"We were supposed to take the same route." A Belarusian miraculously escaped catastrophe in Nepal and lost a friend there

When an enormous torrent of water, ice, stones, and mud flowed through the narrow Himalayan valley near the border of Nepal and Tibet on the morning of August 26, dozens of buses with tourists and pilgrims were standing there. People were traveling to one of Asia's holiest mountains — Kailash.

Another group could have been among them — assembled by a Belarusian hiking organizer and guide who has been leading people through the Himalayas for many years. The group simply didn't form. Now the man watches videos of the destroyed border crossing and thinks about what could have happened to him and his tourists.

On August 26, a massive volume of ice and rock collapsed in the Himalayas, causing a rapid torrent of water, mud, and stones. It swept through valleys on both sides of the Nepal-China border, destroying homes, roads, bridges, and vehicles.

Eyewitnesses report that in some settlements, people managed to receive a flood warning. However, in areas closer to the border, warnings came too late, with almost no time: one worker told journalists that he received an SMS, looked at his phone, and when he looked up, he already saw water. He only managed to shout to his colleagues and run uphill.

"Judging by the video, if you find yourself in front of such a wave, there's practically no chance of survival," says the Belarusian guide. "I know the story of two Russian tourists: there happened to be a ladder near their bus, and they saved themselves by simply running up it. But the buses that were fifty meters further had nowhere to go — they were simply swept away."

Павялічыць

He himself had not been to this specific crossing before — he used to travel to Tibet by another route. But he knows well how tours to Kailash are organized.

To the sacred mountain, one can travel from two sides

Kailash is located in the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China. This mountain is considered sacred to several religions at once — Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and the Bon tradition. Pilgrims do not ascend the mountain itself: the main ritual is the kora, circumambulation around it.

Foreigners can reach it by several main routes. One is to fly to Kathmandu, travel through Nepal, and cross the Chinese border. Another is to enter Tibet via China, for example, through Lhasa, and then travel west to Kailash.

"Therefore, one should not think that everyone who traveled to Kailash these days was in danger," explains the guide. "Those who entered through China did not pass through this crossing at all."

It was precisely the Nepalese route that was at the epicenter of the catastrophe. On the day of the flood, 390 pilgrims, including 93 Nepalis, were planning to cross the border through Rasuwagadhi alone. They were brought by several tour operators: some groups consisted of 50-90 people.

A year that happens once every 60 years

2026 in the Tibetan calendar is the Year of the Horse, and in the narrower 60-year cycle, it is the Year of the Fire Horse. For pilgrims, this has special significance. According to Tibetan religious tradition, a kora around Kailash in the Year of the Horse brings especially great spiritual merit. In some traditions, it is believed that one circumambulation in such a year is equivalent to thirteen ordinary ones.

"People from all over the world traveled there specifically this year. They especially sought to perform the kora during the full moon, on August 28," says the Belarusian.

But the demand turned out to be so great that some of his acquaintances, who visited Kailash in May and June, later discouraged him from going.

"They said: there's just a sea of people. Instead of feeling some sacredness, you walk in a crowd. They advised going in a normal year."

The numbers also indicate the increase in flow. Through the Hilsa crossing alone, in another part of the Nepal-China border, 3780 Indian pilgrims had passed by mid-June. For comparison: in the summer of 2025, after the route reopened, 546 Indian tourists were recorded there.

"This is not an extreme expedition"

The trip to Kailash itself, under normal conditions, bears little resemblance to a wild expedition.

"Today, it's a well-established tourist infrastructure. Previously, when I traveled, we reached by jeeps over rough terrain. Now there's asphalt, large buses run, and there are normal hotels.

In Darchen — the village where the kora begins, there are several hotels, including four-star ones. But directly during the three-day circumambulation, the conditions are much simpler — pilgrims stay overnight in guesthouses near monasteries.

A standard organized tour now costs approximately $2-3 thousand, more expensive routes via Lhasa are $4 thousand and more.

The main usual risk, says our interlocutor, is not the roads, but the altitude.

"The Tibetan plateau is three to four thousand meters. And during the kora, a person ascends to the Dolma La pass — 5670 meters. This is already higher than Elbrus. For an unprepared person, a three-day circumambulation is a serious challenge, I would even say an achievement."

That is why organizers pay a lot of attention to acclimatization and altitude sickness. Those for whom walking is particularly difficult may be taken part of the route on horseback.

Павялічыць

There is another feature of such journeys: Tibet is one of the most closed regions, it is under Chinese control. A foreigner cannot simply fly to Lhasa, rent a car, and travel independently to Kailash. In addition to a Chinese visa, a special permit is required to enter the Tibetan Autonomous Region, and travel must be through an authorized tour operator and along a pre-approved route. Foreign tourists must be accompanied by an appointed guide. Additional permits from the police, military, and other authorities may be required for specific border areas.

If a group travels through Nepal, the scheme, according to the guide, looks approximately like this:

"As an organizer, I find people and arrange with Nepalese and Tibetan agencies. The Nepalese agency takes the group through Nepal to the border. There, people go through control, transfer to another bus, and then the agency from the Tibetan side takes care of them. Everything is very strictly regulated."

"Tibet has been turned into a controlled museum"

The strict control of the Chinese authorities was also noticed by the Belarusian during his own trips.

"For China, Tibet is a very sensitive region. As far as I know, a person connected with special services might travel with a group under the guise of a Tibetan guide. They monitor that tourists do not deviate from the route, do not carry portraits of the Dalai Lama, and so on. Tibet has actually been turned into such a controlled museum."

Prohibitions also affect the religious sphere. Chinese authorities have for many years restricted the public veneration of the Dalai Lama in Tibet, including the display of his portraits.

"This is a tragedy. And, probably, fate"

The Belarusian guide believes that neither trip organizers nor ordinary tourists could have foreseen such a catastrophe.

"People have traveled and will continue to travel. This place attracts people from all over the world. The crossing will be restored, perhaps the security system will be changed, other routes will be used."

But not now. After the catastrophe, he says, people began to massively cancel already paid tours. They are offered to enter Tibet by another route, but many do not want to.

"Everyone is in shock. People are simply scared."

He himself will also organize trips to Kailash, but not soon, not even in the coming years.

Morgues are running out of space

Days after the catastrophe, grim testimonies continue to emerge from the affected areas. Rescue operations are still ongoing: destroyed roads and bridges complicate access to some places, families are searching for the missing in hospitals and morgues, and authorities warn of the risk of new floods and landslides.

The death toll continues to rise. As of August 30, at least 800 people have died, and over three thousand are considered missing. Among those who have not yet been found are more than 260 foreigners.

Chinese rescuers who reached the destroyed border crossing in Gyirong briefly described what they saw: "only ruins" remained there. In Nepal, entire settlements were swept away by the torrent, and in Kathmandu, hospital walls are covered with notices bearing photos of people being sought by relatives.

In Nepal, the scale of the tragedy is already so great that morgues are running out of space. In the Chitwan district, unidentified bodies have begun to be temporarily buried, with DNA samples taken beforehand so that relatives can later identify the deceased. Many bodies are impossible to identify after several days in the water.

• 0
• 0
• 1
• 1
• 1
• 8
• 0
• 0