News & Updates

Changes to route status, permits, and travel conditions. Checked weekly, more often during active Yatra season.

• 2026-07-09

  Nepalgunj-to-Hilsa road corridor completed, ending Humla's road isolation

  In July 2025, Nepal completed the long-delayed Karnali Corridor road (Jamunaha/Nepalgunj to Hilsa via Simikot), with a Bailey bridge over the Chuwa river as the final link — Humla district's first-ever connection to Nepal's national road network, after a project first launched in 1999. This is the same Nepalgunj–Simikot–Hilsa stretch this site's Nepal route covers, which our own account (and most current operators) still describes as two separate flights due to the historical absence of a through road. We haven't yet independently confirmed how reliable this road is for group pilgrim travel, or whether operators have actually started offering it as an alternative to the flights — treat the flight-based itinerary as still the well-established default for now, and check with your operator directly if a road option is offered.

  Affects: Nepal Route (Simikot – Hilsa)

• 2026-07-08

  Site launched

  This guide is newly live. Route-specific status pages for the India/Lipulekh, Sikkim/Nathu La, and independent Tibet-permit routes are being researched and will be filled in shortly.

• 2026-05-01

  2026 Yatra expanded to 20 batches (1,000 pilgrims) across both India government routes

  India's government-organized Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, which resumed in June 2025 after a five-year suspension, expanded for the 2026 season to 20 total batches (10 via Lipulekh Pass, Uttarakhand and 10 via Nathu La Pass, Sikkim), 50 pilgrims each — 1,000 pilgrims total, up from 750 in 2025. The expansion follows an August 2025 agreement between India and China to "expand the scale" of the pilgrimage. The 2026 application window closed 19 May 2026; both routes are confirmed operating, with the first Nathu La batch crossing into Tibet on 20 June 2026. Separately, Nepal has formally protested India's continued use of the Lipulekh route through disputed territory — India has rejected the objection and the Yatra is proceeding as planned, but this is an unresolved issue worth watching in future seasons.

  Affects: India Route (Lipulekh Pass, Uttarakhand), Sikkim Route (Nathu La Pass)