I have tried to explain this to you because most of the travel agents may not explain this to you. There are so many places where you may get stuck. Never pay cash to your travel agent, as he has to send US dollars to China and it can not be sent by cash.
Who to choose?
The biggest question one faces before taking Kailash yatra is which travel agent chooses. What are the options to choose the best travel agent for Kailash. ? for this you need to understand how this yatra is organized. There are three travel agencies involved in this yatra, Indian, Nepal, and Chinese (Tibetian). Since Kailash is located in Tibet and Tibet is under Chinese governance you need to take Chinese permission which is given as Tibet Permit, this is different than China’s visa. You can not travel to Tibet with a China visa and you can not travel to China with a Tibet permit. Since Tibet is under the Chinese army you also need to carry travel permits approved by the Chinese army.
Then Nepal visa is to be taken by all non-Indian travelers to Nepal. Indians are exempted from visas other citizens have to take a visa on arrival. One has to apply for a visa to China at least 30 days in advance, along with payment. Payment has to be made in USD United States dollars. It takes 15 days to get a permit once we get the permit we have to apply for a visa along with an original passport at the Delhi China embassy for a visa it takes 3 working days to get it. All nonindian passports visa is processed at Kathmandu and takes 2 full working days so they have to reach 2 days earlier at Kathmandu.
I have tried to explain this to you because most of the travel agents may not explain this to you. There are so many places where you may get stuck. Never pay cash to your travel agent, as he has to send US dollars to China and it can not be sent by cash. Your travel agent also has to make payment to the Nepal agent for ground handling done by him in Nepal for Bus, sightseeing local transport hotels, and staff provided for the tour.
When you pay cash to save some taxes but it will result in a chain of issues that one may face. Your payment gets delayed by Indian agents as now it is compulsory to make payment in USD to China by individual travel agents. Even Nepal agents cannot make payments on behalf of Indian counterparts. If your payment does not reach on time at China then your permit gets delayed your visa gets delayed and it may happen that at the time of your departure to Kathmandu you may not have your visa or passport in your hand this will issue another problem as you do not have passport airlines may not allow you to board the flight. You can travel with your election ID but then the name on the ticket must match with it. Why get into this trouble? Why try to save money upfront with lucrative offers made by travel agents.
You need is to check the background of the travel agent. Check for how many years he is operating. Lots of travel agents lie in this also, I have seen all this as I am operating since 1995. There were only 2 travel agents in India in those days. Nowadays there are so many seen when you search on google 90% of them have started in the recent future only. The Indian government also has been organizing tours via Uttrakhand and most recently thru Sikkim also you can find details here.
Even while making payments insist on paying by cheque or bank transfer this may attract GST of 05% but I would recommend paying it to have a smooth and safe tour. Check if the owner himself has been to Kailash or he is just a reseller of the package. Prefer a company that is old and has a clear record of trust your instincts when you speak to the owner of the travel agency. Do not get convinced by speaking to sales agents of the agency they are trained to do so.
Questions to ask to your travel agent?
Ask your travel agents how many support staff will accompany, will they provide pure vegetarian food, Who is the tour leader? How many times he has been to Kailash? Who is there agency in Nepal? What are the hidden charges?
What facilities they are going to give on tour? What about a medical emergency? What about medical evacuation, how much it will cost? How much oxygen do they carry? What about Kailash Parikrama? What are the charges for horse and porter?
If there is transparency between you and your travel agent it will help both of you. Always ask for reference with whom you can speak to know about travel agent services. Google ratings can be misleading don’t trust it. Try and join small groups of 25 – 35 size as this is easy and comfortable to manage. Will keep updating this post keep visiting this blog by Sanjay Gupta.
I am soon going to release a video series to help Kailash yatri in knowing facts about this yatra. You may watch helicopter yatra here.