Gangtok | The first batch of this year's Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrims arrived here for their onward journey through the Nathu La Pass.

Officials said the first batch that arrived here on Monday evening comprises 44 people, including two liaison Officers and one medical officer. Among them are 32 men and 12 women.

A statement from the Tourism Department said the pilgrims were accorded a warm welcome at a local hotel by Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation Chairman Lukendra Rasaily and deputy general manager Amit Kapil Chettri.

The pilgrims will undergo a four-day acclimatisation programme here, following which they will on June 20 proceed for Gyangze, a town in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, that serves as a transit point for pilgrims taking the Nathu La Pass route.