(TibetanReview.net, May05’26) – Ahead of its Tibet-border trade reopening on Jun 1 after a gap of six years, the government of Himachal Pradesh has said it is actively pushing to operationalise the Kailash Mansarovar yatra (pilgrimage) through the strategic Shipki-La pass, pitching it as a shorter and more reliable route.
Currently, the officially organized Kailash Mansarovar yatra, located in western Tibet’s Ngari region, takes place via two routes—the Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand state, and the Nathu-La pass in Sikkim. Both requires 2-3 weeks of travel and higher altitude trekking (up to 5,200m).
On the other hand, the distance to Kailash Mansarovar from the Shipki-La side is estimated to be 100 km on the Tibetan side—significantly shorter than other routes, noted hindustantimes.com May 3..
Located at an altitude of 3,930 metres, Shipki-La lies in a rain shadow zone, making it less prone to landslides and thus offering accessibility during monsoon months when other routes are prone to them, the report said.
Once an offshoot of the legendary Silk Route, Shipki-La was formalised as a border trade point under a 1994 India-China bilateral agreement.
Another much more convenient and even shorter route for Mr Kailash pilgrimage is Demchok in Ladakh, locate just across Ngari. But its security situation after China forcibly occupied Tibet in the 1950s makes it reopening highly unlikely.
Himachal shares a 240-km boundary with China-occupied Tibet – 160 km in Kinnaur and 80 km in Lahaul-Spiti. Shipki-La, through which the Sutlej River (known as Langchen Khabab in Tibet) enters India, has long served as a vital trade corridor between India and Tibet, much like Demchok.