Kailash Mansarovar Yatra: Recent Developments - Indian Council of World Affairs (Government of India)

Abstract: As India and China mark 75 years of bilateral relations, resuming the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is a welcome step. After witnessing a thaw in the relationship after a strained 5 years, bilateral relations are moving positively.

After a five-year gap, the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra has once again come into the limelight, as it is set to resume on 30 June 2025. The paper delves into the significance of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.

Kailash is the name of a sacred mount, Mansarovar is the holy lake and Yatra, which literally means travel, here it denotes pilgrimage. The mighty peaks of Mount Kailash, at an elevation of 6,638 metres, have religious, spiritual and historical significance for India and its people. It lies at the tri-junction of India, China and Nepal. In Hindu mythology, Mount Kailash is considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva, the God of destruction and one of the Hindu trinity, and whose number of devotees in India outnumber the population of most countries in the world. It is the most sacred peak in the Himalayan range. Mount Kailash is said to have been formed 30 million years ago during the early stages of the formation of the Himalayan chain. The traditional millennia-old pilgrimage routes have existed even before the cartographical divisions of the countries took place.

The religious significance of the Yatra is mentioned in Hindu scriptures like the Shiv Purana, Vishnu Purana, Skanda Purana and Ramayana. The Kailash Mountain and Lake Mansarovar are considered the ultimate pilgrimage sites on Earth, and the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is said to be the greatest of all pilgrimages.[i] The Rig Veda also mentions the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Mount Kailash is also the source of four holy rivers, namely the Indus, the Brahmaputra (Tsangpo River in Tibet), the Sutlej and the Sarayu River. Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar are part of India’s sacred geography in the Hindu mind.

Initiatives by the Indian Government

Given its importance, the Government of India has always made an effort to ensure that Indians can visit Mount Kailash and do their yatra/pilgrimage. It may be recalled that according to Article III of the “Agreement on Trade and Intercourse with Tibet Region” of 1954, “The High Contracting Parties agree that pilgrimage by religious believers of the two countries shall be carried on under the following provisions: (1) Pilgrims from India of Lamaist, Hindu and Buddhist faiths may visit Gang Rinpoche (Kailas) and Maven To (Mansarovar) in Tibet Region of China in accordance with custom.” [ii]

After the India-China 1962 war, the pilgrimage was stopped. However, on 28 June 1981, the Chinese Foreign Minister Huang Hua met the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and agreed that Indians could visit Mansarovar Lake and Mount Kailash. He added that China would make a temporary arrangement for visits by Indian pilgrims to the holy places pending an agreement on long-term facilities.[iii] Since then, the Yatra continued up to 2020.

In 2020, the Yatra stopped due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the India-China border clashes at the Galwan valley. Before the disruption of the Yatra, the Indian government took the initiative of organising the Yatra every year between June and September. It was held until 2020 through the two official routes of Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand (since 1981) and the Nathu La Pass (since 2015) in Sikkim. The Indian officials and leaders have worked hard to resume the Yatra. The Yatra is very important for India and its people, and the issue often comes up in the Indian Parliament.[iv] The issue of resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra have often been taken up in meetings between the two countries at various levels, including in the meetings of External Affairs Minister with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit on 18 November 2024 in Rio de Janeiro and on the sidelines of the G-20 Foreign Ministers meeting on 20 –21 February 2025, in Johannesburg, South Africa; in the 23rd meeting of the Special Representatives of India and China on the Boundary Question held on 18 December 2024 in Beijing; and in the meeting of Foreign Secretary with Vice Foreign Minister of China on 27 January 2025, in Beijing. The two sides decided, in these meetings, to resume the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025.[v]

With the efforts of the Indian government, this year, the Yatra will take place from June to August 2025. The pilgrimage will follow the traditional route via Lipulekh Pass in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, and will be jointly organised by the Uttarakhand Government and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra 2025 will be operated by Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN), Nainital District, Kumaon Division, Uttarakhand.[vi] The KMVN will play a crucial role in the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, particularly along the Lipulekh Pass route. KMVN is in charge of providing logistical arrangements, including food, lodging, and transportation for pilgrims on the Indian side of the Yatra.

Sikkim Tourism Development Cooperation (STDC) will make logistical arrangements including accommodation, food, and transport on the Indian side for the Yatra on the Nathu La route.[vii]

The pilgrims come from all walks of life, from celebrities to intellectuals to the common man. This year, five batches, each comprising 50 Yatris, and ten batches, each comprising 50 Yatris, are scheduled to travel through Lipulekh (Uttarakhand) and Nathu La (Sikkim), respectively.[viii] The health check-up of all the pilgrims will be done first in Delhi, and on reaching Gunji (Pithoragarh), the health check-up will be done with the help of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).[ix]

Route via Lipulekh

Source: https://kmy.gov.in/?lang=en

Route via Nathu La

Source: https://kmy.gov.in/?lang=en

It may be noted that the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra has a lot of challenges. The Yatra has a very unique topography; it involves high altitudes, rugged terrain and extreme weather conditions. Pilgrims have to be physically fit before applying for the pilgrimage. Nevertheless, the arduous trek and the challenging route attract the devotees of Lord Shiva even more.

