Heli Mt. Kailash - Mansarovar Yatra

Mt. Kailash, 6,740 m. is situated to the north of the Himalayan barrier, wholly within Tibet. It is the perfect mountain with awesome beauty, with 4 great faces. It is the spiritual centre for four great religions: Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism, the Jain religion and the pre-Buddhist animistic religion - Bonpo. To Tibetans it is known as Khang Rimpoche (Precious Jewel of Snow) and they see it as the navel of the world. It is said that a stream from the mountain pours into a nearby lake and from here rivers flow in the four cardinal directions. The River of the Lion Mouth to the North, the River of the Horse Mouth to the east, the River of the Peacock Mouth to the south and the River of the Elephant Mouth to the West. Strangely enough, four major rivers do indeed originate near Kailash, the Indus, the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra), the Karnali and the Sutlej. Tibetans believe that it is the residence of Demchog, a fierce looking tantric deity who lives there with his consort, Dorje Phagmo. For the Tibetans also, it is a particularly special place in that their poet saint Milarepa, spent several years here meditating in a cave.

For the Hindus Mount Kailash is the earthly manifestation of Mt. Meru, their spritual centre of the universe, described as a fantastic 'world pillar' 84,000 miles high, around which all else revolves, its roots in the lowest hell and its summit kissing the heavens. On the top lives their most revered God, Shiva, and his consort Parvati. For the Jains, an Indian religious group, Kailash is the site where their first prophet achieved enlightenment. For the older, more ancient religion of Bon, it is the site where its founder Shanrab is said to have descended from heaven. It was formerly the spiritual centre of Zhang Zung, the ancient Bon Empire that once included all of western Tibet. Bon people walk around the mountain in a counter clockwise manner, unlike the other religions. Over the centuries pilgrims have constantly journeyed immense distances to achieve enlightenment or cleanse themselves of sin, braving enormous distances, particularly harsh weather and bandit attacks.

Travel Tips for Mt. Kailash - Manasarovar Yatra

Accommodation: Fixed Two or Four men tents at each transit camp will be provided for accommodation except for Guest House at Nyalam. While Camping we shall be providing mattress and camping equipment require for the trip excluding personal clothing and sleeping bags. Accommodation in guest houses will be very simple with a cozy room with common toilets. Hot water will be provided in every room for refreshing and for drinking.

Food: We will be providing vegetarian Breakfast and dinner cooked by our Sherpas at Camp Site, who will be taken from Kathmandu. You will be required to bring sufficient supplementary food like biscuits;, nuts, pickles, freeze- dried milk and your favorite tinned products to add variety to the meals. Lunch will be packed of light snacks.

Transportation: During the drive we will be providing a 4 wheel drive (Land cruiser or similar), truck as a backup with all camping gear and crew. Maximun 4-5 person will be accommodated in a land cruiser.

While on trek, during the Kora, we will provide Yaks or porters to carry the camping & your personal light luggage.

Staff
Sherpas who are capable to work & cook on high altitude will be accompanying the group. They will be in charge of setting of tents, cooking etc.

Clothing & Accessory: Depending upon the season, during June, July, August till September, day time will be pleasant and quite warm with about 15-20 degrees celcius. During afternoon time 1-4 pm can be windy. The morning and evening will be chilly between minus 2 to 0 degree Celsius.

We recommend that you bring the following items to make your Journey more Comfortable.

1. One down jacket, one warm thick pull-over, one thin pull-over, two warm pants, two light loose cotton pants, one warm windproof cotton jacket, four cotton sleeve T-shirts, two thermal under pants, two thermal vests.
2. One rain coat (should be roomy & have a waterproof hood), one pair each of light tennis shoes & light rubber sandal, six pairs of warm woolen socks, one light cotton or silk scarf, one large cotton or silk scarf, one pair of warm gloves, soft paper tissues, monkey cap & sun hat, two towels, Wind - Rain Jacket, sun hat, sun glass with side cover, sun cream, chap stick.

Guide/ Escort: A Tibetan/ English speaking guide will escort the group throughout the trip including Nepali staffs for the camping.

Photography: As Tibet get very bright sunlight due to thin air, so taking photographs can be quite glare. We recommend you to take the advice from the photographic shop while purchasing the film rolls for Tibet. Taking photographs inside monastery will be charged as per Monastery rule. Please ask your guide before taking photographs inside the monastery or Army Camps.

