Located in the far west of Tibet, one of the most sacred mountains to both Buddhists and Hindus is Mount Kailash (literally 'the Silver Mountain'), known to the Tibetans as Kangkar Tise or 'the White Mountain of Snow'. To make a complete circuit of the mountain, Tibetan pilgrims leave at 3a.m. and finish the 65-kilometer journey by nightfall. At 5,860 meters altitude (19,221 feet), they go through a mountain pass. Some pilgrims take twenty days to make the journey, prostrating themselves along the route. Foreign visitors take a more relaxing three days. Here are the guides who drove our little group's fifteen yaks, on the morning of the first day. 1998.