Since 1981, the Yatra has been going on smoothly except for landslides in 1998. In August 1998, the Malpa landslide in the Kali River valley, in Kumaon bordering on India and Nepal, struck the region, and over 200 people died in the disaster, including a batch of 60 Kailash Mansarovar yatris. A renowned Indian dancer, Protima Gauri Bedi also passed away in the landslide tragedy.[x]

The 2025 Yatra is significant in many ways. For the first time, the 2025 Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage will be significantly shorter and less arduous. Pilgrims can travel through the 80 km of newly upgraded road between Dharchula and Lipulekh Pass. The same journey used to take an eight-to nine-day trek. This route is expected to shorten the journey. Notably, since the yatra is resuming in the 75^th year of the bilateral relationship, it holds special significance for the bilateral relations.

Chinese Position on the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

Geographically, Mount Kailash is located in Ngari Prefecture of Tibet. This range forms the western subrange of the Trans-Himalaya system. The trans-Himalaya extends west-east parallel to the main Himalayan range from Ngari Prefecture to the Nyenchen Tanglha range in Damxung County in eastern Tibet. In the past, China has also used the Kailash range for its research and development purposes. Reportedly, China has developed and conducted the first test run of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) meant for the surveillance of Indian positions near the Kailash Range.[xi]

China has shown a positive response to the resumption of the Yatra. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun has said that “Indian pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China is an important part of the cultural and people-to-people exchange between the two countries.” He also acknowledged that both are “sacred mountains and lakes” for believers of several religions, including Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism.[xii] China is ready to work with India to deliver on important common understandings and advance bilateral relations.[xiii]

Conclusion

As India and China mark 75 years of bilateral relations, the resumption of the Yatra is very significant. Although it has not been listed as a formal confidence-building measure, it is the most effective one. The Yatra’s success marks another step in normalising bilateral relations. China has acknowledged that it is an “important part” of the cultural and people-to-people exchange between the two countries and also stated that it remains extremely significant for believers of Hinduism. As India-China relations are moving in a positive direction, such efforts will help facilitate the normalisation of the ties.

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*Dr. Teshu Singh, Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi.
Disclaimer: The views expressed are personal.

Endnotes

[i] Mount Kailash, https://pithoragarh.nic.in/mount-kailash/ (Accessed on April 12, 2025).

[ii] Agreement on Trade and Intercourse with Tibet Region, https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/7807/Agreement+on+Trade+and+Intercourse+with+Tibet+Region#:~:text=The%20High%20Contracting%20Parties%20agree%20that%20pilgrimage%20by%20religious%20believers,Tibet%20Region%20of%20China%20in (Accessed on April 20, 2025).

[iii] Kasturi Rangan, India and China announce talks on border issue, June 29, 1981, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/29/world/india-and-china-announce-talks-on-border-issue.html (Accessed on April 21, 2025).

[iv] Question no- 1041 Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

February 13, 2025

https://www.mea.gov.in/rajya-sabha.htm?dtl/39056/QUESTION+NO+1041+KAILASH+MANSAROVAR+YATRA#:~:text=Ministry%20of%20External%20Affairs%20Government%20of%20India&text=(a%20to%20e)%20Government%20of,(since%202015)%20in%20Sikkim (Accessed on April 24, 2025).

[v] Question no- 1041 Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

February 13, 2025

[vi] Kailash Mansarovar Yatra to begin on June 30 after three-year hiatus, The Economic Times, April 28, 2025, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/kailash-mansarovar-yatra-to-begin-on-june-30-after-three-year-hiatus/articleshow/120493128.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst (Accessed on April 24, 2025).

[vii] Press Information Bureau Government of India Ministry of External Affairs, https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=137564 (May 08, 2025).

[viii] Launching of Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, 2025,

https://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/39448/Launching_of_Kailash_Manasarovar_Yatra_2025

(May 01, 2025).

[ix] Kailash Mansarovar Yatra to begin on June 30 after three-year hiatus, The Economic Times, April 21, 2025, https://m.economictimes.com/news/india/kailash-mansarovar-yatra-to-begin-on-june-30-after-three-year-hiatus/amp_articleshow/120493128.cms

[x] Malpa, a village that has become a synonymous with disaster, 14 August 2017, Times of India, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/malpa-a-village-that-has-become-synonymous-with-disaster/articleshow/60063969.cms

(Accessed on 8 May 2025)

[xi] China tests unmanned flights near the Kailash range, Deccan Herald, May 25, 2021, https://www.deccanherald.com/india/china-tests-unmanned-flights-near-kailash-range-989815.html (Accessed on April 29, 2025).

[xii] Chinese government has responded positively to the announcement of the Yatra, Global Times, April 28, 2025, https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202504/1333051.shtml (Accessed on April 30, 2025).

[xiii] Mansarovar Yatra to resume this summer: China’s Foreign Ministry, ANI, April 28, 2025, https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/mansarovar-yatra-to-resume-this-summer-chinas-foreignministry20250428222316/#:~:text=This%20year's%20resumption%20of%20the,of%20China%2DIndia%20diplomatic%20ties. (Accessed on May 5, 2025)