Kailash Manasarovar Yatra 2025: 750 pilgrims selected via computerised draw — start date, routes and other details

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday said 750 pilgrims have been selected through a computerised draw of lots for the upcoming Kailash Manasarovar Yatra 2025, which will take place after a gap of nearly five years.

As many as 5,561 people, including 4,024 men and 1,537 women applicants, had registered online for the pilgrimage, the ministry said.

This year's pilgrimage will start in June and continue until August.

The pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake in China's Tibet Autonomous Region holds religious significance to Hindus as well as Jains and Buddhists.

The External Affairs Ministry is the organiser of the pilgrimage.

Kirti Vardhan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs, conducted the computerised draw to select the pilgrims who had registered online.

The pilgrims were selected through a "fair, computer-generated, random, gender-balanced" process, the ministry said.

According to the MEA, the pilgrims will travel in five batches of 50 people via the Lipulekh route, and 10 batches of 50 pilgrims each through the Nathu La route.

"Both routes are now fully motorable, and involve very little trekking," it said in a statement.

Singh highlighted the steps taken by the government to make the Yatra more accessible and the process more transparent, while ensuring the safety and well-being of pilgrims.

He called on the pilgrims to undertake the pilgrimage with a sense of responsibility, humility and mindfulness, while caring for each other and protecting the sanctity of the environment.

Resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra was suspended initially in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequently because of the military standoff between India and China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

The resumption of the pilgrimage is seen as an attempt to normalise India-China ties.

In January, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Beijing and held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Sun Weidong.

In the meeting, the two sides decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and agreed to take certain people-centric steps to "stabilise and rebuild" ties.