Hotels on the Nepalgunj-Simikot-Hilsa road are packed with Indian tourists bound for Kailash Manasarovar in China despite a travel advisory issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu to avoid the route due to weather conditions.

Likewise, airports in the region are seeing a surge in flights carrying pilgrims to the holy spot which is revered by Hindus and Buddhists alike.

On May 31, the Indian Embassy had advised Indian citizens against travelling on the route stating that weather conditions were expected to deteriorate in the following weeks.

The embassy issued the notice after a large number of visitors got stuck in Hilsa and Simikot in the mountainous region of north-western Nepal due to poor weather. Despite the notice, the number of visitors, mainly Indian pilgrims, taking the route to reach sacred Mt Kailash and Lake Manasarovar has swelled.

Rinjin Lama, proprietor of Kailash Hotel, said 500 visitors were currently making their way to Kailash. Refuting reports that travellers were having a hard time due to bad weather, Lama said the problem was accommodating stranded travellers after flights were disrupted.

Hoteliers said that visitors preferred special days like the new moon or full moon to visit Manasarovar. Keshab Neupane, managing director of the Siddhartha Hotel in Nepalgunj, said more than 1,000 guests had booked rooms for the upcoming special days.

The Siddhartha, Kalpatru, Sneha and Kitchen are among the popular hotels serving Indian visitors in Nepalgunj. Neupane said they had been compelled to turn away visitors as they were fully booked.

Most travellers headed for Kailash use the Simikot route. “Due to this reason, Nepalgunj, the gateway to western Nepal, is turning into a tourist hub,” said Saroj Chand, managing director of the Kalpatru Hotel.

There are 18 travel agencies providing services to visitors bound for the holy place. According to them, 8,000 visitors are expected to visit Kailash Manasarovar this year.

Last May, the number of pilgrims headed for the sacred site soared due to the occurrence of the feast day of Buddha Jayanti. More than 2,500 visitors have made hotel bookings for the upcoming full moon day, as per hotel owners. Arrivals swell during the May-September period.

Since 2005, a large number of Indian pilgrims have been using the Nepalgunj-Simikot-Hilsa-Manasarovar route. This itinerary gained increased importance after the Chinese government closed the Tatopani and Kyirong border points following last year’s earthquake.

Earlier, around 1,500 out of the estimated 15,000 visitors took this route.  

Mohan Gurung, an official of Explore Vacation, said it costs around IRs165,000 per person to visit Manasarovar. Airlines conduct two to three flights on the Nepalgunj-Simikot sector, carrying 400 visitors daily.

According to the data released by Humla Airport, 3,537 Indian pilgrims had visited the holy destination as of mid-June this year.

Travellers usually fly from Nepalgunj to Simikot by fixed-wing aircraft and then take a helicopter to Hilsa on the border with Tibet, China.