First flight to Kailash Mansarovar sparks new age in tourism

There is good news for all those who want to reach Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake by flight. In January 2024, the first flight to Kailash Mansarovar took off from Nepalgunj. 38 Indians were the lucky ones on that flight. The chartered flight is from Shri Airlines and is called Kailash–Mansarovar Darshan Flight. The Indians on that inaugural flight came from Mumbai, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and other cities.

Kailash Mansarovar Yatra by Flight

Tourists on board the flight saw never-before-seen views of Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake. As the plane soared to an altitude of over 27,000 ft all the tourists were in awe at the breathtaking landscapes and mountains of Tibet. Keshav Neupane, the Regional Director of Siddhartha Business Group, was ecstatic about this new venture. He spoke about this inaugural flight and said that there were 38 Indian tourists on board the flight. He further said that the flight took only one and a half hours to complete the trip to Kailash Mansarovar. He affirmed that plans were on for the next chartered flight, which is to be started in February. In addition, he further said that flights will eventually become more organized with an increase in demand. It will make the route to Mount Kailash Mansarovar more accessible for tourists.

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Mani Lamichhane, Director of the Nepal Tourism Board, also expressed his positive approach to this new venture. He said that Indians will not need to spend many days to undertake the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. They will only need 1.5 hours to visit them and that too, via chartered flight. He hoped that more and more Indians would now be able to reach Kailash Mansarovar by direct flight from Nepalgunj. He was positive about this new development and expressed great satisfaction that it would also boost border tourism. But more importantly, he pointed out that Nepalgunj was only 200 km northeast of Lucknow. Thus this strategic location of Nepalgunj is very important as pilgrims can reach Nepalgunj very easily by road from Lucknow. Previously, when pilgrims wanted to visit Kailash Mansarovar via Nepal had to reach Kathmandu by Road or Helicopter. Thus it was a lengthy route to Kailash Mansarovar.

Importance of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake are the highest pilgrimage sites in the world. Hindus, Buddhists, and Jain religions believe them to be of the highest spiritual importance. Both these pilgrimage sites are located high in the mountainous region of Ngari prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region. China re-opened the route to Kailash Mansarovar in 2023, the year after the COVID pandemic. However, it was not practical for Indians to visit both these sites as there were many visa restrictions and fees also were hiked. But with this new flight to Kailash Mansarovar, Indians can now rejoice that they can now enjoy the flight to these holy places and reach them without having to trek and tour for many days at a stretch.

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