Jennifer Kalvass

Unforgettable Trek to Mt. Kailash

In June of 2007 I flew to Nepal on my own to take an arranged camping/trekking trip with Skyline Treks to Mt. Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in western Tibet. I had planned the trip online with Mr. Madhav Pandey, Company owner and Managing Director of Skyline Treks. He planned that I was to join in with a group of five other international travelers. When I arrived at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu I discovered that my checked luggage was not there. Mr. Madhav Pandey was there himself to meet me at the airport and he completely took charge. 

What a gem! He helped me submit forms to the airport for my lost luggage. Fortunately I had worn my hiking boots and had some of the needed things for the trip in my carry-on bag. Since we were to leave the next day on our journey and I still needed some important items, Mr. Pandey arranged for me to visit several Thamel mountaineering shops so that I would have the important equipment, walking sticks, jacket, sleeping bag and pad that I needed for our trip. Later I learned that Mr. Pandey had personally picked up my luggage at the airport and safely kept it for me until my return to Kathmandu. I was very grateful for this.

It was quite an adventure driving and camping to get to Mt. Kailash, led by our guide, Paldin. Our drivers, cook and other staff were all very good. Once we arrived near the mountain, our trek around the mountain began. For half of our group this was a religious pilgrimage. Before and after our trek we camped at freshwater Lake Manosarovar, at the base of Mt. Kailash and the scenery there was breathtaking. At 14,950 ft. it is supposed to be the world’s highest freshwater lake. The experience getting to and around Kailash bonded our group together. 

I continued to keep in contact with my tent mate from the trip and visited her last year (2015) in Malaysia. Following the trip to Kailash, half our group returned to Kathmandu and the other half of the group, including me, pressed on to Lhasa, Tibet, enjoying sightseeing along the way and in the capital. Finally following a thrilling plane flight back to Nepal, skirting at eye-level past Mt. Everest, I returned to Kathmandu.

 I would highly recommend Skyline Treks. I plan to travel with them again to see Annapurna Circuit Trekking in 2017. Mr. Madhav Pandey is exceptionally dependable, flexible, detail-oriented and responds quickly to emails.