Medicine: We suggest you to bring your own first aid kit with adequate medication regarding altitude sickness, nausea, dehydration and some pain killers.

Insurance: We highly recommend all clients to be insured against Medical, accidents & necessary emergency evacuation, if needed.

Physical Fitness: Before booking for this trip with us, clients should be in sound good health preparation for this trip. We advise bit of exercise like morning or evening walk or jogging.

Visa & Documentation: Clients must be in possession of a valid passport to obtain visa. We will require the following details from your passport at the time of booking the trip - Full Name as in Passport, Nationality, Date of issue & expiry of Passport, Passport No, Date of Birth & Occupation

Altitude Sickness: Acute mountain sickness is a frequent problem in the Himalayan region. The altitude of the peaks and trails between them are among highest on earth. Acclimatization to altitude above 3000 meters takes time. The body undergoes a number of physiological changes some of which are immediate like increased pulse rate & respiratory rate. Others appear more slowly over a period of weeks like the change in acid base balance and production of extra red blood cells.

These changes plus the effect of intense sunlight, walking hard & dehydration may cause a number or mild vague symptoms such as Loss of appetite, fatigue, headache, nausea, dizziness, palpitations, sleeplessness, mild shortness of breath with exercise.

The best treatment is prevention! Avoid rapid ascends, take acclimatization symptoms seriously using rest days or diamox. If symptoms are severe and the patient is ill DESCEND IMMEDIATELY, 300 Meters of descent or more should be sought. This usually gives rapid improvement.

Payment: A 50% deposit must be sent in advance to our company or its associates. Balance 50% should be paid at least 30 days before the trip departure.

Cancellation & Refund Policy: If the booking is cancelled 30 days prior to departure, INR 11500 or USD 320.- nett per person would be charged as cancellation amount.

If the booking is cancelled 15 days prior to departure, INR 23000 OR USD 640.- would be charged as cancellation amount.

If the booking is cancelled 07 days prior to departure, there will be no refund.

If CTTB doesnot operate a particular tour, a full refund will be made of the tour.

Equipment on Trip: We provide 2 men roomy tents to sleep in. We also provide Dining Tent, Kitchen Tent, Toilet Tents, Dining Tables, Folding Chairs and full kitchen utensils. We will provide Sleeping Bag and Foam Mattress for bed.

Personal Equipment Check-List: You need atleast 3 pair of change of your clothing for this trip. Shorts, skirt or lightweight trousers are ideal in the heat of the day along with T-shirt, long sleeved cotton shirts and sun hat. During the evening and the higher altitudes warmers clothing will be needed, breeches, track.

Well fitting, comfortable boots are to be preferred over training shoes for the actual trekking and clothing will be required for both extremes of climate, for hot sun when trekking through the lower foothills to freezing temperatures at night when camping in the high valleys.

Fibre Pile Jacket: 1
Shorts Or Skirt: 1
Light Cotton Trousers: 1
Breeches /Track Suit Bottoms /Ultra Fleece Trousers: 1
Duvet Jacket: Down or synthetic
Wool Balaclava, Wool Mitts
Waterproofs: Jacket & trousers
Sun Hat, Scarf: Silk/Nylon, useful for keeping the sun off the back of your neck. SUNGLASSES / GOGGLES with side covers: Essential to get a pair which cuts out 100% UV rays.
Sun Cream: High protection factor [15 or higher] or high altitude glacier cream
Lip Slave/Labisan: protection for the lips. Get one with a sunscreen
Water Bottle: 1 litre metal
Iodine: 2% Solution [Tincture Of Iodine] obtained from most chemists put into a small glass dropper bottle. 8 drops of iodine will sterlise 1 litre of water in 20 minutes.

Toilet Items:
Soap, Towel, Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Shampoo, Comb, Sanitary protection, Toilet rolls [2], etc. Toilet paper is provided on Trek.

Head Torch: [Petzl recommended] - spare batteries and bulbs Sewingkit, Small Knife: Swiss army style - has many uses

Notebook/Diary/Pens, Small Padlock: Useful for locking your kit bag 4 Passport Size Photographs A Copy Of Your Insurance Certificate

Money Belt Reading Material: [1 book], Walkman and 2 tapes - for those early nights. Spare batteries, Chocolate Bars, Sweets!, Personal Medical Kit.

