Nearly 3,000 foreign tourists en route to Kailash Mansarovar have been stranded in Kathmandu due to delays in visa verification by the Chinese Embassy, according to Nepali tour operators.
The visa process, which previously took three days, is now taking over 10 days with no guarantee of approval, leaving thousands of pilgrims waiting in hotels in Kathmandu. Most of the affected tourists are Indian nationals and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) traveling through Nepal.
Ramesh Ojha, managing director of Ojha Holiday Tours and Treks Pvt. Ltd., said the prolonged visa verification process has severely impacted tourism businesses during the peak pilgrimage season. “Tourism entrepreneurs are in trouble because of this new policy,” he said.
To make matters worse, recent floods in Rasuwa have forced the closure of the Rasuwagadhi-Kerung route—one of the main land routes to Mansarovar—compelling operators to seek alternate travel arrangements. While most Indian pilgrims used the Rasuwagadhi route, high-end travelers and NRIs often fly via Simikot in Humla or through Lhasa, China.
Several prominent tour companies including Ojha Holidays, Richa Travels and Tours, Eco Trek, Heritage Tours and Travel, Sunny Travel, and Trekkers' Society offer Kailash Mansarovar packages. These companies report mounting losses due to the extended stay of tourists, as they must manage accommodation, transport, and logistics beyond the planned itinerary — costs that exceed the earnings from the tour packages.
“We are the worst hit,” said Surya Pathak, managing director of Soham Journeys Pvt. Ltd. “Managing extended stays is costing us more than what we earn from the tour packages.” His company, which previously sent up to 3,000 tourists annually, expects to manage barely 1,000 this year. In 2019, the company had facilitated travel for nearly 4,000 pilgrims.
Tour operators estimate that tourists traveling to Mansarovar via Nepal account for about 20 percent of the total pilgrims visiting the sacred Hindu site in Tibet. The pilgrimage season runs from May to September, and roughly 25,000 tourists take this tour each year, according to the Association of Kailash Tour Operators—a network of 30 companies.
Namaraj Joshi, the owner of Mumbai-based Leisure Port, expressed frustration over having to wait in Kathmandu with a group of 39 travelers. “It’s been over 10 days and we’re still waiting,” he said.
The issue was raised during a meeting of the House of Representatives' International Relations and Tourism Committee on July 6. Lawmakers urged the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Badri Prasad Pandey, to intervene. In response, Minister Pandey pledged to take the matter up with the Chinese Embassy through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to expedite the visa process.
Currently, tourists traveling via Nepal must appear in person at the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu for visa verification, which is processed after obtaining entry permission from Lhasa. Previously, visas were issued within three days after passport submission.
Tour operators report that the cost of the pilgrimage ranges from Rs 250,000 to 300,000 for Indian citizens and can exceed Rs 1 million for NRIs. A significant number of NRIs from the US, UK, Canada, and Australia use Nepal as a transit hub for the pilgrimage. -- RSS
