India rejects Nepal’s objection to Kailash Mansarovar Yatra via Lipulekh Pass

India announced the resumption of the annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra for June–August 2026, to be conducted through two routes: Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand ...

What Happened

India announced the resumption of the annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra for June–August 2026, to be conducted through two routes: Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand and Nathu La Pass in Sikkim.
Nepal's foreign ministry objected to the Lipulekh route, claiming the territory belongs to Nepal and that preparations were made without consulting Kathmandu.
Nepal also raised concerns with China, as the yatra crosses into Tibet (administered by China), alleging both countries bypassed Nepal in the bilateral arrangement.
India's Ministry of External Affairs rejected Nepal's objection, stating that Lipulekh Pass has served as the established route for the yatra since 1954.
The Ministry characterised Nepal's territorial claim as a "unilateral artificial enlargement" that is "untenable" and "neither justified nor based on historical facts and evidence."

Static Topic Bridges

Treaty of Sugauli (1816) and the Kali River Origin Dispute

The Treaty of Sugauli, signed on 4 March 1816 between the British East India Company and Nepal following the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–1816), demarcated Nepal's western boundary as the Kali River. The dispute over Lipulekh, Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura arises from disagreement over where the Kali River originates. Nepal holds that the river originates at Limpiyadhura, which would place the contested tri-junction area within Nepali territory. India maintains the river originates further east at a rivulet called Pankhagad, placing Kalapani on its side. British cartographic surveys shifted alignment multiple times between 1816 and 1879, creating the ambiguity that drives the current dispute.

The Treaty of Sugauli caused Nepal to lose approximately one-third of its territory (from ~267,000 sq. km to ~147,000 sq. km).
The contested area encompasses Kalapani (~35 sq. km under the earlier claim) and up to ~370 sq. km including Limpiyadhura under Nepal's 2020 revised map.
Nepal issued a new political map in May 2020 incorporating Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani, which India rejected.
Nepal has since printed the revised map on its Rs 100 currency note.

Connection to this news: The Lipulekh Pass sits at the centre of this unresolved boundary, making its use as a yatra route a recurring flashpoint. India's position is that the pilgrimage use of the pass since 1954 constitutes long-standing practice, not a new territorial assertion.

Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura Tri-junction and Strategic Significance

The Kalapani region is a strategically significant tri-junction area bordering India, Nepal, and Tibet (China). Following the 1962 India-China war, India deployed security forces at Kalapani to strengthen frontier defence. Lipulekh Pass is historically the most important of the high-altitude passes in this area because it is the closest to the Tibetan trading centre of Purang and provides direct access to Mount Kailash — a site of pilgrimage for Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains. Border trade through Lipulekh between India and China was formalised in 1954, the same year the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra route through this pass was established.

Lipulekh Pass is located in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand at an altitude of approximately 5,334 metres.
Nepal's protests regarding Kalapani began formally in 1997, after India and China agreed to reopen the pass for trade.
The 2020 dispute was triggered by India constructing a road linking Dharchula to Lipulekh for strategic and pilgrimage access.

Connection to this news: Nepal's objection to the yatra is inseparable from its broader territorial assertion. India's resumption of the yatra through Lipulekh — framed as a continuation of a 70-year-old practice — directly contests Nepal's revised claims without formally reopening border negotiations.

Kailash Mansarovar Yatra — Organisation and Routes

The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs. The pilgrimage holds religious significance for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Bon practitioners. It has been conducted along two primary routes: the Lipulekh Pass route (Uttarakhand) — the older and more traditional path — and the Nathu La Pass route (Sikkim), opened in 2015. The yatra was suspended from 2020 due to COVID-19 and the subsequent India-China border tensions following the Galwan Valley clash. Its resumption in 2025, and again in 2026, is a marker of normalisation in India-China relations after the 2020 disengagement.

The Lipulekh route has been in continuous use for pilgrimage since 1954.
The Nathu La route through Sikkim was inaugurated in 2015.
The yatra operates June through August each year due to high-altitude weather conditions.
Its suspension from 2020 to 2024 coincided with the India-China military standoff in eastern Ladakh.

Connection to this news: Resumption of the yatra through Lipulekh signals not only India-China diplomatic thaw but also reaffirms India's administrative and practical control over the pass — making Nepal's objection both a bilateral and a trilateral diplomatic issue.

Key Facts & Data

Treaty of Sugauli signed: 4 March 1816
Lipulekh Pass altitude: approximately 5,334 metres above sea level
Lipulekh Pass as yatra route: in use since 1954
Nathu La route inaugurated: 2015
Nepal's revised territorial map released: May 2020 (expanding claim from ~35 sq. km to ~370 sq. km)
Yatra suspended: 2020–2024 (India-China border tensions + COVID-19)
Yatra scheduled: June–August 2026 via both Lipulekh and Nathu La
Kalapani located in: Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand (India's position) / Darchula district (Nepal's claim)
Countries at the tri-junction: India, Nepal, China (Tibet Autonomous Region)