A sense of history imbues the resumption of the yatra formalised between the two countries in 1981. Then, as now, it was seen as the first sign of thaw between the two countries in two frosty decades, following the post-1962 snapping of ties. Formalising the pilgrimage was first discussed during then foreign minister AB Vajpayee’s China visit in 1979. Vajpayee later told Parliament that he had mentioned the religious importance of Kailash during interactions in Beijing. Two years later in June 1981, visiting Chinese vice premier and foreign minister Huang Hua said in New Delhi that China will make arrangements for the pilgrimage to “…what the Indians call the Kailash Mountain and Mansarovar Lake”. Notwithstanding the importance of the pilgrimage, it’s important to remember that it is but one part of the complex nature of Sino-India ties. Like the journey to the sacred mountain and the lake, the road to stable ties between India and China remains arduous.