Sacred to over a billion Buddhists, Hindus and Jains, enigmatic Mount Kailash is quite possibly the world's holiest mountain. Pilgrims from across Asia trek across the spectacular high-altitude landscape of remote Western Tibet to pay homage and walk around the sacred mountain. It is one of the world's great overland trips and, despite the altitude, is surprisingly accessible.Kailash (Kang Rinpoche, or 'Precious Snow Mountain' in Tibetan) gets much of its power from its striking physical location, a lone peak detached from the main Himalayan range in Tibet's Kangdise mountains. The curiously four-sided mountain rises sheer from the surrounding plain, with its four faces facing the cardinal directions. Springing from its foothills are the sources of four of Asia's greatest rivers – the Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra (Yarlung Tsangpo) and Karnali (which flows into the Ganges).For Tibetans this is where the Tantric magician Milarepa vanquished his Bön(Tibetian folk religion) rival Naro Bönchu...
