The Abode of Shiva

Mount Kailash rises 6,638 meters above sea level in the heart of the Himalayas, straddling the borders of Tibet and Nepal. But these numbers tell you almost nothing about what makes this mountain different from every other peak on Earth.

Four of the world's great religions consider it sacred. Hindus believe it is the home of Shiva, the destroyer and creator, where he dwells with his consort Parvati. Buddhists recognize it as the center of the universe, the axis around which all reality turns. Jains say it is where their first prophet attained liberation. Followers of the indigenous Bon religion consider it the source of spiritual power itself.

For thousands of years, pilgrims have walked the 52-kilometer circuit around its base, a ritual called the Kora. They believe one circumambulation cleanses a lifetime of sin. Thirteen circuits, they say, grants enlightenment in this very life. But no one has ever stood on its summit.

Not for lack of trying. In 1926, British mountaineer Hugh Rutledge attempted the climb. At 500 meters from the peak, weather conditions deteriorated so suddenly and violently that the team had no choice but to retreat. Rutledge later described hearing sounds from inside the mountain, a deep resonance that unnerved his entire expedition.

Other attempts followed. Each ended the same way. Impossible weather. Equipment failures. Sudden illness. Eventually, the Chinese government banned all climbing attempts. Officially, the reason given was respect for local religious beliefs. Unofficially, there were whispers of something else. Something the authorities did not want disturbed.

The mountain's shape adds to its mystery. Unlike the jagged, irregular peaks that surround it, Kailash is almost perfectly symmetrical. Four steep faces align precisely with the cardinal directions. Its summit resembles a pyramid more than a natural formation. Erosion and ice, geologists say. Wind and time carving stone into geometry.

But the pilgrims tell a different story.

Hindu cosmology identifies Kailash as Mount Meru, the axis of the universe. In ancient texts, it is described as a place outside time, where gods convene and divine knowledge flows. Four great rivers - the Indus, Sutlej, Brahmaputra, and Karnali - originate near its base, bringing life to civilizations across Asia. The mountain, they say, is not merely a geographic feature. It is a spiritual engine, a conduit between heaven and earth.

Tibetan Buddhists describe hidden valleys and secret caves in the mountain's depths. These are the Somati caves, they say, where enlightened masters enter deep meditation, their bodies preserved in suspended animation, waiting for the age when humanity will be ready for their wisdom. Some legends speak of tunnels that extend deep underground, connecting to the mythical cities of Shambhala and Agartha.

Western explorers who reached the region in the 19th and early 20th centuries brought back similar accounts. Helena Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society, wrote of ancient civilizations that survived a global cataclysm by retreating beneath the Himalayas. Nicholas Roerich, the Russian mystic and artist, spent years in Tibet and claimed to have learned from locals about vast subterranean cities accessible through entrances near Kailash.

Most dismissed these stories as folklore amplified by isolation and mysticism. But then the scientists arrived.

In 1985, renowned mountaineer Reinhold Messner obtained permission from China to attempt Kailash's summit. He prepared meticulously. Then, just before the climb, he abandoned the plan. The reason he gave: respect for local beliefs. But some who knew him said he had been warned. Not by authorities, but by something he encountered during his reconnaissance.

The warnings, it seemed, had been there all along. Written into the mountain itself. The question was whether anyone would listen.