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The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in Tibet, an autonomous region of China, can now be completed in six days.

Simrik Air has brought a six-day package of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra that starts from Nepalgunj in southern western Nepal and ends in Nepalgunj.

It has been learnt that Simrik Air brought this package after China resumed the Kailash Yatra, which was closed after Covid-19 pandemic. The Yatra has remained closed since 2020.

Simrik Air, which has been providing this service to the Indian tourists, has now decided to provide this service to Nepalis also.

The package targeting Nepali tourists was brought as China has not opened visas for Indian tourists.

The package to Kailash, a religious pilgrimage of Hindus, has been brought to facilitate the Nepali pilgrims, said Muralidhar Joshi, General Manager of Simrik Air.

Simrik Air is launching this package on June 24. The interested visitors have to book the seat till June 5 for the same.  

It has been said that 15 persons will be taken at one time.

The Simrik Air has an aim to take 500 people to Kailash Mansarovar in three months—from June to August.

Simrik Air has collaborated with various local hotels, tour guides and other organizations to make the package successful.

The total cost of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is Rs 250, 000.

This amount will cover the entire travel expenses from visa fee to food and accommodation.

The visa to China should be applied 15 days before the journey.

Simrik Air will arrange everything. One has to pay Rs 50, 000 in advance to book the seat.

How to get to Mansarovar?

According to the package of Simrik Air, one has to reach Nepalgunj from any corner of the country.

The flight from Nepalgunj is the shortest route for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. That is why, Nepalgunj has been the baseline.

Simrik Air has collaborated with Diamond Hotel in Nepalgunj.

The travel desk of the hotel will provide all the information about the trip.

After staying one night at the hotel, the helicopter of the Simrik Air will take you to Simikot the next day. Simrik Air has partnered with Tara and Summit Air for the flight.

It will take 40 to 45 minutes from Nepalgunj to Simikot.

Simrik Air has collaborated with Vijay Hotel in Simikot for the Mansarovar package.

The dinner for that night will be arranged in the Vijay Hotel.

After spending one night at Simikot, which is situated at an altitude of 3, 000 meters, the Simrik Air chopper will take you to Hilsa the next day.

It will take around 20 minutes to reach Hilsa, the China-Nepal border.

After reaching Hilsa, the Nepali agent Sunrise Kailash Travel will complete the immigration process.

Following the completion of the immigration process, the tourist bus will take you to Taklakot, 27 km from Hilsa.

It has been said that Nepali food will be served as lunch and dinner there.

You will reach Kailash Mansarovar, on the fifth day of the journey.

The bus journey from Taklakot to Mansarovar will be of around one-and-half hours. After reaching Mansarovar, one can take a holy bath and perform puja.

It will take around three hours to encircle the pristine 98 km Mansarovar lake in the bus, which is also included in the package.

After a 25 to 30 km drive from the lake, the pilgrims will be taken to Yamadwar, located at an elevation of 5, 000 from sea level, from where you can see a clear and close view of Mt Kailash Parbat.

After providing packet foods to pilgrims at Yamadwar, they will be taken to Taklakot again.

On the sixth day of the package, they will be taken to Nepalgunj via Hilsa, Simikot from Taklakot.

Attraction of this package

The Mansarovar Yatra package brought by Simik Air is shorter than other packages. Another thing is that the insurance is also included in this package.

Simrik Air General Manager Joshi said that the insurance will cover medical expenses up to Rs 500, 000 and Rs 1 million in case of accident and death in collaboration with Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company.

Similarly, the helicopter will take the pilgrims to the nearest health post and hospital if they experience any health problems.

Another attraction of the Mansarovar Yatra package is that you can pay travel expenses in bank installments.

Simrik Air has made an agreement with Machhapuchhare, Nabil, Himalaya and Nepal Investment Mega Bank for the bank installment facility.

The Himalaya Bank will provide you a time of one year and the remaining three banks will provide you a time of three months to pay the installment.

The South Asian University (SAU), a regional institution established by the eight member nations of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), is facing a severe financial crisis. 

According to its President KK Aggarwal, member countries except India are withholding their agreed-upon contributions, hindering the university's operations.

It seems that stalemate in the SAARC summit is also having spillover effects on SAU funding.

Some member countries have not made contributions in five years, said Aggarwal.

“I have been personally reaching out to the member states, but they have not paid, despite expressing agreement in principle,” he added. 

Aggrawal was recently in Kathmandu, where he held talks with representatives of the SAARC Secretariat and other government officials. 

For the operation of the campus, India shoulders a significant funding burden, contributing 57 percent of the university's budget. The remaining 43 percent is meant to be shared by the other countries, with Afghanistan currently inactive due to the Taliban takeover in 2021.

While the member states participate in SAARC activities, their financial commitments to the university remain unfulfilled. 

The university’s board has also not been meeting regularly, which has exacerbated the problem faced by the institution. The 11th meeting of the board took place in late 2023, six years after its previous meeting in 2017. 

Aggarwal told ApEx that he was exploring short-term funding solutions. In order to launch new programs, he emphasized the need for additional resources. The SAU operates within the framework of SAARC. Decisions regarding its funding are made collectively by member countries and communicated through proper channels. 

Schools in the Tulsipur Sub-Metropolitan City would remain closed for five days following the excessive heat.

The schools would be closed for five days from May 31 after students started facing health complications due to a rise in temperature for the past few days.

Coordinator of Social Development Committee, Man Bahadur Rawat, said the schools are asked to close their teaching learning activities from May 31 to June 4.

Chief of Education Division of the Sub-Metropolitan City, Chakra Bahadur Bhandari, mentioned that a meeting of the municipal education committee decided to close all community and institutional schools in Tulasipur for five days after the temperature of Dang district was recorded more than 39 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, schools operated within Rapti Rural Municipality are closed for two days starting today following the excessive heat.

A new species of bird was spotted in Ghodaghodi Bird Sanctuary of Kailali. The Sanctuary is located in Ghodaghodi Wetlands, which is listed in the World Ramsar List.

The new discovery was made during a bird census held at the Sanctuary from May 20 to 26. Oriental Dollarbird locally known as Lalchuche Theuwa was found for the first time in the Sanctuary.

Also known by its scientific name of Eurystomus orientalis, Lalchuche Theuwa migrates to Nepal from India and Bangladesh during the summer season. A pair of Lalchuche Theuwa was spotted in the Bethani area of Ghodaghodi, said Hirulal Dagoura, facilitator at Bird Conservation Nepal.

With the addition of this new species, the number of birds found in Ghodaghodi Wetlands has reached 381.

The bird census has been carried out in coordination with the Division Forest Office and the Bird Conservation Nepal with the objective of updating on the species, number and condition of summer migratory birds.