Mount Kailash Tour

Mount Kailash Tour Packages for 2027

We run five Kailash tour packages for the May to September season: three by road from Kathmandu, one by helicopter from Kathmandu and one from Lhasa. All five visit Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. Every price below is per person, taken from the group rates on each tour package page.

Route status, 9 September 2026: the flood of 26 August 2026 destroyed Gyirong Port and the Rasuwagadhi customs post at the Kyirong crossing, and our status board lists the overland Kailash route through it as closed for the 2026 season. The helicopter route via Simikot and Hilsa never touches that valley and is listed as open. The Lhasa tour enters by air, but its written itinerary returns through Gyirong on days 12 and 13, so that leg has to be flown or rerouted while the crossing is shut. Check the dated rows in Is Nepal Safe to Trek After the 2026 Flood? Route-by-Route Status before you book a road departure for 2027.

10 days Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Yatra

The shortest tour from Kathmandu to Mount Kailash: 10 days by road, with a rest day at Kyirong (2,700 m), Saga, a night at Lake Manasarovar and the three-day kora. It walks 47 km of the circuit, carries group bags on a yak and includes breakfast, lunch and dinner from day 2. One to five travellers pay USD 2,299 each; 17 to 30 pay USD 1,870.

Kailash Charan Sparsh Tour

The same 10-day road route, with a walk from Dirapuk to the foot of the north face of Mount Kailash (Charan Sparsh) on day 6 before crossing Dolma La. Charan Sparsh means touching the feet of the mountain, which Hindu pilgrims hold to be Lord Shiva's. Access to that spot was contested in 2026, with some Tibet operators reporting it closed, so ask us to confirm it in writing for your dates before you pay. One to four travellers pay USD 2,150 each.

Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

The slowest climb of the five: 14 days, with two days in Kathmandu first, a full rest day at Gyirong (2,800 m), a day at Lake Manasarovar and the 42 km kora. Meals are vegetarian throughout, the Chinese group visa is in the price, and a duffel bag and down jacket are lent for the trip. Five travellers pay USD 3,250 each; 17 to 20 pay USD 2,770.

Kailash Mansarovar Yatra by Helicopter

Eleven days: fly Kathmandu to Nepalgunj and Simikot, take a helicopter to Hilsa on the border, then drive to Taklakot (Burang) for a rest day before Lake Manasarovar and the kora. The flights and the Simikot to Hilsa charter are in the price. Helicopter legs depend on the weather, so build buffer days into your travel plans. Four or five travellers pay USD 4,699 each; 11 to 15 pay USD 4,395.

Lhasa Everest Kailash Mansarovar Kathmandu Tour

14 days Lhasa to Kathmandu, overland: two days in Lhasa, Everest Base Camp, then west via Saga to Lake Manasarovar and the kora. It is the only one of the five that adds Lhasa and Everest, covers 2,375 km by road and includes breakfast only. Five travellers pay USD 3,577 each; 16 to 20 pay USD 3,350.

How Much Does a Mount Kailash Trip Cost?

The cost of a Mount Kailash trip is USD 2,150 to USD 4,699 per person for the smallest group and USD 1,870 to USD 4,395 for the largest. Two travellers can book two of the five at a per-person rate: the Kailash Charan Sparsh Tour at USD 2,150 and the 10-day yatra at USD 2,299.

What one traveller pays in the smallest group each tour is priced for. Two tours have a rate for two.

The same 10-day tour costs USD 429 less each in a group of 17 to 30 than for one to five travellers.

Included: an English-speaking guide, the Tibet Travel Permit, entrance fees, transport in Tibet, hotels and tented camps on a sharing basis, an oxygen cylinder and medical kit on the bus, and all meals on the four Kathmandu tours.

Not included: the Chinese group visa fee (except on the 14-day yatra), international flights, a horse on the kora (USD 100 a day) or a porter (USD 50 a day), travel insurance, rescue and evacuation, tips, and the visa cancellation charge if you return early from Kailash.

If you are pricing the yatra in Indian rupees, read Kailash Mansarovar Yatra Package and Cost 2027.

Overland, Helicopter or via Lhasa: Which Kailash Route Fits You?

Take the road from Kathmandu to Mount Kailash for the slowest climb and the lowest price, the helicopter for the fewest days on the road, and the Lhasa route to add Lhasa and Everest Base Camp. This season the choice is made for you: the road route is shut until Kyirong reopens.

The helicopter tour via Simikot suits a traveller short on days, but the height gain is steeper: you reach Taklakot, 3,900 m, on day 3. The Lhasa to Mount Kailash route is the longest drive but the only one that combines the kora with Tibet's capital and an EBC tour.

How Many Days to Reach Mount Kailash?

You reach Lake Manasarovar on day 4 on the two 10-day road tours, on day 5 on the helicopter yatra and on day 7 on both 14-day tours. The Dolma La day, the hardest of the trip, follows two or three days later.

