be in nature without any pollution, to
be cut off from the world for a fortnight, to
make acquaintance with total strangers but
all with the same mission. Many people have
shown great interest in my trip, and have
asked for my guidance to go there. And I have
told them the same thing as I am telling here.
Unless you have compelling reason to do this
Yatra, do not go on this trip. Unless you are
extra fit and looking for a different sort of adventure, do not go on this trip. From accounts from
other people, I understand many people have died on this trip. The arrangements and the safety
aspect require lot of improvement.
But this little unplanned adventure created a zest for walking and trekking and over the next
decade I did many interesting and challenging treks.
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