The Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage via the traditional Uttarakhand route has begun from Friday with the first batch of devotees reaching Kathgodam around 1 pm.
The Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) officials in charge of the pilgrimage welcomed the pilgrims at Kathgodam.
There were 58 devotees, including 11 women, in this batch. The pilgrims received a traditional welcome here with ‘Chholiya dance’. The first batch of the pilgrims later left for Almora. “Our spirits are high. The warm hospitality that we have received here has made us more buoyant,” said one of the pilgrims
After staying in Almora at night on Friday, the batch of the pilgrims will leave for Dharchula on Saturday morning.
The Chief Minister Harish Rawat is expected to receive the pilgrimage in Almora on June 13 before it leaves for Dharchula. As many as 1080 pilgrims in 18 batches (60 pilgrims in each batch) would visit Kailash Mansarovar this year. The pilgrimage will continue till September.
Meanwhile, all the necessary preparations have been put in place to ensure safe and comfortable Kailash Mansarovar yatra via Uttarakhand this year too, claimed officials from Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) that looks after hospitality aspect of the ‘yatra’.
As per the traditional route of Uttarakhand, the pilgrimage under the overall supervision of the Ministry of External Affairs starts from New Delhi. It covers different hill tourist destinations of Kumaon division, including, Kathgodam, Almora, Dharchula, Narayan Ashram, Sirkha, Gala, Bundi, Gunji, Nabhidhang and lipupass before it ends in Kailash Mansarovar.
Interestingly, though a new route - a motorised one to Kailash Mansarovar via Nathu-la pass in Sikkim - has been opened from this year, enthusiasm among the devotees going through the old Uttarakhand route is huge.
The pilgrims would trek 82 km in the Indian territory from Narayan Ashram in Pithoragarh to the lipu Pass.