Hilsa is the border settlement at 3,720 m in upper Humla, on the Nepali bank of the Humla Karnali directly opposite the Chinese town of Purang. It consists of concrete customs and administrative buildings, a suspension footbridge over the river, a friendship gate on the far bank and several helipads. It is a crossing point rather than a town.
Where Hilsa is and how you get there
Hilsa is the end of the Nepali road and trail network in this direction. It is reached from Yari over Nara La (Nara Lagna) at 4,580 m, then down the 24 switchbacks into the gorge, and it is also reached by helicopter from Simikot, which is how the large majority of the people who pass through it arrive.
The setting is severe and striking at the same time. The river runs a strong green through a narrow rock gorge, the walls rise on both sides, and the buildings are set on whatever ground was flat enough to build on. Nothing grows here to speak of. At 3,720 m the air is thin, the wind is constant and the light is very hard.
The two ways in are not comparable experiences. Arriving over the pass, on foot or on wheels, you come down the switchbacks with the gorge opening below and the buildings visible a long time before you reach them. Arriving by helicopter, the whole of Humla passes underneath in well under an hour and you step out at 3,720 m having done nothing to earn it, which is precisely the problem the acclimatisation advice on this route exists to address.
What is actually at Hilsa
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 3,720 m |
| Position | Nepal side of the border, opposite Purang in Tibet |
| The river | The Humla Karnali, running green through a rock gorge |
| The crossing | A suspension footbridge over the river, with a friendship gate on the far bank |
| Buildings | Concrete customs and administrative blocks, some lodging |
| Helipads | Several. The main way in and out for most traffic |
| Permit check | The last of three on the Nepali side, after Simikot and Muchu |
The concrete is what surprises people. Everywhere else on the northern route the buildings are stone and mud, and at Hilsa they are poured blocks with painted signage, because this is a government installation before it is a settlement. It looks less like a village than like a border post that some accommodation has attached itself to.
The footbridge and the friendship gate
The crossing itself is a suspension footbridge over the Karnali, a short span in a place where the river is narrow and fast. On the far side stands the Chinese friendship gate, and beyond it the road that runs up to Purang.
Standing on the Nepali bank looking across is one of the more instructive views in West Nepal. On this side: a track, some concrete, animals, a handful of buildings and the trail back over a 4,580 m pass. On that side: paved road, vehicles, infrastructure of a completely different order. The asymmetry is the story of upper Humla in a single frame, and it is worth ten pages of description.
The river and the gorge
The Humla Karnali at Hilsa is a strong green, running fast between rock walls with very little bank on either side. It is the same river that becomes the Karnali below and drains a large part of western Nepal, and this is close to the point at which it enters the country. Our guide to Nepal river systems follows it south.
The colour deserves a sentence because it is unexpected. The Karnali further down is brown for most of the year, heavy with what the monsoon takes off the hillsides. Up here, above nearly all of the catchment that produces that sediment, it runs clear enough to read the stones through, and in bright weather it is a hard emerald against grey rock.
The gorge is why everything at Hilsa is squeezed together. There is very little flat ground, so buildings, helipads and the track compete for the same shelves of rock, and the settlement reads as something wedged in rather than laid out.
The helipads and the transit economy
Most people who reach Hilsa do so by air and stay a matter of hours. Indian pilgrimage operators run closed loops for the Kailash journey: helicopter from Simikot to Hilsa, straight onto waiting coaches on the Chinese side, and across. The return runs the same way in reverse.
Humla gets very little out of this. The aviation exhaust, the refuse and the congestion land here, while the money moves between operators, contracted hubs and the Chinese side. Lodge owners in the villages along the walking route, who are the people the trade would actually benefit, see almost none of it, because the loop is designed not to touch them.
The scale of it varies with the pilgrimage season, and in a busy period the aircraft movements at Hilsa are close to constant through the morning. The noise of a helicopter in a rock gorge is considerable, and it is the loudest thing that happens anywhere on the northern route.
It is not a hidden problem and nobody in Humla is unaware of it. It is the clearest illustration of a general truth about tourism in this district: what the traveller spends matters far less than where they spend it. Slow travel in Nepal makes the case at length, and the walking route through Kermi and Yalbang is where a visitor can act on it.
What is not at Hilsa
This is the more useful half of the description. There is no bank and no cash machine. There is no fuel supply you should count on. There is no vehicle workshop. There is no hospital and nothing beyond the most basic first aid. There is no shop with anything like the range of a Simikot general store, and there is nothing at all that could rescue a party which arrived unprepared.
Accommodation exists and is minimal: cold rooms, shared facilities, dal bhat and noodles. Power is solar and limited. Signal is unreliable. Water needs treating despite how clean the river looks.
The single practical rule for Hilsa is that it is a place you arrive at self-sufficient. Everything comes from Simikot, several days and one 4,580 m pass away.
