Darchen
塔尔钦（塔钦）
A town at the foot of Mount Kailash’s southern slope, at about 4,600 meters, serving as the kora base camp, with lodging, supplies, porter hire, and scenic area tickets.
Darchen (also called Tarchen, administratively part of Gangsha Village in Baga Township, Burang County) lies on the edge of the Baga grassland directly south of Mount Kailash, at about 4,600 meters. It is the starting and ending point of the outer kora. The town has hotels, Tibetan-style guesthouses, Sichuan restaurants, and supermarkets. The scenic area visitor center sells entrance tickets and shuttle tickets for the mountain, and you can hire porters or yaks here. On the hill to the north are prayer flags and mani stone cairns, and on clear days you can see Gurla Mandhata and Lake Manasarovar. It is recommended to rest for one or two nights after arriving to acclimatize before starting the kora. Prices soar during holidays and Saga Dawa, so book well in advance. A border permit is required to visit. It is about 330 km from Shiquanhe, the seat of Ngari Prefecture, and about 105 km from Burang town.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Gyangdrak Monastery
- Tarboche Flagpole
- Chuku Gompa (Nyenri Monastery)
- Zutulpuk Monastery
- Mount Kailash & Kora
- Dirapuk Monastery
- Drolma La Pass & Gauri Kund
- Chiu Gompa