kailash trip via humla - Himal Eco Treks

Kailash trip via Humla (Simikot) Limi valley – my experience in my words!

Have been there to Kailash many times! Have escorted various groups and seen them enjoy this heavenly place. Mt. Kailash is a dream destination for many enthusiastic travelers and it’s indeed an invigorating experience to be a part of this journey. I have recently been to Kailash via Humla (Simikot) Limi Valley and I would like to share some of my experiences so that it would be helpful for you to plan your upcoming trip to Mt. Kailash.

For the first two days of my trip, I with my team was busy with the scheduled flight. On the first day, we took a flight of Yeti airlines from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj. Nepalgunj is one of the hottest places in Nepal however with the commencement of autumn, the temperature was moderate, lucky us! For a while, we wandered around the streets and explored the nearby places. In the evening, we enjoyed our time at Hotel Solti in Nepalgunj.

Second day, we woke up early to catch an early flight to Simikot. This time luck wasn’t in our favor. The flight to Simikot had been delayed due to bad weather condition. For taking off a flight to hilly region, the weather needs to be good. It’s for the security of entire passengers and crew members. After a long wait, I with my team boarded on a plane that landed us to Simikot. Simikot is the headquarter of Humla district. Humla is one of the remote places in Nepal. Upon arrival, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at a guesthouse and spent our night at the guesthouse in Simikot.

It was time to initiate my trekking journey!

From Day 3, it was an adventurous walk ahead. I personally divide the journey into two sections – trekking in Nepal and overland drive to Kailash in Tibet. Kailash trip via Humla (Simikot) Limi valley is actually a cross country journey that comprises of remote sections of Nepal and Tibetan territory.

Part I – Trekking in Nepal (Day 3 to Day 12)

Trekking in Nepal starts after landing in Simikot. As I mentioned earlier, it is the headquarter of Humla district. It is one of the remote sections of Nepal that has remained backward without any kind of infrastructural development. People are still traditional and away from any kind of modernization. Still, you will get some guesthouses in Simikot. Once you march forward, there are no any guesthouses. You will have to stay on the tented camps, away from any kind of luxury amenities. The original trail from Simikot has been destroyed due to a newly constructed road however it will not be a problem as the road doesn’t have any heavy vehicles moving on it.

Prior to leaving Simikot, we organized our trekking bags with trekking gears. The duffel bags and other loads were hauled upon mules which are used as the local means of transportation. The weather was a bit wet today. It felt like it was about rain. However, we moved forward. We walked passed Dharapuri and Kermi to Saili khola. From here, we hiked up to Chongsa Khola Camp at 3600 meters and then to Nyalu La Base Camp. At this point, some of our clients had started showing the symptoms of altitude sickness however we tried our best to enable them cross the Nyalu La pass at an altitude of over 5000 meters. All thanks to our dedicated Nepalese crew members who did their best to motivate our clients not to give up.

From the pass, we continued our journey to the natural hot springs at Jang village. Further, we walked to Halji village where we visited an old gompa popular as Halji Gelukpa gompa. A bit ahead from Halji and we arrived at the Nepal Tibet Border in Hilsa. Throughout our journey in Nepal, we traversed through some isolated, wild and stunning landscapes of Nepal. The natural beauties, lush forests, wild and rocky mountainous terrain of Nepal are some of the highlights of trekking part of Kailash trip via Humla (Simikot) Limi valley in Nepal. Besides these, the cultural ecstasy, traditional people and old gompas added up to make our trip an enriching experience.

Part II – Overland Trip to Mt Kailash in Tibet (Day 12 to Day 27)

The second part of our journey starts in Day 12 when we reach at the Nepal Tibet border. Here, we bid a heartily goodbye to our Nepalese crew members. They are the team who has supported us continuously throughout the journey. At the border, I called our Tibetan guide – Mr. Phunchok, a bus driver and a truck driver – Mr Dawa to pick us at the border. Meanwhile, we enjoyed our lunch together at the border. It took us a while to clear all the custom and immigration formalities. After clearing all the formalities, we meet our Tibetan crew members i.e. our guide and driver. Please note that all our luggage, gadgets, mobile phone, cameras, etc will be checked at the border. We are not allowed to bring any pictures of Dalai Lama, Tibetan flags and books written against China.

From the border, we hop into our ride that will drive us to guesthouse for overnight stay. It takes us around twenty minutes on a vehicle to reach our guesthouse. We relax and have a sound sleep in the guesthouse. Next day, we drive along the alluring Tibetan terrain to Mansarovar lake and Mt. Kailash. On the way, we pass various beautiful lakes, grasslands accompanied by wonderful views of mountains in the backdrop. We drive continuously until we reach Raksheesha lake and then to Mansarovar lake. It is a serene mountain lake placed in the shadows of holy Mt. Kailash. Generally, Mt. Kailash is clearly visible from Mansarovar Lake however we couldn’t get a view of it due to the bad weather conditions. Therefore, we took a ride to Sangsung camp where we could enjoy hot water bath in the natural hot water springs in Tibet. We stayed here at the tented camps for the night.

Next day, we headed towards beautiful Tibet land. We visited Tholing gompa and Guge kingdom. Here, we could explore some old paintings related to Buddhism. From the gompa, we drove back to Kailash area to start our Kailash parikrama. It’s a three days trek around Mt. Kailash, we follow a trail from Darchen that lead us to Dolma La at 5600 meters. We crossed the pass and dropped down to Dirapuk gompa. Further, we returned back to Darchen and completed our kora. Crossing Dolma La wasn’t an easy task. It was the most challenging part of the entire journey. However, with an experienced team, we escorted 16 members (European group members) successfully over the pass to complete kora around Mt. Kailash.

After completing kora, we drove towards Mansarovar lake and spent a night in Chui gompas. Concluding our trip, we drove back to Kathmandu via Kerung border. On the way, we stopped at Pigutso lake for a wonderful day excursion. On our road trip back to Kathmandu, we took a route via Langtang national park to Trishuli. The road was bumpy but it was totally worth it. The scenic route kept us captivated.

Major highlights of Kailash trip via Humla (Simikot) Limi valley

Walk along the wild and remote sections of Nepal
Cross border journey (Nepal and Tibet)
The turquoise colored high altitude; fresh water lakes – Mansarovar lake and Lake Rakheesa
The wild Himalayan landscapes and Tibetan plateaus
The serene Mansarovar lake in the backdrop of holy Mt. Kailash
The Trans Himalayan landscape
Inspiring views of mountains that include Mt. Kailash and other mountains in the peripheral areas.
Perform Kora around holy Mt. Kailash
Visit Tholing gompa at an elevation of 3800 meters.
Explore Pigutso lake

My personal regards to our Tibetan guide – Phunchok, cook – Suresh Rana and Nepali team that consist of Nima, Tshering and Pemba. The trip wouldn’t be this successful and the experience wouldn’t be so wonderful without your help and support. I would personally like to thank you for making our trip a huge success. Hope to opt for the same trip with same passion and enthusiasm with our upcoming groups/ clients.

If anyone is interested to join our group for Kailash trip via Humla (Simikot) Limi valley, do not forget to write to us. Himal Eco Treks is one of the best tour operators in that organizes a well managed trip to Tibetan territory via Nepal!