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Mount Kailash Photo Gallery - 3. Lake Manasarovar

In July and August 2006, we traveled to Dubai, Mount Kailash and Guge Kingdom in Tibet, Muscat, Iceland and a brief stop in London.

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 01 Seralung with lake in background We drove the Lake Manasarovar Kora in one day, following dirt roads around the lake and stopping at monasteries en route. Our first stop on the Kora was at Seralung Gompa, at the northeast corner of the lake. Some of the Gompa’s religious property, thrown into the lake during the Cultural Revolution, has been recovered. The Gompa was rebuilt in 1984. Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) and Shakyamuni are the main images, and colourful masks adorn the shrine.

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 01 Seralung with lake in background

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 02 Seralung Mani Rocks A row of mani rocks shine in one of the brief sunny breaks next to Seralung Gompa on the shores of Lake Manasarovar.

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 02 Seralung Mani Rocks

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 03 Seralung 8 Chortens A row of white chortens frame the shore of Lake Manasarovar next to Seralung Gompa.

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 03 Seralung 8 Chortens

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 04 Seralung View of Lake According to Hindu tradition it was Brahma himself who created Manasarovar and the divine Jambu tree which, though invisible to human eyes, grow in its centre. … Due to the fruits of this divine tree, the waters of Manasarovar are turned into a life-giving elixir. – Lama Anagarika Govinda: The Way of the White Clouds. Hmm, now where is that tree?

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 04 Seralung View of Lake

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 05 Trugo Gompa Outside The Hindu poet, Kalidasa, wrote in the 4C: “When the earth of Manasarovar touches anyone’s body or when anyone bathes therein, he shall go to the paradise of Brahma, and who drinks its water shall go to the heaven of Shiva and shall be released from the sins of 100 births.” On the south shore of Lake Manasarovar, the Gelugpa Trugo (Bathing Head) Gompa is named for its importance as a place for ritual bathing by Hindus. Hindus immerse themselves totally in the icy water, while Tibetans simply splash water on their heads and drink the water.

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 05 Trugo Gompa Outside

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 06 Trugo Gompa Inside The main altar of Trugo Gompa contains images of the Buddhas of the Three Times.

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 06 Trugo Gompa Inside

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 07 Trugo Gompa Monk holding Vajra and Bell A monk posed nicely for me at Trugo Gompa holding the important Buddhist symbols of a bell and a dorje (Skt. Vajra).

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 07 Trugo Gompa Monk holding Vajra and Bell

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 08 Trugo Gompa Inside Yamantaka Statue In a case to the left of the main altar at Trugo Gompa is a scary statue of Yamantaka.

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 08 Trugo Gompa Inside Yamantaka Statue

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 09 Gossul Gompa Outside Gossul Gompa sits on top of a cliff just north of the southwestern corner of Lake Manasarovar. It is best known as the place where the great Kagyupa saint Gotsangpa meditated.

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 09 Gossul Gompa Outside

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 10 Gossul Gompa With Lake Lake Manasarovar (4560m), or Mapham Yum Tso (Victorious Lake) in Tibetan, is the most venerated of Tibet’s many lakes. Manasarovar has been circumambulated by Indian pilgrims for at least 1700 years when it was extolled in the sacred Sanskrit literature called the Puranas. Here is the view from Gossul Gompa.

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 10 Gossul Gompa With Lake

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 11 Chiu Gompa Outside Chiu Gompa is 33km south of Darchen and 14km south of Barkha and enjoys a fabulous location atop a craggy hill overlooking sapphire blue Lake Manasarovar from its northwestern corner. Inside the Chiu Gompa is a small shrine and cave where Padmasambhava mediated with his consort Yeshe Tsogyel for the last seven years of his life.

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 11 Chiu Gompa Outside

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 12 Chiu Gompa with Lake We climbed to the roof of Chiu Gompa and enjoyed a stunning view of Lake Manasarovar. Alas, once again, Kailash remained veiled.

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 12 Chiu Gompa with Lake

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 13 Gang Chu and Hot Springs from Chiu Gompa Across from Chiu Gompa are hot springs and a small village. Manasarovar is linked to the smaller Rakshas Tal by the channel called Ganga Chu. On rare occasions, water flows through this channel from Lake Manasarovar to Rakshas Tal, which is said to auger well for the Tibetan people.

Tibet Kailash 07 Manasarovar 13 Gang Chu and Hot Springs from Chiu Gompa


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