Getting there

is mostly sitting — long drives across brown emptiness, high passes, a border crossing that takes as long as it takes, and nights at acclimatisation halts where the whole job of the day is to do nothing and let your blood catch up. Use those days. Walk gently, drink constantly, sleep badly and do not worry about sleeping badly.

At Mansarovar

the rhythm changes. Pilgrims rise before light for the bath — and I should be plain about this: the lake is snowmelt at 4,590 metres, and it is shockingly, breath-stoppingly cold. Most people go in for a matter of seconds. Many pour water over themselves instead, which is entirely accepted. Then the parikrama of the lake, done by vehicle on most itineraries, and a long quiet afternoon watching the light move on the water. Sunrise and sunset at Mansarovar are the two hours people talk about for the rest of their lives.

The kora

is three days with very different characters. Day one is a long, gradual walk up the western valley to Dirapuk, and somewhere along it the north face of Kailash appears — sheer, dark, streaked with snow, appallingly close. People stop walking when they see it. Some sit down.

Throughout,

the pace is set by breath. Walk slower than feels right. Rest before you need to. Eat when you are not hungry. And keep looking up.

The Lipulekh route

, run by the Ministry of External Affairs, goes from Delhi through Uttarakhand''s Kumaon hills — Almora, Dharchula, and then up the Kali valley — to the Lipulekh pass on the border, and down onto the plateau. It involves real trekking on the Indian side and it is the oldest of the routes, the one traders and pilgrims have used for centuries. It is also the longest and hardest.

The Nathu La route

, also government-run, crosses from Sikkim and is almost entirely motorable. It is longer in distance but far gentler on the body, which makes it the option for older pilgrims. Both routes are allotted by the same computerised draw.

The Nepal route

, run by private operators, goes overland from Kathmandu through Kerung or by air to Simikot and Hilsa, then by road across the plateau to Darchen, the small town at the foot of Kailash where the kora begins. It is the fastest — and that speed is exactly its danger, because it can put you at 4,500 metres within a couple of days of leaving Kathmandu at 1,400.

The kora itself

starts and ends at Darchen. Day one takes you to Dirapuk, with the north face of Kailash directly above you — for many pilgrims this is the moment of the whole journey. Day two is the hard one: the climb to Dolma La at around 5,600 metres, past the field where pilgrims leave clothing behind to mark a symbolic death, then a steep descent to Zutulpuk. Day three is an easy walk back to Darchen. Yaks and porters carry baggage; ponies are available for parts of the route but not over the pass.

Train for months, not weeks

Three to six months. Long walks with a loaded pack, hills if you have them, stairs if you do not, and cardio that leaves you genuinely out of breath several times a week. The benchmark I use: you should be able to walk fifteen kilometres over rough ground with a day pack and still want dinner. If that sounds far off, give yourself another year. The mountain is not going anywhere.

Understand what 5,600 metres means

At Dolma La you are breathing roughly half the oxygen available at sea level. Everybody feels it. Headache, nausea, no appetite, sleep that never quite arrives, and a strange slow stupidity in your thinking — all of that is normal and passes. What is not normal, and what you must know by heart: breathlessness while sitting still, a cough that brings up froth, confusion, an inability to walk a straight line. Those are the serious forms of altitude sickness, they can kill within hours, and the only real treatment is immediate descent. On this route, descent is slow and help is far away. That is why turning back has to be a decision you are willing to make before you start.

Acclimatise, and do not let anyone rush you

The itineraries that gain height slowly are the ones people come home from. Any plan that puts you above 4,500 metres within two days of leaving the lowlands is selling you speed at your own expense.

Get a proper medical examination

— heart, lungs, blood pressure — and be truthful with the doctor. The MEA route requires this; take it just as seriously if you go via Nepal, where nobody will make you.

Sort the paperwork early and expect it to change

Passport valid well beyond your travel dates, Chinese visa, Tibet permits, and for the government route an application on the official MEA portal followed by a draw you may not win. Arrangements between India and China have been suspended before and may be again. Have a version of your year that does not depend on this trip happening.

Go with an operator who knows the plateau,

carries bottled oxygen and a portable pressure bag, and has a written plan for getting a sick person down. Ask them directly what that plan is. A good operator answers immediately; a bad one improvises.

Prepare for cold, wind and sun all at once

Even in July it freezes at night up there, the wind is constant, and the ultraviolet at that altitude is fierce.

And prepare for the possibility of not completing the kora

Plenty of pilgrims reach Mansarovar, bathe, see the mountain, and go no further because their body says no. That is not a failed yatra. Darshan of Kailash from the lake is a complete pilgrimage in itself, and everyone on that plateau understands it.

A proper down jacket, and layers under it

Thermals top and bottom, fleece, an insulated mid-layer, and a windproof, waterproof shell. It can be sunny and pleasant at noon and well below freezing before dawn on the same day.

Trekking boots with ankle support, broken in long before

The kora is rock, scree and loose stone. Wool socks, several pairs. Gaiters if you have them — there can be snow on Dolma La even in summer.

Warm hat, a sun hat, a buff or scarf for the wind and dust, and two pairs of gloves

— a thin liner pair and a warm outer pair.

