It has been due to the persistent efforts of the new Indian Government that China finally agreed to allow Indian pilgrims along the new route to Kailash-Mansarovar, one of the most important Hindu pilgrimmages.

It was overcast and icy cold at the border. Nathu La pass, or Nai Dui La in Tibetan, is 14,000 feet high. The pilgrims, mostly above the age of 60 years, were given a warm welcome by Chinese officials at Nathu La Pass. From the Indian side they are accompanied by a Foreign Ministry liaison official and five other staff for onward journey to Kailash-Mansarovar. The Chinese ambassador, Le Yucheng, had reached Sikkim for the event from Delhi on Sunday night.

The yatra to Kailash-Mansarovar via Nathu La Pass has been described as an easier and safe route compared to the traditional trek via the toughest and treacherous terrain through Lipulekh in Uttarakhand to reach Kailash-Mansarovar in Chinese-occupied Tibet. Several times in the past the Foreign Ministry-conducted yatra via Lipulekh had met with disasters, pilgrims perishing en masse in natural calamities like flash floods, landslips, avalanches and earthquakes. The physical distance via Uttarakhand is negligible compared to the time taken in trekking, 25 days. In contrast, Nathu La in the north-east of India to Kailash in the south-west of Tibet, in fact just across Uttarakhand, is 1,500 km, and takes 23 days to complete the yatra. However, the advantages of the new route are that even old people can undertake the pilgrimmage as it is by bus and the Chinese have made all necessary arrangements to make the travel comfortable.

On Lipulekh route (SEE ROUTE MAP) trekking involves about 200 km, 35 km for parikrama of Kailash-Mansarovar. On some stretches ponies are also available. The Ministry of External Affairs arranges for yatra of 18 batches of 60 pilgrims each and it takes 25 days, from June to September. However, due to the 2013 flash floods in Uttarakhand the yatra was suspended last year. The changed routes, pending road repair, are more arduous.

From Nathu La Pass in Sikkim, on the new route opened on June 22 (SEE ROUTE MAP), the Ministry of External Affairs arranges for yatra of 5 batches of 50 pilgrims each and it takes 23 days by bus, from June to September. However, it involves, as is in the former case, a trekking of 35 km for parikrama of Kailash-Mansarovar.

On the new route, the Tibet Autonomous Region has built new hotels and improved roads and will provide translators, tour guides and Indian food.

A small trading town of Xiasima, located around 50 km from Nathu La Pass, is in Yadong county, in Tibet, wedged between Sikkim and Bhutan. It is the starting point of the yatra. The Chinese guide the pilgrims from Nathu La Pass to Yadong and thereafter. Yadong, nearly 500 km from the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) Capital Lhasa, at a height of around 10,000 feet, is surrounded by mountains.

The Kailash-Mansarovar yatra, conducted by the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in association with the Chinese Government, costs a pilgrim Rs 1.8 lakh, Rs 30,000 more than for the traditional route.

Inaugurating the new route to Kailash-Mansarovar via Nathu la Pass on Monday (June 22, 2015), the Vice-Chairperson of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), Dong Ming Jun, said, "For improving infrastructure facilities and upgrading traffic conditions, reception facilities and medical aid, a package of measures have been adopted to ensure the safe trip of Indian pilgrims."

The opening of the new Kailash-Mansarovar route via Nathu La was announced during the visit of the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to China recently. "The Nathu La route for Indian pilgrims to visit Kailash-Mansarovar will become operational in June. I want to thank China for that," Modi had said.

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June 22, 2015