Nepalese police turned back 42 Tibetan monks and nuns Tuesday after the group trekked for five days through the Himalayas to protest China’s crackdown on dissidents in their homeland, officials said.

Police blocked the protesters’ path about seven miles from the China-Nepal border. Police official Sagar Maharjan said he had orders not to “use all means necessary” to stop the protesters from approaching the border.

Police did not detain any of the protesters no did they use force against them, Maharjan said.

The protesters had trekked through the treacherous mountains from Nepal’s capital to reach the border area about 75 miles north of Katmandu.

The protesters had avoided walking along the main highway from the capital fearing they would be arrested by Nepalese police.

However, on Tuesday they left the mountain trail and marched openly on the main highway waving Tibetan flags and banners that said, “Free Tibet. Save Tibet. Restore human rights.”

Before he was stopped, Tashi Dorje, an activist coordinating the march, said the border protest was meant to “demand a free Tibet and to protest killings in Tibet.”

Anti-government demonstrations broke out in March in Tibet. China says 22 people died in violence in the capital, Lhasa, while foreign Tibet supporters say many times that number were killed in the protests and a subsequent crackdown.

Since then, near-daily demonstrations against Beijing’s rule over the Himalayan region have occurred in neighboring Nepal, where thousands of Tibetan refugees live.

The China-Nepal border point is heavily guarded by Chinese troops who stepped up security since March.

Tibetan refugees have protested almost daily in Katmandu since March, but Tuesday’s event was the first time they moved demonstrations near the border. Nepal banned protests against China saying it would not tolerate demonstrations against any friendly nation.

The United Nations and international rights groups have criticized Nepal for using what they say is excessive force to stop the protests. Police have beaten people with batons and dragged them through the streets while detaining them.

China insists Nepal has not done enough to quell the demonstrations.

Every year thousands of Tibetan refugees cross into Nepal. Most eventually move to India, where Tibet’s government-in-exile and the Tibetans’ spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, are based.