What Is the Kailash Kora?

The Kailash kora trek is the 52 km circuit around Mount Kailash, walked in three days from Darchen, with the high point at Dolma La, 5,630 m. On four of our itineraries you walk 42 to 47 km of it, because a vehicle covers the first 5 km from Darchen to Tarboche and collects you after Zuthulpuk. Hindus call it the Kailash parikrama, and the mountain itself Kailash Parvat. Our groups walk the Mount Kailash kora clockwise, the direction Hindu pilgrims follow.

The Charan Sparsh tour drives to Dirapuk instead of walking day 1 and walks 25 km on day 2, via Gauri Kund. Nights on the kora are in a tented camp or a monastery guesthouse at Dirapuk and Zuthulpuk, and Dirapuk sits below the north face, with open views of Mount Kailash from camp.

Why Is Mount Kailash Sacred?

Mount Kailash is sacred to four faiths, which is why it has never been climbed. Hindus know Kailash as the abode of Lord Shiva, Buddhists as the seat of Demchog (Chakrasamvara), and Jains as the place where Rishabhanatha, their first Tirthankara, reached liberation; Bon followers see it as the home of the sky goddess Sipaimen. The holy Lake Manasarovar at its foot (spelled Mansarovar in our trip names) is linked in Hindu tradition with Lord Brahma, and Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar together make the Mount Kailash pilgrimage.

How Hard Is the Mount Kailash Trek?

The Mount Kailash trek is hard: four of our five Kailash itineraries are graded Hard and the fifth Challenging, and the crux is a 22 km, 9-hour day over the Dolma La pass at 5,630 m. No climbing skill is needed, and you do not need previous trekking experience, but you do need the fitness for long days at high altitude.

Highest altitude listed for each day of the 14-day Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. The 10-day tour's file puts Dirapuk at 5,080 m; the other four Kailash files give 4,860 m.

• High altitude, not distance, is the risk. You sleep at Dirapuk (4,860 m) the night before the pass, and every bus carries an oxygen cylinder and a medical kit.
• Expect a medical check. On the 14-day yatra it is mandatory, in Kathmandu or at the border, and a traveller who fails it is escorted back to Kathmandu while the group goes on.
• Train for long days. Build up to 6 to 9 hours of walking with a daypack, and practise on hills.
• Hire help if you need it. A horse or a porter from Yam Dwar takes the weight off on the long second day of the walk.

What Permits Does a Kailash Tour Need?

A Kailash tour needs a Chinese visa and four Tibet permits, and we file all of them for you. Kailash and Manasarovar sit in Ngari, a restricted area on the border, so the Kailash region needs more travel permits than a Lhasa trip:

• Tibet Travel Permit: for every non-Chinese passport holder. Allow 20 days.
• Alien's Travel Permit: for Ngari. Allow 20 days.
• Border Defence Permit: for border counties, including Pulan, where Kailash stands. Allow 20 days.
• Military Permit: for Kailash and Manasarovar. Allow about 30 days, which makes it the one that sets your booking deadline.
• Chinese visa: the Chinese Group Visa, issued in Kathmandu in 3 to 5 working days, on the routes from Nepal. An ordinary Chinese visa bought at home is not valid on them; it is only for entering from mainland China.
• Nepal restricted area permit: for Simikot and Hilsa on the helicopter route.

The permits lock the itinerary, the vehicle and the guide before you enter Tibet, so nobody can leave the group to visit Lhasa or Everest Base Camp on their own. The same permit rules for our Tibet tour packages to Lhasa and Everest are set out on our Tibet Tours page, and our registration certificates are on our Legal Documents page.

Best Time to Visit Mount Kailash

The best time to visit Mount Kailash is May to September, the season on all five of our trip pages. Outside it, heavy snow and cold can close the high roads and the pass. July and August are the warmest months but bring occasional rain; late May and September give the clearest days.

Saga Dawa, the full moon of the fourth Tibetan month, draws the biggest crowds to the kora. The Embassy of India in Kathmandu advises avoiding travel near full moon days because of overbooking, including pilgrims stranded at Simikot and Hilsa, so book early or pick a date away from it.

Can Americans Go to Mount Kailash?

Yes. US passport holders go to Mount Kailash on the same travel documents as other foreign visitors: a Chinese visa, the Tibet Travel Permit and the Ngari permits above, all filed through us, and a licensed Tibetan guide with the group throughout. To plan a Mount Kailash trip from the US, decide first whether you enter from mainland China or Nepal. On a tour that starts in Kathmandu the visa is the Chinese Group Visa issued there, so do not buy a Chinese visa at home first; it is not valid on that route. Your Nepal visa is bought on arrival and is not in the tour price: see Visa on Arrival in Nepal: Fees, Eligibility and the Airport Process. International flights from the US are not included either, and the enquiry form on this page is the place to start your booking.