Gandhinagar, 17 September 2014

Each year around 6,000 pilgrims from Gujarat visit Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet in China. While Delhi-Kathmandu route by air takes 10 days and trekking route via Uttarakhand takes 27 days, the newer Nathula Pass route via Sikkim will take only 8 days to complete the yatra. Nathula Pass route was closed by Chinain year 1962. The route is now going to be reopened soon as per the agreement signed between India and China yesterday. Reopening of Nathula Pass route after over 50 years will make it possible to complete the Kailash Mansarovar yatra in around Rs. 60,000 cost. The presence package of same yatra costs Rs. 1,00,000. The route through Nathula will augment the capacity and reduce the hardship and journey time enabling many more pilgrims in particular aged pilgrims to undertake the Yatra.

Nathula Pass was a major corridor of passage between India and Tibet before it was closed in 1962. Located around 56 kms from Gangtok at an altitude of 14450 ft, the road to Nathula passes through the Tsomgo lake. It is one of the highest motorable roads in the world and is richly surrounded by alpine flora. On a clear day you can even see the road winding down the Chumbi valley. Tourists are allowed to go close to the international border from where you can see Chinese soldiers on the other side of the barbed wire.

Nathula is presently open for Indian nationals on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sundays just on Indian side of the border. The visitors have to get the permit to visit the place by applying to the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department through a registered and recognized Travel Agency. Foreign nationals are not allowed to visit Nathula. Photography is strictly prohibited. One can find ATM facility here which is the worlds highest Automated Teller Machine (ATM).

Nathula route will pass through the city of Shigatse, which is part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. The path that the Chinese have made after the Nathula Pass (a mountain pass between the north eastern province of Sikkim and Tibet) is a motorable road where pilgrim will be able to take car. This new route will be in addition to the Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand through which the yatra currently takes place.

This new route will be in addition to the Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand through which the yatra currently takes place through trekking.

A Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministries of External Affairs of India and China was signed in Delhi on Thursday allowing for the opening of the new route for Indian pilgrims to the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People’s Republic of China.

Addressing the media after the signing of the MoU, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the new route offers many benefits. “It makes Kailash Mansarovar accessible by a motorable road, which is especially beneficial for older pilgrims. It offers a safer alternative in the rainy season, makes the pilgrimage shorter in duration and will enable a much higher number of pilgrims to go there,” Modi said. The agreement was among the 12 inked after delegation-level talks between India and China here on Thursday.

In the past Shri Narendra Modi himself had visited Kailash Mansarovar through existing difficult route.