Small Plastic Bags /Stuff Sacs Or Pillow Cases: To separate and keep the gear in your kit bag in order Cigarette Lighter: for burning toilet paper and rubbish.

Optional
Ski Stick: Telescopic for easy carrying
Thermarest: Or similar self-inflating mattress, gives decadent luxury Camera Gear
Games: Cards, chess etc. for the evenings.
Umbrella: Not only for rain, makes a great sunshade Wet Wipes: Or similar.

Insurance & Emergency Expenses: We suggest that clients insure themselves against a comprehensive claim policy. Which should also include Helicopter Evacuation if necessary.

Please note that our Kailash Tour Package does not include any rescue or evacuation expenses in emergencies. Any Emergency arrangement other than regular straight forward tour itinerary service should be borne by the client themselves.

Camera & Films: A 35 mm system with interchangeable lens will allow you to get the best shots in most situations. A wide angle [28-35mm] and a telephoto [80-200mm] are very useful. Skyling filters protect your lens [skylight IB] and a polarizing filter is useful for snow scenes. A brush for cleaning your lens is important and your camera and lens need to be in protective cases. Kodachrome 64 is excellent for slides and for prints 100 ASA film is suitable. Faster films may be needed if using zoom lenses and 200 ASA film would be required. 12 rolls of film per yatra is not too many for the enthusiast.

General Considerations when Packing: Keep the weight and bulk down to a minimum. Baggage allowance on most international flights is 20 Kg's/44 lbs.. Most people tend to bring more clothes than they do actually need. You will only need one change of clothes for Kathmandu. On trek it is important to dress in layers. When it is hot you will only be wearing a base layer, when it gets colder you can add to this until you are wearing most of your clothes!

Personal Medical Kit: We suggest that you bring the following:
Elastoplast Adhesive tape-4" crepe bandage Elasticated knee and or ankle support if you experience strain these joints Blister dressings, e.g. moleskin, compead, spenco dressings Nasal- Decongestant Throat lozenges/ glucose sweets * Wide spectrum antibiotic [Ciproxin recommended]
Anti-diarrhoea - Immodium or Lomotil
* A course of Flagyll [treatment of giardia]
* Codeine Phosphate - constipator, cough suppressant, pain killer,
Cold/flu suppressant, Aspirin and paracetamol. Rehydrate powder - useful for adding to your water bottle and for fluid replacing purposes.
Small pair of scissors and other special medicines you require

Responsibility/Liability:
All arrangements within Tibet are solely at the discretion of the China Tibet Tourism Bureau (CTTB), a government organization, CTTB reserves the right to change itineraries without advance notice, depending on the weather and road condition. Yeti Travels Pvt. Ltd. acts as an intermediary between the concerned airlines, hotels, transport/tour- operators and local tourist offices providing the services. Yeti Travels or its PSA or its sub agent, is therefore not responsible for any loss, injury sustained by the tourists, including those occurring outside the touring programs. Additional expenses incurred due to delay, accidents, natural disaster, political actions and unrest must be borne by the tourists. Program, prices, services and conditions are based on those valid at the time of printing and are therefore subject to change without advance notice before or during the tour.

"Any part of unutilized services is non - refundable"

Participation in our tour implies the tourist's agreement to the above conditions.

Note:

1. Beside our staff/sherpa etc., you can accommodate maximum 07 pax from your clients in one helicopter.
2. June to September is the best time but usually we require about 03 working days to get Travel Permit from Chinese Authorities. We'd appreciate you sending us the passport copies of all the participants by courier/fax as soon as possible.
3. This is to be noted that the Yaks are not used to carry passengers rather they are only used to carry baggage. The horses can be arranged on prior information. The hiring charge per horse & horsemen will be US$ 45 horse per day.
4. FYI, Mansarovar is the best place for Camping & there are so many places to explore around. Clients can take a bath at Mansarovar before they start the Parikarma.
5. In the above itinerary, we have allowed the guests to have an extra day at Mansarovar to look around & acclimatize well before starting the Kora.
6. The MI-17 Helicopter, used in this operation has a capacity of 26 pax but due to high attitude flying usually upto 15 passengers are flown by this Helicopter on this sector including our support staff.