932 Indian pilgrims visit Mount Kailash via Humla

By Rajan Rajat,Humla, July 11: A total of 932 Indian pilgrims have visited Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar through the Hilsa border in Humla. These pilgrims came during Baisakh, Jestha, and Asar (mid-April to early July).

According to hotel and tourism entrepreneur Mimba Bahadur Tamang, all 932 pilgrims flew to Simkot Airport. Of them, two pilgrims came in April, four in May, and 926 in June, travelling through Simkot and Hilsa to reach Mount Kailash.

Among the visitors, 432 were women and 500 were men. This flow is expected to continue. Tourism entrepreneur Lama said that this year, around 20,000 Indian pilgrims are expected to visit Mount Kailash via both Rasuwa (Kerung border) and Humla (Hilsa border). Since the Rasuwa route has been closed due to floods, more traffic is expected through the Hilsa route, he added.

Flights increasing rapidly

At present, the Simkot Airport, located in Humla’s district headquarters, is handling up to 49 flights a day. This includes flights from Nepalgunj to Simkot by airplane, and from Simkot to Hilsa by helicopter.

According to Mahendra Singh, Chief of the Civil Aviation Authority at Simkot, this is the highest number of flights since the COVID pandemic. He said that flights have increased after China reopened the Hilsa route for Indian pilgrims travelling to Mount Kailash.

Currently, seven aircraft are flying pilgrims from Nepalgunj to Simkot. This includes three planes from Summit Air and two each from Sita Air and Tara Air. If the weather is favourable, these planes make between 7 to 14 flights daily.

Similarly, five helicopters are stationed at Simkot Airport to take Indian pilgrims from Simkot to Hilsa. These helicopters make 20 to 35 flights daily, depending on weather conditions. They start flying as early as 6:30 in the morning when the weather is clear.

Singh said that air traffic congestion is a growing problem at Simkot during flight hours. Sometimes planes or helicopters are forced to circle in the sky before being allowed to land or take off.