Lipulekh Road: Replacing the long trek

When Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Lipulekh road link by video on 8 May 2020, he also flagged off vehicles travelling from Pithoragarh towards Gunji. The ceremony marked a substantial advance for a Himalayan route long associated with an arduous pilgrimage on foot. The Defence Ministry described an 80-km road from Ghatiabagarh towards Lipulekh, climbing from about 6,000 feet to more than 17,000 feet. [1]

Yet the word “completed” concealed an unfinished edge. Reporting that day, The Times of India said the new road stopped five kilometres short of the pass. The Indian Express subsequently put the remaining section at four kilometres. Both accounts documented an important opening while making clear that the entire approach had not been finished. [2] [4]

Building towards a road that already had a history

The project predated the Modi government. The Times of India traced Cabinet Committee on Security clearance to 2005, following the Army’s demand for access to the mountain passes. The 2020 inauguration belonged to a long construction programme, rather than a road conceived and delivered within a single administration. [2]

A transport ministry progress report from June 2016 shows why reaching the next section could be a project in itself. Crews worked from Ghatiabagarh and from an air-supplied detachment at Gunji. An outsourced stretch could not begin because neither end was connected. At Budhi, a helicopter landing site was being prepared so machinery and supplies could create another working front. [3]

The engineering effort was constrained by the mountain season. At the opening, BRO’s director general described snowfall, flooding and a working window of roughly five months. The ministry acknowledged deaths during construction and equipment lost in the Kali River. The new access had been won through difficult work by engineers, labourers and transport crews. [1]

A road opening beside an unresolved boundary

Nepal objected to the inauguration. Its government maintained that the route crossed territory belonging to Nepal under its interpretation of the 1816 Sugauli Treaty. India maintained that the area was Indian territory. The disagreement centred on the source of the Kali River and the boundary that followed from it, with both sides invoking historical records. [4]

These competing positions mattered independently of the road’s engineering value. Extending motor access did not settle sovereignty, and the dispute did not begin with the opening ceremony. The Indian Express’s contemporary account traced earlier exchanges and unsuccessful attempts to resolve the outstanding boundary. [4]

The journey still depended on the border

The road also opened into an interrupted pilgrimage. The Kailash–Manasarovar Yatra remained suspended through the pandemic and the deterioration in India–China relations, resuming in 2025. The Indian Express reported in August 2026 that the organised journey still generally took about three weeks, including acclimatisation, medical examinations, border formalities and travel within Tibet. That is a different measure from time spent trekking on one approach. [6]

A July 2025 parliamentary reply confirmed that the resumed pilgrimage used both Lipulekh and Nathu La. The Ministry of External Affairs coordinated with China and Indian agencies, arranging transport, accommodation and other support on a self-financing basis. It offered no direct central monetary subsidy to individual pilgrims. [5]

Vehicles could replace much of a demanding walk. They could not replace the agreements, health checks and border arrangements that allowed the traveller to continue beyond the road. [5] [6]