Nepalese police say they have detained 42 Tibetan protesters who were trying to trek back to their homeland.

The protesters, most of them Buddhist monks and nuns, were arrested Tuesday, roughly 11 kilometers from the Nepal-China border, after police blocked the road.

The group had avoided main roads for the most part and instead walked for nearly a week along remote mountain trails, to avoid being detected by police. 

Tibetan exiles have been holding anti-China demonstrations since March when deadly clashes broke out between protesters and Chinese authorities in Tibet.

Nepal, which regards Tibet as part of China, is home to some 20-thousand Tibetan refugees.