The pilgrims take between 10 and 14 days to circumnavigate the mountain’s girth, following a well-trodden trail and camping each evening in the snow. Some even crawl the distance on hands and knees. Near Khabadkar-po is the Lancang River, as the Chinese call the Mekong. The locals call its five sweeping turns of direction the Crescent Bends.
You see the snow-capped peaks above and the Lancang below and begin to realise that the river comes from those mountains, where the ice and snow melt to create a little stream that grows into a mighty river. Next to the highest peak is the Lady peak, known as Miancimu, shooting to 6,054 metres and considered Khabadkar-po’s majestic wife.
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