August 5, 2016 (Day 15) – Taklakot to Darchen via Rakshastaal and Lake Manasarovar

Got up at 5am in the morning and thankfully had no loose motions at night. I awoke feeling weak and exhausted as we were already at the altitude of around 13500 ft. Had 2 bananas for breakfast and someone came and put bhasm (holy ash) on my forehead. At that moment, I knew that divine masters were with me and I would be able to complete my Kailash parikrama on foot. We all sang the Om Managalam bhajan and left in bus at 10.30 am CST (China time) and reached Darchen at 1.30 pm. In bus, I was all exhausted and had little energy to even take out my camera. Darchen is at the altitude of around 15000 ft. It started to rain midway and upon reaching Darchen it felt as if rain gods would never leave us. The landscape was breathtakingly beautiful, dry, barren and enthralling. The cloud patterns, azure blue sky, wild horses and expansive landscapes. At that point, you really wish that time would stand still so you could continue gazing. Enrote I saw Rakshastaal and I was spellbound. It was huge and had little islands in between in hue of vibrant blue. We stopped here for 20 mins. It was bright and sunny as we roamed around.

First View of Rakshastaal from Bus

 

Rakshastaal means “lake of the demon”. It is also known as Ravana Tal, as it is considered to be the place of severe penance by Ravana. In Buddhism, Lake Manasarovar, which is round like the sun, and Rakshastal, shaped as a crescent, are respectively regarded as “brightness” and “darkness”. There are four islands in Rakshastal, named Topserma (Dose), Dola (the two biggest), Lachato (Nadzhado), and Dosharba. The islands are used by local people as winter pastures for their yaks. Rakshastaal covers a total area of 250 square kilometres (97 sq mi), at an altitude of 4,575 metres (15,010 ft).

Rakshastaal

 

Our next stop was Lake Manasarovar. My first glance at Manasarovar transported me to another world and all my illness vanished after washing my face with the holy water. Suddenly the weather deteriorated and our buses took us back to Darchen. We would later spend 2 nights on banks of Mansarovar at Qugu after completing our Kailash parikrama. Finally, we reached Darchen and my room mate was Vaijyanti Aunty. The south face of Mount Kailash is visible from Darchen, but due to cloudy conditions, we couldn’t have that glimpse upon reaching. Soon clouds gave way to clear skies and we had our first darshan of the south face of Mount Kailash. That moment can not be described in words, but only experienced.

First view of Lake Mansarovar

Later in the day, there were arguments and more arguments between guides, yatris and our liaison officer. Our guide was extremely rude and he was forcing that the kitchen staff be taken as porters for the parikrama. All your luggage stays at Darchen until parikrama is finished and you are only allowed to take luggage up to 6 kgs with you. Porters would refuse to carry any excess baggage. Hence, I had to leave my tripod behind at Darchen. We had to pay our guide to pay our porters. Since my bag exceeded 6 kgs, I carried camera and some other supplies with myself and gave some rest to my  porter. Tomorrow, our Kailash Parikrama would start and I hope my preparation and determination would carry me forward and help me complete it.

Tips:

• Never take kitchen staff as your porter even if they speak Hindi because they will abandon you mid-way and move on to reach the campsite towards end to cook food, which would leave you without your luggage and supplies towards the end.
• Most of the porters assigned are Tibetan who speak neither Hindi or English, so most of the communication is done in sign language. Make sure your luggage does not exceed 6-7 kgs at the most and tell them to walk with you.
• Take plastic bottles to carry Manasarovar jal and take M-Seal and tape/adhesive with you to secure the bottle cap.
• Female porters are more kind and considerate and would walk along with you.Dont forget to tip your porters adequately as they help you in such adverse conditions.
• For your parikrama lasting 3 days, do not forget to carry energy bars, medicines, warm clothes, rain gear in your day pack.

IMPORTANT ADVICE: We should be blessed that we are chosen for this yatra and it is our responsibility to not litter and keep Devbhoomi clean. Carry your plastic wraps that you use with you and dispose them later. Try to clean the trail. Tell your porter not to litter. Gutka and chips packets lie everywhere. Particularly distressing was to see shores of Manasarovar littered with used underwear packets, ghee packets, used sanitary napkins etc. It was distressing and abominable. A place, which is so pious to us must be respected by all of us and deserves a conscious effort by all yatris to lead a cleaning drive as and when possible. Don’t forget to do your bit, even if others are not doing it.