As the first dose of Indian pilgrims since 2020, Mansarovar has visited the lake for the return trip to Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, expressing the hope that India and China could agree to allow more Yatris in the future years.
Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar are located in the Tibetan autonomous area of China.
This first dose of pilgrims left Delhi on June 15 and arrived this week to Darchen to start a Parikram or a circular route around Mount Kailash. On Saturday (June 28, 2025) they will return and July 1 will go to India and finish the road about 2,000 km, walk up the hill and robust terrain about 52 km on foot. When they touched the untouched blue waters of Lake Mansarovar, the highest freshwater lakes in the world in 4,588 meters, they invaded meditation singing.
The pilgrimage is the first restoration of the mechanism between people between India and China after a military distance on the line of real control began in 2020.
‘Expand the experience’
“This Yatra has only been happening for three months and only 750 people were allowed this year. Like Yatri and because of the experience we got here, we would like both governments to allow more and more people to experience it too,” said Vineet Gupta, 43 -year -old Bombai software professional. Mr. Gupta, one of the 36 pilgrims who, on Wednesday (June 25, 2025) and Parikrama around Mansarovar Lake on Friday (June 27, 2025), completed a challenging trek rather than tired.
“In all our letters, it is said that the gods come to bathe every day. So when we take water, we believe that our sins are liberated and that we are saving,” said Mansarovar Lake asked about the meaning of water.
Growing tourist nunbers
According to the reaction of the Ministry for External Affairs, the number of pilgrims could join Yatra every year – which is negotiating among Indian Foreign Ministries and China – every year he fluctuated since the route was reopened for the first time in 1981.
In 2015, the Nath La Pass route was also added to the existing route through the Lipulekh Pass via Uttarakhand and 999 pilgrims performed a pilgrimage. Until 2019, the number increased to 1,364. Since the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted Yatra and the LAC tension since 2020, which has thrown shadow, this year’s cohort is much smaller.
Yatris noted that many whose names were selected by a computer lottery from about 5,000 applicants have not passed medical tests. While each dose is to include 50 pilgrims, the first dose had only 36. In recent years, the Chinese government has also limited the lake visitors in the lake and quoted “environmental purposes”, the Chinese official in Delhi said.
“Educate Pilgrims”
The retirement manager of Devi Prasad Ketkar, 61 who traveled from Bombai along with his wife, said Yatra was “out of his dreams” because he has been disgraced in the last six years by his suspension.
Asked if more pilgrims who can join Yatra could affect holy places, Mr. Ketkar said it was more important to educate visitors than to reduce their number.
“I think the limitation of the number of pilgrims should not matter how it is necessary to educate the ecological travel of AO, how we need to treat the environment. This education is more important to all than restrictions on travel,” Ketkar said in answering the question of Hindu.
The first dose of pilgrims includes men and women aged 20 to 69 years, all of whom were able to complete the path so far without medical problems, especially due to altitude, the group said. The oldest of them is 69 -year -old Pradnya Devi. The Silver-Lady lady lit up with joy when she prayed that Mount Kailash clearly saw Mansarovar from the shores and sprinkled water from the lake above her head, as well as the habit. Mrs. Devi took the promise of silence for the Yatra period and responded to questions only with head trembling. When asked if she wanted to stay longer, she nodded strongly and smiled wide.
Published – 27th June 2025 23:14
