Mount Kailash | |
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Highest point | |
Elevation | 6,638 m (21,778 ft)[1][2] |
Coordinates | 31°4′0″N 81°18′45″E / 31.06667°N 81.31250°E |
Naming | |
Native name |
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Geography | |
Country | China |
Parent range | Gangdisê Range |
Climbing | |
First ascent | Unclimbed (prohibited) |
Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; Kangrinboqê or Gang Rinpoche; Standard Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; simplified Chinese: 冈仁波齐峰; traditional Chinese: 岡仁波齊峰; pinyin: Gāngrénbōqí Fēng; Sanskrit: कैलास, IAST: Kailāsa) is a mountain in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It lies in the Kailash Range (Gangdisê Mountains) of the Transhimalaya, in the western part of the Tibetan Plateau. The peak of Mount Kailash is located at an elevation of 6,638 m (21,778 ft), near the western trijunction between China, India and Nepal.
Mount Kailash is located close to Manasarovar and Rakshastal lakes. The sources of four rivers: Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, and Karnali lie in the vicinity of the region. Mount Kailash is sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Bon religion. People from India, China, Nepal and other countries in the region undertake a pilgrimage to the mountain. The pilgrimage generally involves trekking towards Lake Mansarovar and a circumambulation of Mount Kailash.
While the mountain has been surveyed by climbers in the past, there has been no recorded successful ascent of the mountain. The climbing of the mountain is prohibited by the Chinese government due to its religious significance.