(TibetanReview.net, Apr23’25) – Starting Jun 30, Indian devotees will finally be able to undertake government-organized pilgrimage to Mt Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in eastern Tibet’s Purang County, Ngari Prefecture, after a gap of some five years, according Indian media reports Apr 22, citing “an official statement”. The pilgrimage will follow the route through the Lipulekh Pass, situated at an elevation of 17,000 feet in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district.
The annual pilgrimage was suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and did not resume after Sino-India ties nosedived as a result of the Galwan Valley clashes between border troops of the two sides in mid-2020.
Resuming the Kailash-Mansarovar was among the issues being discussed between India and China during their series of discussions in efforts to improve and normalize bilateral ties, along with the resumption of direct flight services, and a host of other issues.
A meeting concerning the yatra was held in New Delhi on Apr 21. jointly organized by the Uttarakhand government and the Ministry of External Affairs. During the discussion, the responsibility for organising the pilgrimage was assigned to the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam, the statement was quoted as saying.
The yatra will commence from Delhi on Jun 30, with five groups of 50 people each taking off.
The first group for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra will enter China via Lipulekh Pass on Jul 10 and the last group will depart from Tibet for India on Aug 22, reported livemint.com Apr 22.
Concerning the route and schedule of the pilgrimage, the report cited the statement as saying each group will depart from Delhi and stay one night in Tanakpur in Champawat district of Uttarakhand, one night in Dharchula in Pithoragarh district, two nights in Gunji and two nights in Nabhidang, before entering Taklakot, the administrative town of Purang county in China-occupied Tibet.
After visiting Mt Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva to Hindus, the passengers will leave Tibet to enter Pithoragarh district where they will stay one night in Bundi, followed by one night in Chaukori and one night in the Cantonment town of Almora in Almora district, before reaching Delhi.
Circumambulating Mt Kailash and taking a holy dip in Lake Mansarovar is a sacred wish of all Hindus.
The resumption of the pilgrimage represents a significant step towards normalizing ties between the two Asian giants, which are also the world’s two most populous countries.