For five years between 2020 and 2025, the Kailash Mansarovar remained out of bounds for Indian visitors in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Galwan standoff that strained India-China ties.

In late 2024, as New Delhi and Beijing began efforts to repair ties, the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in the summer of 2025 was the first tangible takeaway of the thaw.

As people waited to see how the resumption of the yatra panned out in 2025, when the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) took 750 Indian passport holders in batches, this year saw a rebound in the number of visitors to Kailash Mansarovar after the cautious optimism of last year.

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While the MEA marginally increased the quota from 750 to 1,000, the private operators — who take visitors through Nepal checkpoints such as Rasuwagadhi and Hilsa — saw a marked surge in 2026. Though an exact count of the number of Indians who signed up for Kailash Yatra through private operators this year is not officially compiled yet, China had announced a cap on the total permissible quota for Indian passport holders via Nepal routes at 24,000 for the season. The quota was 20,000 in 2025.

A major tour operator based in Kathmandu told that a huge number of experiential Indian travellers, including over a thousand Indian passport holders residing abroad (NRIs), had signed up for the yatra through their agency, with inquiries coming in since the beginning of this year.

“Despite rising costs owing to inflation, and increased fees and charges for allied services, this year saw maximum bookings so far,” he said, adding that the travellers included not only pilgrims but also a huge number of youngsters seeking experiential travel.

In fact, as the yatra took off in June, there were reports of several Indian citizens undertaking private tours being stuck in Nepal before being able to cross over to Tibet. On June 27, the MEA had even issued an advisory to Indian citizens to not commence their journey unless all required permits were received.

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“The Ministry is in receipt of several requests for help and assistance from Indian citizens stuck in Nepal while undertaking Kailash Mansarovar Yatra without the required entry permit and visas for China, through tours organised by private operators,” the MEA had said.

Before the yatra suspension in 2020, the government programme generally accommodated around 800-1,000 pilgrims annually. For 2025, the announced capacity was 750 pilgrims — 250 through the Lipulekh route in five batches and 500 through the Nathu La route in 10 batches.

Beyond its spiritual significance, the yatra is also one of the world’s most logistically complex pilgrimages. Located in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, it requires extensive diplomatic coordination between New Delhi and Beijing, meticulous planning and strict medical screening because of extreme altitude and inhospitable terrain.

Pilgrim groups having to halt yatra for days en route owing to inclement weather is a norm rather than an exception. But a tragedy of this scale has not happened before. The worst recorded tragedy associated with the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra before 2026 has been the 1998 Malpa landslide in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, which claimed over 220 lives, including 60 pilgrims who were on their way to Kailash.

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Mount Kailash is about 6,638 m above sea level, while the nearby Mansarovar Lake is at an altitude of 4,590 m, among one of the world’s highest freshwater lakes. Pilgrims traditionally undertake the 52-km Kailash Parikrama, or Kora, which is now reduced to 13 km through some routes.

For those taking the government-operated Lipulekh route, the journey from Delhi to the Kailash covers roughly 1,000 km by road, besides the 52-km parikrama. The alternative Nathu La route through Sikkim is longer by road but involves comparatively less trekking. The Nathu La route is generally considered less strenuous, making it more suitable for older pilgrims.

The journey typically lasts about three weeks, including acclimatisation, medical examinations, border formalities and travel in Tibet, although schedules may vary depending on weather and administrative requirements. In 2025, of the 750 pilgrims who registered for the yatra, 688 participated and completed the journey, as per the MEA.

The MEA provides assistance on self-financing-basis to those undertaking the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra. It provides facilities such as transportation, accommodation, food, medical tests and guides, in coordination with the governments of Uttarakhand, Delhi and Sikkim, along with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

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In cases where Indian nationals travelling with private operators face challenges such as inclement weather, medical emergencies, or documentation/procedural issues in Nepal, the Embassy of India has been mandated to offer assistance in coordination with the local authorities.

In June-July 2018, approximately 1,500 pilgrims on the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra organised by private tour operators through Nepal were stranded along the Hilsa-Simikot-Nepalganj route in Nepal while returning as a result of cancellation of flight operations due to inclement weather. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu had arranged their safe return in close coordination with the government of Nepal, tour operators, and local airline/helicopter service providers, as per the government’s submission in Parliament.