China, India agree to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

KATHMANDU: India and China have agreed to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs.

The decision was disclosed in a press release following Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s two-day visit to China which concluded on Monday. “The relevant mechanism will discuss the modalities for this resumption in line with existing agreements,” the statement noted. “Both sides agreed to take appropriate measures to further promote and facilitate people-to-people exchanges, including interactions between media and think tanks. They also agreed in principle to resume direct air services between the two countries. The relevant technical authorities from both sides will meet soon to negotiate an updated framework for this purpose.”

China had suspended the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While it permitted visitors to the Kailash Mansarovar region of Tibet starting in the summer of 2023, this decision excluded Indian pilgrims and trekkers.

The primary season for the Kailash Yatra runs from May to September.

Before the pandemic, approximately 20,000 tourists, including Nepalis and Indians, visited the Kailash-Mansarovar region via Nepal. Most travelers used two main routes: one from Nepalgunj to Hilsa and then through Taklakot in Tibet to the Kailash-Mansarovar region, and the other from Rasuwa district via the Kerung border point.

More than 30 Nepali companies organize Kailash Yatra from Nepal, according to the Association of Kailash Tour Operators Nepal (AKTON).