The Kailash kora is closed for 2026

What happened at Kailash on 26 September 2026?

The Purang Cultural and Tourism Bureau closed the Kailash kora and the Mount Kailash Scenic Area from 2 p.m. on 26 September, after a day of heavy snow.

Explore Tibet reported that snow had been falling since 25 September, with 10 to 20 cm of new snow and temperatures down 4 to 8 °C. The bureau gave the safety of tourists and local pilgrims as the reason and said the reopening date "will be announced once the weather clears". Local authorities started moving people off the route.

Getting out was the next problem. Parts of the G219 highway went under temporary traffic control, the Darchen to Saga road was partly closed, and Purang to Lhasa flights were cancelled "for the time being". Some trekkers sat out extra nights in Darchen. Snow Lion Tours added that vehicle trips around Darchen, including the drive to Lake Manasarovar, were suspended too.

Are Kailash permits suspended from 20 October 2026?

Reported, not officially published. Explore Tibet posted on 21 October that Tibet Travel Permits for the Kailash kora are suspended from 20 October 2026.

The line comes from the Explore Tibet permit updates page: "Tibet Travel Permits for the Mount Kailash Kora trek have been suspended effective 20 October 2026." It is an operator report rather than a notice from the Tibet Tourism Bureau, so ask your own agency what it has been told.

It fits the calendar anyway. Most operators stop running Kailash in mid October. Explore Tibet's own fixed departures end on 18 October, and the lake freezes from about November to March, when most local businesses close. A permit stop in late October mostly confirms what the snow already decided.

I am booked for October or November 2026. What happens now?

Your Kailash trip will not run as planned. Ask the operator to move it to a 2027 date first, and only then talk refunds.

No permit means no Kailash, and no agency can work around that. What you get back depends on your contract, not on the closure. One Nepal operator, for example, publishes terms that keep the deposit, allow free rescheduling to any date within a year with seven days' notice, and refund what has not yet been spent if the agency cannot run the trip. Yours may differ. Read it before you call.

Moving the date is usually the better deal. Your passport copy and details are already on file, and operators such as Explore Tibet already list departures from Lhasa for April 2027. If you only have the time this year, a Lhasa, Everest Base Camp and Namtso trip can still make sense in late autumn, since it does not depend on the Kailash permit. Check that it is running too: winter rules can change fast.

Can you still visit Lake Manasarovar this winter?

No. The lake sits inside the closed area, the Kailash permit covers the lake trip as well, and the region shuts down for winter anyway.

Lake Manasarovar is about 30 to 40 km by road from Darchen, in the same Purang county as the mountain. Tours reach it on the same permit run as the kora, so the suspension stops lake trips as well. Snow Lion Tours listed the drive to the lake among the suspended trips in September.

Even in an open year, winter here is not a tour season. At about 4,590 m the lake freezes from roughly November to March, according to China Highlights, and the guesthouses at Chiu close in heavy snow. Our guide to the best time to go has the month-by-month picture.

When does the Kailash kora reopen in 2027?

No date has been announced. In recent years the scenic area reopened in late April, and most group tours restart in April or May.

The reopening is announced locally each spring, once the snow on the Dolma La allows it. In 2025 the scenic area held an opening ceremony on 25 April, according to Tibet Tourism. For 2027, Explore Tibet already lists fixed departures from 5 April. A tour that leaves Lhasa then spends its first week acclimatising and driving west, so it reaches Darchen in mid April.

Those early departures depend on the snow. If you want the full kora with the best odds, aim for May or June. The 2027 season outlook covers Saga Dawa, the Indian yatra calendar and the booking timeline.

How do I book a Kailash trip for 2027?

Pick your month, book with a licensed agency at least two months ahead, and let them apply for the permit about 25 days before you travel.

Foreign passport holders cannot travel to Kailash on their own. A registered Tibet agency arranges the Tibet Travel Permit and the extra Kailash permits, and a licensed guide stays with you. The usual lead time for the permits is about 25 days, so the operator needs your passport and visa copies before then. Booking well ahead mainly secures a seat on a fixed departure and a bed on the kora.

From Lhasa, the small-group Kailash tour takes the slow road west with time to acclimatise, which matters at the Dolma La. Holders of Indian passports follow a different channel: see the yatra for Indians. From Kathmandu, the 11-day pilgrimage tour and the 15-day yatra are the alternatives; ask how they route in 2027 while Kyirong is shut. Our guide to what a Kailash tour includes lists what a group tour covers and what you arrange yourself.

Fifteen days from Lhasa in a small group, per the listing, with the Kailash trek and Lake Manasarovar. Ask for its spring 2027 dates.

15-Day Kailash & Manasarovar Small Group · 15 days

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