Duration: 21 and 10 day journeys
Months offered: Spring, Fall
Costs: From $3,000
In extreme NW Yunnan province is the Tibetan sacred mountain Kawa Karpo.
The peak is known to Tibetans throughout the Himalayas as far east
as Ladakh, as a sacred mountain. They revere it as the eastern most
abode of Shri Chakrasamvara, also known as Khorlo Demchok. This same
Buddhist deity is also thought to abide in Mt. Kailash, Tsari, and
Lapchi-all beautiful pilgrimage mountains spread throughout Tibet.
Kawa Karpo, at 6,740m, is today one of the highest unclimbed peaks
in the world. The mountain rises out of lush semi-tropical forests,
filled with orchids, medicinal plants, and climax old growth forests.
One of the Tibetan translations of the peak's Tibetan name is "mountain
of heaped medicinal herbs." Frank Kingdon Ward and Joseph Rock, both
early 20th century plant hunters, visited the area numerous times in
pursuit of rare plants. Both men came across Tibetan pilgrims who each
year came from all over Tibet in order to circumambulate the peak.
This peak and it's surrounding Tibetan countryside remain one of the
least explored parts of Tibet. High Asia will travel into the area
during pilgrimage season, and travel around the mountain with groups
of Tibetans, camping at night in our tents. This is a rare opportunity
to travel to a completely pristine part of Tibet, and to take part
in the pilgrimage aspect of their culture. The area has never been
open to tourists, thus many of the villages and monasteries we visit
have never seen foreigners.