Serious sun protection

Category 3 or 4 sunglasses, high-factor sunscreen reapplied constantly, and lip balm with sun protection. The plateau reflects light off snow and pale ground; people come back with burnt nostrils and cracked lips because they only protected their faces.

Trekking poles

Not optional on the descent from Dolma La.

A sleeping bag rated for well below freezing

Accommodation on the kora is basic guesthouse dormitory at best.

Personal medication, plus altitude medication discussed with your doctor before you leave

— acetazolamide is commonly prescribed for acclimatisation and it is not something to start taking on a stranger''s advice on the plateau. Also: painkillers, rehydration salts, something for an upset stomach, blister plasters, and anything you take daily in a quantity that outlasts the trip.

A wide-mouth insulated bottle and purification tablets

You must drink far more than you want to; dehydration at altitude is constant and it makes everything else worse. A thermos of hot water is worth its weight up there.

A headtorch with spare batteries

— cold kills batteries fast, so keep spares against your body.

A power bank, and low expectations of electricity

Charging on the kora is unreliable to non-existent, and the cold drains phones quickly.

Dry snacks you will actually eat

Appetite disappears at altitude and food on the plateau is limited. Nuts, dry fruit, chocolate, energy bars, anything salty. You need the calories even when you do not want them.

Documents in a waterproof pouch

passport, visa, permits, medical certificate, passport photographs, emergency contacts on paper.

Leave behind

anything heavy you are not certain about. Porters and yaks carry the main baggage on the kora, but you carry your day pack over a 5,600-metre pass, and every gram of it will make itself known.

Walk the kora clockwise

Hindus, Buddhists and Jains all go clockwise. Bon pilgrims walk anticlockwise, and you will pass them coming the other way — this is correct and ancient, not a mistake. Do not comment on it, just make room.

Do not attempt to climb Kailash

It is not a rule anyone will need to enforce on you — there is no route and no permit — but it matters that you understand why. No one has ever summited it, and that is the point. The mountain is walked around, not conquered.

Leave the mani stones, prayer flags and cairns as you find them

Walk to the left of mani walls and chortens, so they stay on your right. Do not take stones from the kora as souvenirs — you will see mounds of them left by pilgrims, and they are offerings.

At Dolma La, take your time and take nothing

Pilgrims leave things there deliberately. Do not collect them.

Bathe at Mansarovar respectfully and lightly

Do not use soap, shampoo or detergent in the lake — this is a serious matter, it is drinking-holy water for everyone there, and the rules are enforced. If the cold defeats you, pouring water over your head is a complete and accepted alternative.

Photograph the landscape freely; photograph people only after asking

Monasteries generally forbid photography inside, and some charge for it — respect the sign, not your judgement of the sign. Never photograph anything that looks like a military or border installation, on either side.

Be careful with what you carry and what you say

Tibet is politically sensitive and your guides carry the consequences of a visitor''s carelessness long after you fly home. Do not bring political material, do not raise political conversations with local people, and do not put them in the position of having to answer.

Buddhist etiquette at monasteries

shoes off where indicated, hats off, walk clockwise inside, do not point your feet at an image or a monk, do not touch statues or thangkas, and if you spin prayer wheels, spin them clockwise.

Look after each other

The single most important courtesy on this route has nothing to do with religion: notice how the people in your group are doing. Altitude sickness makes people quiet and stubborn and bad at judging themselves. Someone who has stopped talking and stopped eating needs asking about.

Be honest about whether this is your pilgrimage

I have said it already and I will say it once more, because it is the only advice on this page that could matter more than the rest put together. If you are not fit, if you have a heart or lung condition, if you are travelling on a schedule that cannot absorb a lost week — this is not the year. Kailash has been there a long time.

Do not compare this to Char Dham

People who have done the Uttarakhand yatra sometimes arrive confident. Kedarnath is 3,583 metres and you sleep in a village with a clinic in it. Dolma La is 5,600 metres and the nearest hospital is a very long drive away. It is a different order of thing.

The first day of the kora is when people ruin the second

Everyone is excited, the ground is gentle, the mountain appears — and they walk too fast. Then Dolma La breaks them. Walk the first day like an old man. You will thank yourself.

Cold water at Mansarovar is genuinely brutal

Seconds, not minutes. Have dry clothes and a towel within arm''s reach, get out, get dry, get warm immediately. Every year someone stays in too long, in the name of devotion, and spends the rest of the trip ill.

Your phone will not work the way you expect

Indian networks do not roam usefully in Tibet, connectivity is patchy at best, and cold destroys batteries. Tell the people at home in advance that you will be unreachable for stretches, and write your emergency contacts on paper.

Eat, even when the idea repels you

Altitude kills appetite exactly when your body needs the most fuel. Force down what you can — soup, rice, anything. People who stop eating are the people who stop walking.

Do not save your dignity at the cost of your safety

If you need a pony, take the pony. If you need to turn back, turn back. Nobody on that mountain is scoring you, and every experienced guide has more respect for the pilgrim who came down than the one who had to be carried.

Prepare for it to be less transcendent than you imagined, and stranger

Many pilgrims describe the walk as mostly cold, mostly hard, mostly a matter of putting one foot down and then another — and then, at some unplanned moment, usually not at Dolma La, something opens. Sitting outside the guesthouse at Dirapuk at dusk with the north face going pink. A Tibetan family sharing tea. The lake at first light.