Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

The sacred ground

Mount Kailash rises in the Himalayas at 6,638 metres, or 21,778 feet, and its pyramid-shaped summit stays under snow all year. Lake Manasarovar lies beside it at 4,590 metres and is among the highest freshwater lakes anywhere. The saltwater Lake Rakshastal is close by. Both places sit in China's Tibet Autonomous Region. Pilgrims treat the mountain and the lake as one destination, and the whole journey is built around reaching them. Thin air, cold and rough ground shape every part of the trip, which is why it is counted among the hardest pilgrimages in the world.

What pilgrims believe

Hindus revere Mount Kailash as the home of Shiva and Parvati, and Hindu scripture describes Shiva at the summit in constant meditation. Lake Manasarovar is said to have been made by Brahma, and bathing in it is believed to wash away sin. Buddhists call the mountain Kang Rinpoche, the Precious Jewel of Snow, and see it as the dwelling of Demchok, or Chakrasamvara. Walking around it, they hold, clears negative karma and moves a person towards enlightenment. Followers of the Bon religion of Tibet treat the mountain as a spiritual centre and circle it anticlockwise, the opposite way to other pilgrims.

Routes to the mountain

One route starts at Dharchula in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand, follows the Kali river gorge through Tawaghat, Gala, Budhi and Gunji, and climbs to Nabhidhang and Lipulekh Pass at 5,334 metres before entering Tibet. The Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam keeps rest huts at camps on the way. Most pilgrims also walk the kora, the circle around Mount Kailash, crossing the steep Dolma La Pass and stopping at Dirapuk and Zuthulphuk monasteries before returning to Darchen. A separate circle around Lake Manasarovar runs about 90 kilometres.

Borders and suspensions

The yatra crosses ground that India and China both watch closely, so it has often been paused or negotiated. The Doklam standoff in 2017 led to a suspension. The COVID-19 pandemic stopped it in 2020, and the Lipulekh route had not restarted by 2023. In 2026 India's Ministry of External Affairs said the yatra would begin again, for about 1,000 pilgrims in groups of 50, using Lipulekh in Uttarakhand and Nathu La in Sikkim. Nepal objected to the Lipulekh route, calling Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura its own territory. India rejected that, saying the route has been used since 1954.

Om Parvat and the road

Nabhidhang, the final camp before the border, is the main place from which pilgrims look at Om Parvat, a peak whose snow forms a shape like the Om symbol. In 2020 the Border Roads Organisation finished a road from Dharchula to Lipulekh Pass. In 2023 it began building a 6.5 kilometre road from the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam huts at Nabhidhang to the pass, and a Kailash View Point from which Mount Kailash is meant to be visible from Indian soil. These works shorten the walking but leave the altitude and the weather unchanged.

How Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is kept

Pilgrims join in batches, with the 2026 plan setting about 1,000 people travelling in groups of 50. They begin on the Indian side of the border, walk to the last camp, cross a high pass into Tibet, and travel on to the mountain. Most then walk the kora, the circle around Mount Kailash, climbing Dolma La Pass and resting at Dirapuk and Zuthulphuk monasteries before coming back to Darchen. Some also circle Lake Manasarovar and take a dip in its water. Priests and organisers arrange the camps along the route.

When and where

The yatra is meant to happen every year. India's Ministry of External Affairs announced in 2026 that it would run between June and August, after a suspension that began in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic. Warm months suit the high passes, and the dates need both governments to agree.

The journey belongs to the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, where Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar stand, and to the Indian side of the border, where the walking routes begin. The Lipulekh route starts at Dharchula in Uttarakhand; a second route uses Nathu La in Sikkim. Pilgrims come from India and from Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Bon communities elsewhere.

What Kailash Mansarovar Yatra means

Those who go see the journey as more than travel. The mountain is the centre of the world for several faiths at once, and reaching it is a way of facing a hard road on purpose. Bathing in Lake Manasarovar is held to remove sin, and completing the yatra is said to bring moksha, liberation. Walking around the mountain stands for clearing the effects of past actions. Bon followers make the same circle the other way, marking how each community reads the same holy ground.

Questions people ask about Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

See also

Prayer wheelA cylindrical wheel spun in Tibetan Buddhist practice to accumulate merit and wisdomLalbaugcha RajaA Mumbai Ganesha festival where millions seek blessings before ocean immersionFire templeA consecrated sanctuary where Zoroastrians tend sacred fires and gather for worshipTibetan prayer flagColorful cloth banners printed with mantras, hung in high places to spread blessings on the wind.

Good reading and sources

• India, China move to normalise ties, Kailash Mansarovar Yatra to resume in June after 5 yearsThe Indian Express, Article
• India, China move to normalise ties, Kailash Mansarovar Yatra to resume in June after 5 yearsThe Indian Express, Article

• Kailash Mansarovar Yatra on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.