The first batch of devotees on an annual pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar crossed into Tibet from Lipu Lekh pass here on Thursday, a Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) official said.
All the 47 members of the batch, including 10 women, did not face any difficulty in crossing the 17,500-feet high pass in Uttaranchal as the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) had made adequate arrangements, Bachiram Arya of KMVN said.
The pilgrims will be in Tibet for the next 12 days during which they will further trek to Mansarovar in the Himalayas to undertake a 'parikrama' of Kailash mountain and holy dip in Mansarovar Lake, he said.
They will return to the Lipu Lekh pass on June 21, DK Sharma of KMVN said.
Meanwhile, the second batch of pilgrims comprising 45 members reached Sirkha camp from Dharchula.