Surkhet, July 6 -- At Hotel Bijaya in Simkot, the headquarters of Humla district, owner Bijay Lama and his staff have barely had a moment to spare.

The hotel has been hosting between 40 and 60 Indian pilgrims a day travelling to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in China's Tibet Autonomous Region, keeping the business running at full capacity.

"It has only been a month since pilgrims started arriving, and the Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage season will continue for another three months," Lama said. "Providing accommodation, meals and other services leaves us with almost no free time."

The situation is similar at Hotel Potala, where owner Min Bahadur Tamang said rooms are almost exclusively occupied by Indian pilgrims.

"We have bookings...