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India urges Kailash pilgrims to secure permits before going after some stranded in Nepal
Several pilgrims are stranded in Nepal as they do not have entry permits and visas for China, which tour organisers failed to arrange, according to reports
- PUBLISHED: Sun 28 Jun 2026, 4:47 PM
Indian pilgrims travelling to Kailash Mansarovar, a pilgrimage site located on the 6,600m snow-capped peak, have been instructed by the Ministry of External Affairs not to begin their journey unless they have all the required travel documents.
Several pilgrims are stranded in Nepal as they do not have entry permits and visas for China, which the tour organisers failed to arrange.
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"Citizens are advised not to commence their journey from India until all required travel documents have been obtained for undertaking the complete journey,” said the ministry.
“Commencing travel without confirmed documentation or in anticipation of obtaining the necessary documentation increases the likelihood of being stranded.” It also advised pilgrims to verify that the tour operator is duly registered and authorised to take pilgrims to Kailash Mansarovar.
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The site in Tibet is of religious significance to Hindus, Jains and Buddhists and pilgrims from India head to Kailash Mansarovar every year from June to August.
The Indian ministry along with its Chinese counterpart arranged for travel by 1,000 pilgrims this year (as against 750 in 2025). Ten batches of 50 pilgrims each are travelling through Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand district, while another similar number of pilgrims are travelling through Nathu La in Sikkim.
India has a computerised draw for pilgrims heading to Kailash Mansarovar. The pilgrimage was put off in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic. Border tensions between India and China also saw the cancellation of the pilgrimage till 2024. But following an agreement in October 2024 between the two countries, pilgrims began heading to Kailash Mansarovar in 2025.
Supriya Sule, the Nationalist Congress Party (Pawar) member of parliament, raised the issue about Indian pilgrims stranded in Kathmandu. "Around 52 Indian citizens travelling to Kailash Mansarovar are currently stranded in Kathmandu, Nepal and are in need of urgent assistance," she said in an ‘X’ post. "Requesting Dr S Jaishankar (the Indian foreign minister), Embassy of India in Kathmandu, Nepal, Embassy of India in Beijing, China and Ministry of External Affairs, India to kindly look into the matter and extend the necessary support to ensure their safe onward journey.”
The first batch of pilgrims crossed into China on June 20. With the Indian government restricting the number of pilgrims to just one thousand, a majority of Indians head to Nepal from where about 25,000 go to Kailash Mansarovar on privately-organised packages.
Last year, China had capped the number of Indian pilgrims from Nepal to the site to 20,000 and this year the number has been raised to 24,000. But Nepali tour operators claim demand from Indians heading to Kailash Mansarovar has already gone above 40,000 this year.
“Inquiries are growing rapidly. We have requested the Chinese authorities to allow an additional quota of 15,000, and they appear positive,” Basu Adhikari, managing director of Touch Kailash Travel and Treks in Nepal, told the media.
While from India there are just two routes, Nepal offers four routes to the site: Tatopani, Rasuwagadhi, Hilsa and the Kathmandu-Lhasa air route. Tatopani is, however, closed now.
Pilgrim packages from Nepal are also more expensive. According to operators, the 10-day Rasuwagadhi-Kerung package costs about US$1,700 per person, as against $1,500 last year.
The Nepalgunj-Simkot-Hilsa, one of the shortest routes, costs $1,550 for an eight-day package. Pilgrims on this route are ferried on small aircraft from Nepalgunj to Simkot, before hopping on to helicopters for Hilsa. From there they are taken in jeeps to Tibet.
Tour operators in Nepal say bookings are rising this year. Keshav Neupane of Siddhartha group, told reporters that the reopening of the pilgrimage has brought relief to the tourism sector.
According to travel industry sources, a 15-day Kathmandu-Lhasa package has shot up to $5,000. But a 10-day overland bus package from Kathmandu costs about $3,500. The operators claimed that most of the packages have already been sold.
