New Delhi: Nepal on Sunday reiterated its territorial claim on Lipulekh, while opposing the recently announced Kailash Mansarovar Yatra between India and China.
The yatra will see 500 Indian pilgrims travel via Lipulekh to reach Kailash Mansarovar between June and August. India has in the past rejected Nepal’s claim.
“The Government of Nepal is completely clear and steadfast in the fact that Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani east of the Mahakali River are integral parts of Nepal since the Sugauli Treaty of 1816,” the Foreign Ministry of Nepal said in a statement.
The statement added, “The Government of Nepal has conveyed its clear stance and concerns to both India and China through diplomatic channels regarding the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, which is said to be conducted via Nepali territory, Lipulekh.”
Kathmandu further urged India to “not undertake any activities such as road construction of expansion, border trade and pilgrimage” through the pass.
The history of the Lipulekh pass has geopolitical undertones. Nepal has long protested Indian actions to build connectivity and carry out land trade with China through the pass.
Nepal had made claims to the pass in August 2025 too, after India and China announced resumption of trade through the pass. India at the time rejected Kathmandu’s claims.
Before that, the situation peaked in 2020 when Nepal released political maps to push its claims. The pass connects India with China, specifically near the town of Taklakot, a town in Ngari Prefecture of Tibet.
“The Government of Nepal is always committed to resolving the border issue through diplomatic means, in line with the spirit of the close and friendly relations between Nepal and India, based on historical treaties and agreements, facts, maps and evidence,” said the Foreign Ministry of Nepal Sunday.
India has long pointed out that trade between New Delhi and Beijing began in 1954 through the pass and continued till 1962. Trade resumed in 1992, after an almost three decade pause.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra has been using the pass as well. The Yatra had been halted during the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed in 2025, after ties between India and China started stabilising.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is one of the confidence building measures India and China announced last summer to stabilise ties.
Ties had cratered following the clashes at Galwan during the summer months of 2020. This year is the second one in a row that the Yatra is using the Lipulekh pass for pilgrims to pass through.
There has been a domestic upheaval in Nepal in the last few months. Balen Shah was sworn in as the new Prime Minister last month, following an interim administration running the country for almost half a year.
It should be noted that Nepal moved to amend its constitution to lay claim to the three territories. The move has long been rejected by India.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)