The Kailash Mansarovar Pilgrimage for the first time in its history, will be easier this season as pilgrims can now drive-in to cover more than 80 kilometers road between Dharchula and Lipulekh Paas in few hours which earlier was an arduous 8-9 days trek for them.

This is likely to bring down the travel time from 17-21 days to nearly 10 days.

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Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake Pilgrimage will be resumed in June 2025 after a break of five years inflicted by the Chinese government in 2019. China imposed several restrictions and put in place harsh conditions on the Indian pilgrims to Kailash Mansarovar owing mainly to the border conflict between two armies at Galwan and COVID-19 epidemic.

This had brought the pilgrimage to a grinding halt. However it has resumed this year and more around 250 devotees have registered themselves for the journey to Mount Kailash in the Chinese controlled Tibet region.

Going by the Information shared by the Pithoragarh district administration officials Kailash pilgrims will reach Gunji in five hours from Dharchula covering more than 80 kilometers of roads that was completed by the Border Road Organisation (BRO) nearly four years ago. All arrangements are being made by the administration for the convenience of the pilgrims.

This has become possible due to the construction of a road till Lipulekh, gateway to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake in Tibet.

Unlike in the past Kailash pilgrims will now travel in vehicles to complete the journey. Pithoragarh administration officials said that the road is being repaired at few places but it will be completed well in time as the pilgrimage will commence after June 10. Indo Tibet Border Police (ITBP) will also help in safe completion of the journey by the pilgrims.

It’s notable that earlier the Mount Kailash bound pilgrims had to walk about 95 km from Ghatabagarh area of Dharchula to Lipulekh which was converted into a metal road in 2020. From Dharchula pilgrims had to reach and halt at Gala.

From here they had to travel to other halt points: Bundi, Gunji, Nabi, Kalapani, Nabhidhang, Taklakot, and Darchin in Tibet. The trek was so difficult that pilgrims had to stay in the night at each halt point, taking the travel time to 8-9 trek-days. After this another six days were needed for Kailash Darshan and circumambulation of Mansarovar Lake.

The journey time from Dharchula to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar used to take 17 days. If travel time included Delhi as the starting point it was 21 days. Now with the metal road open this travel time has reduced to around 10 days.

Talking to the media District Magistrate Pithoragarh Vinod Goswami said “preparations for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra are in full swing. The road has been damaged at some places due to heavy snowfall and glacier breakdowns. All concerned agencies have instructed to complete the road repair works as early as possible.

“The pilgrims for Mount Kailash will stay in the tourist rest houses of Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN), state major tourism operation body for Kumaon region. All necessary arrangements for the comforts of the pilgrims are being made. The help of ITBP will also be sought for the safety of the devotees,” he added.