The Sikkim Bhutia Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC) has formally appealed to the Government of Nepal to immediately suspend all mountaineering expeditions to Mount Khangchendzonga from its side of the border, citing violations of deeply held religious sentiments and cultural sanctity.
In a strongly worded letter addressed to Nepal’s Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Badri Pandey, and the President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, the committee voiced alarm over recent climbs, particularly the May 18 summit by the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (NIMAS) from Arunachal Pradesh, which ascended the sacred peak via Nepal.
For the people of Sikkim, Mount Khangchendzonga is more than a majestic mountain— it is a guardian deity, venerated through centuries of tradition. Sikkim’s annual Pang Lhabsol festival, dedicated to the mountain, reflects the region’s spiritual connection with the peak. In 2009, the Sikkim government legally prohibited mountaineering on Khangchendzonga to preserve its sanctity.
“We are disturbed to learn that expeditions continue from the Nepal side. This act not only disregards our culture and religion but desecrates a peak we hold sacred,” said Chiten Tashi Bhutia, Coordinator of SIBLAC.
SIBLAC’s appeal extended beyond Khangchendzonga, urging Nepal to consider similar restrictions on other revered Himalayan peaks, such as Machapuchare and Khumbila, invoking both cultural reverence and environmental conservation as reasons.
The letter stressed the need for mutual respect and cross-border cooperation in safeguarding shared spiritual heritage, calling on Nepal to honour the beliefs of the Sikkimese people by ceasing all mountaineering activity on Mount Khangchendzonga.
“Let us work together to protect not just mountains, but the soul and spirit they represent to many of us,” the committee urged.
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