Boaters discover riverside hermit caves containing offerings to Buddha.
Photo by Travis Winn.
This expedition was led by Pete Winn of Earth Science Expeditions. After trekking around Mt. Kailash, the 9 member team, including Tibetan Chong Dak, loaded their inflatable kayaks on yaks and hiked or rode yaks 40 miles over a 17,500' pass (the source of the Sutlej, 31 11 10N, 81 11 49E) to the Indus headwaters, only to find that the Chinese had built a road along the river from the takeout at Bongba.
However, the hikes were incredible and the upper Indus (Senge, or lion) flows through a spectacular valley.
The team floated 70 miles in 4 days, from 28 99 56N, 86 56 29E to near 32 13 05N 81 14 33E. The Class 2 river was flowing about 300 cfs at the put-in and 1500 cfs at the take-out, with an average gradient of about 15' per mile.
Put-in elevation was about 16,500'. Although the team was only the second group of foreigners to visit the Dratgye Monastery, and although they only saw one vehicle on the road, this is not a good repeat run due to its remoteness and the fact that the Chinese are building a dam at the take-out.
A video of the Mt. Kailash "kora," the trek to the Indus and the river trip is below.
A First Descent of the Indus River Headwaters: Tibet's Tsenge He (Lion) River (Part 1 of 4)
In 2005 a team of American and Tibetan kayakers paddled a first descent of Tibet's Tsenge He ("The Lion") River -- the headwaters of Pakistan's mighty Indus.
To reach the Tsenge He's source meant passing near the stunning 22,000-foot black-rock peak of Mount Kailash -- the sacred abode of Lord Shiva -- and a pilgrimage aspired to by billions worldwide.
Mount Kailash is unique in that it is the world's most-venerated holy place while also the least visited.
This is the story of a trek to the source of one of the world's great rivers by a group of friends who traveled together for a chance to paddle through the stunning landscapes of Tibet.