Kailash: Jewel of the Snows is an enthralling account of a Delhi-based mountaineer,
and creative entrepreneur, Rajinder Arora. This is one of the first few expeditions to
Mt Kailash after the Chinese government permitted the entry of Indians to the sacred
land of Lord Shiva, highly venerated in the Hindu-Buddhist scriptures.
Extremely captivating narrative of a young atheist, Kailash sketches Rajinder’s
journey to Mt Kailash and Lake Mansarovar, 4,600m above the sea level. Starting his
sojourn in the Indian Himalayas, he crosses over the rugged Kumaon territory and
enters the Tibetan terrain with a group of 16 individuals. Arora strays on the
forbidden trail in the Tibetan wilderness. Along the perilous trail, he moves in search
of faith and meaning in life and narrates, with awe-inspiring details and anecdotes, of
survival in the high Himalayas, exploring the cultural diversity and saga of ancient
travel along Silk Road. Having encountered the grand vision of Mt Kailash,
completely awe-struck, he stumbles his way back home with a new-found reservoir
of spirituality that had lain dormant during vagrant young years.
Profusely illustrated, embellished with highly evocative accounts of fauna and flora,
breathtaking landscape and enviable life style of the nomadic tribes, the book is a
treasure to be preserved for posterity. A must for mountaineers, spiritual believers
and non-believers alike including all those interested in keeping a true account of the
fast changing Himalayan landscape and people struggling to keep it beautiful and
sacred in the centuries to come.

An atheist takes a religious yatra and comes back with a new religion for the
mankind. Kailash’ by Rajinder Arora is a fascinating account of an arduous 30-days
high-altitude trek to the land of the Gods. In one of the sections in the book he sums
up “Ecology is Religion”. Rightly so, the mankind has endlessly exploited earth, thus
brining upon it the wrath of nature. Environmental degradation is wrecking havoc
all around the world. We should follow his advice in preserving our beautiful
planet. Mt Kailash and the Holy Lake Manasarovar is the abode of Lord Shiva – the
Himalayas, with all their splendour and beauty are nothing short of God. Let us all
join hands in protecting the Himalayas for generations to come.

–Padma Shri Capt MS Kohli, Everester and the leader of Indian expedition to Everest in 1965. Chairman, Himalayan Environment Trust.

A mountaineer, trekker, photographer and collector of all sorts of memorabilia, Rajinder Arora is a graphic designer by profession. His adventure travelogues have been published in Indian Mountaineer and online journals. His publications include an illustrated volume on Everest Base Camp; three poetry booklets for children in Hindi; besides short stories in English and Hindi. A passionate reader, Arora lives with his wife and children in Gurgaon, India.