Simikot is the administrative headquarters of Humla District of Karnali Zone in the mountain region of northwestern Nepal.

[1] Mount Kailash is located in the Purang County of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, China, which borders Humla district of Nepal to the north.

In the April 2015 Nepal earthquake, the popular Tatopani-Zhangmu route for the pilgrimage to Mount Kailash was badly damaged.

[2] In the aftermath of this earthquake the traffic for the annual pilgrimage to Mount Kailash shifted to Humla.

At Simikot, they would either spend a night in this village's few hotels, or would straightaway be taken in helicopter flights to Hilsa, from where they would cross into Tibet (China).