Overview
- India’s Ministry of External Affairs, which announced the 2026 programme on Thursday, set two routes — Lipulekh in Uttarakhand and Nathu La in Sikkim — with 10 batches of 50 pilgrims on each route.
- Applications are live at kmy.gov.in with a May 19 deadline, and a fully digital, computer‑generated draw will pick pilgrims at random in a gender‑balanced process.
- China’s embassy said Friday it will facilitate travel for 1,000 Indian pilgrims, matching the MEA’s total of 1,000 and countering some reports that incorrectly cited 2,000.
- Eligibility rules require Indian citizenship and a valid passport, ages 18 to 70, a body mass index of 25 or less, and two medical screenings, including checks by the Indo‑Tibetan Border Police in Delhi and on the route.
- The yatra resumed in 2025 after a halt from 2020 to 2024 due to COVID‑19 and border tensions, and officials frame this year’s cross‑border batches as part of broader confidence‑building between India and China.