Nepal has stirred up a diplomatic storm over an agreement between India and China to allow the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra through the Kalapani-Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh region, reiterating its claims over the territory.
Nepal’s Foreign Ministry formally objected to the India-China agreement, asserting that the high-altitude Himalayan crossing sits on Nepali soil.
It told its two neighbours that neither nation has the right to use the route to Kailash Mansarovar without its approval.
The statement, issued on Sunday (May 3, 2026) in Kathmandu, is the latest in the territorial dispute between India and Nepal.
It comes amidst plans for India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to visit Nepal soon.
In response to media queries on the Nepali Foreign Ministry’s objections, Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi’s position on the Kalapani-Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh region was consistent and clear.
Jaiswal said Lipulekh Pass had been a long-standing route for the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra since 1954, and the Yatra through the route had been going on for decades. “This is not a new development,” he said.
Regarding Nepal’s territorial claims, he said India had consistently maintained that such statements were “neither justified nor based on historical facts and evidence.”
Such unilateral artificial enlargement of territorial claims is untenable, he said, adding that India remained open to “a constructive interaction” with Nepal on all issues in the bilateral relationship, including on resolving agreed outstanding boundary issues through dialogue and diplomacy.
India’s MEA had announced recently that the 2026 Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, a sacred pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in Tibet, would be held between June and August in coordination with Beijing.
India expects 1,000 pilgrims to travel to Kailash Manasarovar in batches of 50 people using two routes. The first route would be through the Nathu La Pass in Sikkim, and another through the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand.
India has already opened the online registration for the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra for 2026, with a deadline set for May 19 to fill the application.
Nepal claimed it was not consulted or informed about using the Lipulekh Pass and that it had raised the matter with both India and China through diplomatic channels.
Nepal once again claimed that the Lipulekh region was an integral part of Nepal and asked both India and China to refrain from conducting any activities in the region, be it road laying, border trade, or religious pilgrimage