China, India And Nepal Agree To Mt. Kailash Preservation

Source: www.2point6billion.com
Wednesday,April 28,2010

China, India, and Nepal have agreed on a framework regarding the conservation and preservation of the Mount Kailash region, a sacred area in the Himalayas that touches all three countries. The international project, titled “Mount Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation Initiative: Developing a Transboundary Framework for Conservation and Sustainable Development in the Greater Mount Kailash Region of Nepal, India and China,” is lead by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, but will include the Wildlife Institute of India, the Forest Department of Uttarakhand, the Nepalese Ministry of Forests, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, and the United Nations Environment Program.

Mount Kailash itself is a peak in the Gangdise Mountains considered a sacred and holy place in five of the world’s religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Ayyavazhi, and the Boen. It is particularly unique in that it remains one of the most significant peaks in the world that has yet to be stepped on by man. Considered the abode of Buddha Demchok in Buddhism and Lord Shiva in Hinduism, the summit at Mount Kailash is off limits and no attempt to climb the mountain has been recorded.

Every year, thousands of pilgrims travel to the region to circumambulate Mount Kailash; clockwise for Hindus and Buddhists, and counterclockwise for believers of Jainism, Ayyavashi, and Boen. Travelling the 32 miles around the mountain is believed to bring good fortune, but it must be done on foot, pony, or yak.