Pedalling to Kailash: Cycling Across the Roof of the World with Adventurer Graydon Hazenberg

Pakistan to Tibet on a bicycle. Hear the full crazy story now...

Follow travel author and adventurer Graydon Hazenburg on an epic bike journey from Islamabad, in Pakistan, all the way to Mount Kailash, in Tibet thousands of miles away. Travelling across four of the great mountain ranges in the world, the Pamir Mountains, the Hindu Kush, the Karakorum and the Himalayas, it would prove to be an incredibly difficult trip, cycling over some of the highest passes in the world across some of its worst roads.

But it was also incredibly fascinating and beautiful. Graydon was cycling through some of the most remote and least visited places on the planet. He would stay with the Kalash people of Chitral and hike the foothills of Nanga Parbat, one the most dangerous mountains in the world. He visited the Hunza River Valley, the inspiration for the mythical enlightened kingdom of Shangri-La, and crossed the vast plains of the Tibetan Plain, staying with nomads along the way.

But it was more than just an adventure too. Mount Kailash is the most sacred mountain in the world. Located in western Tibet, it is sacred to billions of Buddhists, Hindus and others around the world, and a pilgrimage around the mountain is walked by thousands of devotees every year. By traveling to Kailash and walking the pilgrimage himself, Graydon was taking part in one of the most revered spiritual ceremonies in the world, but also shining a light on the plight of the Tibetan people, who have seen their beliefs and way of life brutally oppressed since the Chinese invasion of 1950.

Get ready for one of the craziest bike stories you’ll ever hear …

Highlights:

· Here how Graydon won Jeopardy and used the money to quit his career in academia and travel the world instead

· Stay with the Kalash people in Pakistan, one of the most remote and rarely visited cultures in Asia, with only a few thousands left on Earth

· See the paradise of the Hunza River Valley, the inspiration for the mythical fabled kingdom of Shangri-La

· Climb the foothills of Nanga Parbat, one of the most dangerous mountains on the planet, which kills 1 in 5 people that attempt to summit it

· Visit Tibetan nomads surviving in the harsh conditions of the Tibetan Plateau

· Walk the Mount Kailash pilgrimage, perhaps the most beautiful pilgrimages on Earth

· Find out about the plight of the Tibetan people and how Graydon’s journey shone a light on their struggle and determination to preserve their culture, religion and way of life despite oppression from the Chinese government

· Be inspired to set out on your own journey – “We can always make more money,” Graydon says. “We can never make more time.”

Connect with Graydon

The book of this journey is called Pedalling to Kailash: Cycling Adventures and Misadventures on the Roof of the World - https://www.amazon.com/Pedalling-Kailash-Cycling-Adventures-Misadventures/dp/1777593611

FB: www.facebook.com/graydon.hazenberg.author

Twitter: www.twitter.com/stanleystravels

Instagram: www.instagram.com/hmstanleystravels

Travel blog: graydonstravels.blogspot.com

Website: graydonhazenberg.ca

Gallery (all images taken by Graydon Hazenburg)

Videos

Some more info on Mount Kailash

The Hunza River Valley, inspiration for fabled mythical kingdom of Shangri-La... oh my God, I want to go there SO badly now

More about the myth of Shangri-La and the region here ...

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