Login or Register for Walkopedia

Lake Manasarovar

Tibet,  China

Walkopedia Magazine

See our latest online magazine:

  • Mustang in Nepal – the world’s second-best walk?
Walkopedia rating87
(Top 100)
Beauty
33
Natural interest
 15
Human interest
 14
Charisma
 32
Negative points
 (7)
Total rating
 87

 Vital statistics

Length:
90km
 
4-5 days
Maximum Altitude: 4,700m
Level of Difficulty: Difficult

Key information: Lake Manasarovar

  • A sacred circumambulation of this beautiful lake high in western Tibet, a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists and Hindus.
  • Superb scenery, including views of 7,694m Gurla Mandhata and the fabled Mt Kailash, and surprisingly interesting wildlife.
  • Simple but inspiring Tibetan Buddhist monasteries at sacred points around the lake; mull on the tough life of the Tibetan plateau.
  • This is a tough walk on which you will have to be self-sufficient and where altitude can cause real problems. Come prepared.


Walk summary

Manasarovar is the most venerated of all Tibets many sacred lakes. It is especially sacred to Hindus, who have been walking round it for approaching 2,000 years. Buddhists associate the lake with Maya, Buddhas mother.

Hindu and Buddhist cosmology had it that nearby Mt. Kailash is the centre of the world and that Manasarovar is the source of four of Asias great rivers.

There used to be eight monasteries around the lake, representing points of the Dharma wheel, until the destruction of the Cultural Revolution. Five of these have been rebuilt, in part at least. This has always been a poor, utterly remote area, inhabited by nomads and brigands, many months from the civilised world. The lakes monasteries are, as a result, basic affairs compared with the riches and beauty of the Tibetan heartlands, but no less moving for that.

Manasarovar is said to be the worlds highest freshwater lake. It lies on the high west Tibetan plateau, between the massif of Mt. Gurla Mandhata (7,694m/25,300ft) and the many-named range which runs, for some 1,000km, parallel to the Himalayas, sacred Mt Kailash presiding in full pomp at its heart some 40 km to the north. It is separated by a strip of low hills from Rakshas Tal, the Demon Lake, its cosmological opposite.

The cold mountain light is extraordinary here. Distances are shrunk and views and colours can be flattened during the day, although they are superb at each end of it. The lake can shift from angry indigo, to dull pewter, brushed steel or polished silver, to wonderful lapis lazuli, all within 10 minutes.

Pilgrims come here to perform the kora, the sacred clockwise walk around the lake, and Hindus ritually bathe in it. You meet groups of Indians, huddled and suffering in the cold, thin air, and tough, wind-burned Tibetans in their heavy fleece coats, trudging remorselessly around the lake, oblivious to things of this world such as startling natural beauty. Although dirt poor, they will have struggled their way for thousands of kilometres to get to this desolate place.

The walk around Manasarovar is nearly 90 km (56 miles) and takes four or five days. Few westerners do the whole walk; having travelled huge distances to get here, their time is usually tight, and they are often exhausted and ill after toiling round the nearby Mt Kailash kora. Travellers often do day walks in the best areas, especially around Chiu Monastery.

Quite a lot of the walk is scrunching on the lakeside shingle, with an excursion over hills to the east of Chui, cutting inland to avoid the marshes of the northern shore. It is not all easy, with boggy areas and streams to ford, which can get full in summer.

The best sections of the lake make very satisfying day walks, if time does not allow for a full circuit.

Manasarovar is the most venerated of all Tibet's many sacred lakes. It is especially sacred to Hindus, who have been walking round it for approaching 2,000 years. Buddhists associate the lake with Maya, Buddha's mother.

Hindu and Buddhist cosmology had it that nearby Mt. Kailash is the centre of the world and that Manasarovar is the source of four of Asia's great rivers.

