The One World Trekking Dolpo and Snow Leopard trekking group has entered its second week on the trail. Today, September 17, they have crossed the first of several high passes – the Kang La at 17,630 feet. The next several days to the ancient Shey Monastery will surely be ones to treasure…
SEPT. 17: Cross the Kang La pass (17,630ft/5,375m) and trek towards Crystal Mountain.
Now begins our trek to the fabled Shey Gompa and neighboring ‘Crystal Mountain’ (which takes its name from the veins of quartz that traverse its base), the most sacred peak in Dolpo which pilgrims circumambulate each July or August, during the full moon, before the yearly grain harvest. The sacred mountain is known as the ‘Kailash’ of Dolpo; the mythology behind it describes a Tibetan Buddhist lama who battles the fierce local mountain spirit on a snow lion, perhaps the same lama who founded Shey Gompa.
We’re up early for our challenging pass crossing, heading up the rocky valley to the base of the pass, where we turn west and hike up a steep trail traversing loose slate to the crest of the Kang La (5375 meters). What views we are treated to for our efforts! We have views of the peaks Shey Shikkar and Kang Chunne, both just over 6000 meters, before descending steeply down to the wide valley floor. Be ready for snow on the northern side of the pass! We are entering George Schaller’s blue sheep (and Snow Leopard) country, so keep the binoculars ready. After stopping for lunch by the stream that flows down the valley, we pass a long, ancient mani wall and finally spot Shey Gompa and the small village of Shey.
SEPT. 18 & 19: Days 12 & 13: Crystal Mountain Kora and trek to Shey Village. (13,620ft/4,126m).
We have decided to postpone our passing under the red chorten that marks the entrance to Shey by deviating off of the main path and join the pilgrimage route that circumambulates the sacred Crystal Mountain. Our camping spot on Day 12 will depend on natural water sources. What an epic approach into the fabled Shey Gompa! Our camp for the next two nights will be made just below the gompa on a wonderful grassy campsite.
‘I flew through the sky on a snow lion
And there, among the clouds, I performed miracles.
But not even the greatest of celestial feats
Can equal once rounding on foot this Crystal Mountain.’
- Drotob Senge Yeshe (the lama)
SEPT. 20: Day 14: Exploration day at Shey Gompa.
As Shey means crystal, this monastery is also known as the Crystal Monastery. The lama of Shey resides at a red hermitage known as Tsakang gompa which is west of Shey. It is more of a retreat than a monastery. Tsakang had been a meditation center for many famous lamas from Tibet. Shey Gompa belongs to the Chaiba community, followers of the Padmasambhava and Kagyu sects. It was the first Kagyupa monastery and its founder was the lama Ten-szin-Ra-Pa. The monastery was built during the 11th century.
In Dolpo the ancient Tibetan way of life combines animism with the teachings of the Buddha. Drutup Yeshe introduced Buddhism in the Dolpo Valley. Many centuries ago he came to Dolpo and appeared before a wild people whose supreme God was a ‘fierce mountain spirit.’ Crystal Mountain is to the west of Shey monastery. It is a very strange mountain indeed. Its contorted cliffs are laced with quartz and embedded with a rich variety of marine fossils. Shey Gompa stands above the confluence of Kangju Nala and Yeju Nala. Near the confluence there is a group of prayer mills turned by water wheels.
For those needing a rest day, the 11th-13th century, ochre Shey Gompa is a wonderful monastery, with colorful Tibetan murals and old statues inside which the gate-keeper, a lay monk, and his family will open for us. The murals are not old, but there is a valuable scroll that describes the mythology behind sacred Crystal Mountain and Shey Gompa, including where to find the milky lake in the interior of the Crystal Mountain kora which allows the pilgrim to see Mount Kailash in the far distance. To the left of Shey Gompa is another gompa, built into the cliff-side. You might remember the prayer-room inside from the movie ‘Himalaya.’ Make a ‘kora’ of the gompa complex and relax for the rest of the day with a book, soaking in the spectacular views from our campsite.
For those wanting to explore, we’ll make a pilgrimage to a sacred gompa to the west of Shey perhaps venturing even further the valley towards Phijor and Samling Gompas. But first, perched among the craggy, red cliffs, is the smaller but perhaps more important Tsakhang Gompa (which means red gompa, after the cliffs) of the Kagyupa sect, knows for its teachers Tilopa, Marpa and Milarepa. The incarnation of the first Tsakhang lama, the 17th ‘trulku’ of this line, is a young lama from Phijor now studying in Kathmandu. The gompa is filled with colorful Buddhist paintings and rare thankas.
Tags: adventure, Buddhism, culture, dolpo, exploration, high altitude, himalayas, nepal, pilgrimage, snow leopard, travel, trekking
