Mount Kailash - Actually in Tibet, a short distance beyond the NW corner of Nepal. Hindu and Buddhist cosmology describes the cosmos as a central mountain, Mount Meru, surrounded by the earth's continents and seas, then by the rest of the universe. Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple complex is actually an architectural representation of this schema. As geographical knowledge developed, Mount Kailash was proclaimed the physical manifestation of Mount Meru. It is the hydrologic hub of the subcontinent. The Karnali, Sutlej Indus and Brahmaputra rivers all begin near this mountain. Hindus and Buddhists gain religious merit by circumambulating the mountain.