There used to be eight monasteries around the lake, representing points of the Dharma wheel, until the destruction of the Cultural Revolution. Five of these have been rebuilt, in part at least. This has always been a poor, utterly remote area, inhabited by nomads and brigands, many months from the civilised world. The lake's monasteries are, as a result, basic affairs compared with the riches and beauty of the Tibetan heartlands, but no less moving for that.

Manasarovar is said to be the world's highest freshwater lake. It lies on the high west Tibetan plateau, between the massif of Mt. Gurla Mandhata (7,694m/25,300ft) and the many-named range which runs, for some 1,000km, parallel to the Himalayas, sacred Mt Kailash presiding in full pomp at its heart some 40 km to the north. It is separated by a strip of low hills from Rakshas Tal, the Demon Lake, it's cosmological opposite.

The cold mountain light is extraordinary here. Distances are shrunk and views and colours can be flattened during the day, although they are superb at each end of it. The lake can shift from angry indigo, to dull pewter, brushed steel or polished silver, to wonderful lapis lazuli, all within 10 minutes.

Pilgrims come here to perform the kora, the sacred clockwise walk around the lake, and Hindus ritually bathe in it. You meet groups of Indians, huddled and suffering in the cold, thin air, and tough, wind-burned Tibetans in their heavy fleece coats, trudging remorselessly around the lake, oblivious to things of this world such as startling natural beauty. Although dirt poor, they will have struggled their way for thousands of kilometres to get to this desolate place.

The walk around Manasarovar is nearly 90 km (56 miles) and takes four or five days. Few westerners do the whole walk; having travelled huge distances to get here, their time is usually tight, and they are often exhausted and ill after toiling round the nearby Mt Kailash kora. Travellers often do day walks in the best areas, especially around Chiu Monastery.

Quite a lot of the walk is scrunching on the lakeside shingle, with an excursion over hills to the east of Chui, cutting inland to avoid the marshes of the northern shore. It is not all easy, with boggy areas and streams to ford, which can get full in summer.

The best sections of the lake make very satisfying day walks, if time does not allow for a full circuit.

William Mackesy's account of this walk

Mansarovar may not match your expectations of a sacred lake. Rather than a mistily numinous world of deadened sound, its icy waters lap its stony shores under a fierce, astringently beautiful light. The air could not be clearer, or, at 4,560m (15,000ft), much thinner. It is not a kind place, rather one of pure contemplation and sharp ecstasies.

Mansarovar's beauty and magic are justly famous, and a traveller's expectations can be high. The first view of the lake, whether from the windy pass, festooned with prayer flags, on the long dirt road from Lhasa, or coming up from the old trading town of Purang (Talikot) after walking across the Himalayas to the south, can initially disappoint after the long build-up: the sheet of dappled blue water under arid brown hills can seem a little.....

Read More

Other accounts: share your experiences

Your comments on this walk, your experiences and suggestions, and your photos are very welcome. Where appropriate, you will be credited for your contribution.

Responsible travel matters, a lot. How you travel will make a real difference - for better or worse. PLEASE consider this when making plans. Read more

Research essentials

Here are some essential tools for your travel research:

Finding flights, organising travel

Accommodation

Equipment & Clothing

Books and Maps

If you enjoy and value our site, please help us (at no cost to yourself) by using these links.

And by telling friends about Walkopedia.

Practical information for walking in Tibet, China, Lake Manasarovar

We have a lot of helpful practical information and tips about this walk, covering everything from the best books and maps, to timing and weather, geting there, possible problems, whether you need a guide and where to find them, and useful websites. This section is only open to members.

Membership is FREE AND JOINING TAKES 30 SECONDS. To login or sign up click here

Add your experiences, suggestions and photos. We would be delighted to receive your writing and ideas (which will be attributed appropriately where published).

See our Fun page for some entertainment and to read about our travel writing and other competitions.

Anyone planning an expedition to this place should see further important information about this walk.

Responsible travel matters, a lot. How you travel will make a real difference - for better or worse. PLEASE consider this when making plans. Read more