Rahul Gandhi arrives in Nepal en route to Kailash Mansarovar

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, on a pligrimage to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet, arrived here in Nepal's capital today.

The Congress chief landed in Kathmandu at around 2:00 pm and checked into a hotel, Nepalese media reported.

He will stay over at Kathmandu today before heading to Nepalgunj tomorrow. It has been learnt that he will leave for Mansarovar via Nepal for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, the Himalayan Times reported.

Gandhi, 48, arrived here on the same day as Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned home after attending the fourth BIMSTEC summit.

He is undertaking the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in accordance with a wish he expressed in April when his plane plunged hundreds of feet during the campaign for the Karnataka polls.

On April 26, the plane carrying Gandhi and some others from Delhi to Hubballi airport in Karnataka developed a technical problem and tilted heavily on the left side. The plane dipped steeply with violent shuddering, but soon recovered and landed safely.

Three days later, on April 29, Gandhi announced during a rally that he wanted to undertake the pilgrimage.

The arduous pilgrimage to Mount Kailash, which is considered the abode of Lord Shiva in Hindu mythology and is in the Tibetan Himalayas, is organised every year between June and September.