Kailas

Kailas (kīläs`), peak, c.22,280 ft (6,790 m) high, SW Tibet region of China, highest point of the Kailas Range, in the Himalayas. It is near the sources of the Sutlej, Indus, and Yarlung Zangbo (Brahmaputra) rivers. Hindus consider Kailas to be the dwelling place of the god Shiva, and it is the goal of pilgrimages. The pilgrim road that girdles the mountain reaches 18,000 ft (5,486 m). Tibetan Buddhists identify Kailas with Mount Sumeru, which they consider to be the cosmic center of the universe.

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Kailas 

a mountain range in China, in the south of the Plateauof Tibet; it extends from northwest to southeast, running parallelto the Himalayas for 300 km. Elevations range up to 6, 714 m(Mount Kailas); relative altitude above the plateau is 1,000–1, 500 m. The range is composed primarily of granite. The south-ern slope is strongly dissected by erosion; the northern slope isgentle. The snow line is at an altitude of 5, 700–5, 900 m, andthere are glaciers. Mountain dry steppes with sparse dwarf vege-tation predominate. The sources of the Indus and Brahmaputrarivers are in the Kailas Range.