There is no post office, no reliable internet and no way to arrange anything that has not been arranged already. Assume that any problem you have at Hilsa is a problem you will be solving with what you brought.
It is also worth being clear that Hilsa is not a place to see Tibet from in any meaningful cultural sense. What is visible across the bridge is a road, a gate and infrastructure. The Tibetan cultural world on this route is behind you, in the villages between Kermi and Yari, and a traveller who arrives at Hilsa expecting the trip to culminate in something has usually already seen the best of it.
Waiting at Hilsa
A significant proportion of the people at Hilsa on any given day are waiting for something: for weather, for a helicopter, for a group, for a vehicle on the other side, for paperwork. That is the nature of a border post at 3,720 m at the end of a road.
Waiting here is not comfortable. It is cold at night in every season, the wind runs down the gorge, the rooms are basic and there is nothing to do. A book, warm clothing, spare food and a charged power bank make the difference between an inconvenience and a genuinely bad few days, and anyone whose plan has no slack in it should assume they will need some.
The people who cope with it best are the ones who arrived expecting it. Weather holds at Hilsa are routine rather than exceptional, and the correct planning assumption is that the helicopter might not come tomorrow.
Can you cross the border here?
Hilsa is a designated crossing, but it is not a place where an independent traveller turns up and walks across. Entry to the Chinese side requires Chinese documentation arranged in advance through an authorised agency, and the Tibet Autonomous Region has its own permit requirements on top of a visa. Those are arranged before you travel, not at the bridge.
On the Nepali side, the entire area north of Simikot is restricted: the permit is charged per week rather than per day, there is a two-person minimum, and a registered Nepali guide is mandatory, with checks at Simikot, Muchu and Hilsa. Our restricted area permits guide sets out the structure.
Nothing about the current status of the crossing should be assumed from a webpage, including this one. Border crossings in this region open, close and change their conditions with little notice and for reasons that have nothing to do with tourism. Confirm the present position with the Department of Immigration and with an operator in Simikot before committing to any plan that depends on it. The guide to Purang, or Taklakot covers what lies on the other side.
Getting out of Hilsa
Three ways, and they are not equivalent. Walk or ride back over Nara La to Yari and down the valley, which is how you came and is a serious undertaking in reverse. Fly out by helicopter to Simikot, which is quick, weather-dependent and priced accordingly. Or continue north across the border, if you hold the documentation to do it.
Anyone whose plan depends on the helicopter should understand that it does not fly in poor weather, and that being stuck at 3,720 m in a place with almost no facilities is a real outcome rather than a theoretical one. Build in days. The Humla and Limi Valley guide covers the wider circuit and the routes back south.
The walking option is also the one most likely to be underestimated. Going back over Nara La means regaining 860 m to the pass from Hilsa and then descending the whole valley again, and it is a harder direction than the way you came. Anyone who flew in and intends to walk out should be honest about whether they have acclimatised enough to do it at all.
Before you travel. Humla is a restricted border district and conditions change without notice. Roads close, flights are cancelled, permit rules and fees are revised, and the Hilsa crossing opens and shuts to different categories of traveller. Confirm the current position with the District Administration Office in Simikot, the Department of Immigration, or a registered local operator before you commit to a route.
Frequently Asked Questions
How high is Hilsa?
3,720 m, on the Nepali bank of the Humla Karnali at the border with the Tibet Autonomous Region. It sits below Nara La at 4,580 m, reached by a 24-switchback descent from the pass.
Where is Hilsa in Nepal?
In upper Humla, Karnali Province, at the northern end of the district on the border directly opposite the Chinese town of Purang, also called Taklakot. It is the end of the Nepali road and trail network in that direction.
How do you get to Hilsa?
Either on foot or on wheels from Yari over Nara La and down the switchbacks into the gorge, or by helicopter from Simikot, which is how most traffic arrives. The helicopter is weather-dependent and does not fly when the cloud is in.
Is there a border crossing at Hilsa?
Yes, with a suspension footbridge over the Karnali and a Chinese friendship gate on the far bank. It is not a walk-up crossing: entry to the Chinese side needs documentation arranged in advance through an authorised agency, and the status of the crossing changes without notice.
What facilities are there at Hilsa?
Very few. Concrete customs and administrative buildings, minimal lodging, limited solar power, unreliable signal and a small shop at best. There is no bank, no cash machine, no workshop, no dependable fuel and no medical facility beyond basic first aid.
Can you stay overnight at Hilsa?
Yes, in basic lodging, and many people end up doing so when the helicopter is grounded. Rooms are cold, facilities are shared and food is limited. Anyone relying on flying out of Hilsa should carry spare days and enough kit to sit out bad weather at 3,720 m.
Why do so many pilgrims pass through Hilsa without stopping?
Because the Kailash pilgrimage is largely run as a closed loop: helicopter from Simikot to Hilsa, straight onto waiting coaches across the border, and back the same way. Humla absorbs the traffic and the refuse while lodge owners along the walking route see almost none of the spending.