The Embassy of India in Kathmandu has issued a travel advisory, urging Indian nationals visiting Kailash-Mansarovar to avoid the route via Nepal.

Since weather conditions are expected to deteriorate in the weeks to come, Indian citizens are advised to avoid the Nepalgunj-Simikot- Hilsa route, the embassy said in a statement on Wednesday.

Nepalgunj-Simikot-Hilsa is considered a difficult route given the treacherous geographical terrain, but many Indian nationals prefer this route to reach Kailash-Mansarovar which is close to China border.

Only this week, over 500 Indian nationals, mostly pilgrims en route to Kailash-Mansarovar via Nepal, were stranded in Hilsa and Simikot due to bad weather and officials faced a hard time evacuating them.

All these pilgrims were part of private Indian tour operators and their travel and logistics were arranged by private companies. With the help of Nepali security officials, most of these Indian pilgrims were airlifted from the Hilsa-Simikot section.

Indians in large numbers have been making own arrangements for the Kailash-Mansarovar journey via Nepalgunj-Simikot-Hilsa route, the embassy said, adding that many were facing logistical problems in Hilsa and Simikot due to bad weather conditions, which prevent regular evacuation from Hilsa to Simikot by helicopter and Simikot to Nepalgunj by fixed-wing aircraft.