MUMBAI, India — The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, indicated on Thursday that he had had discussions with Beijing about making a pilgrimage to Wutai Shan mountain in northern China’s Shanxi Province, in what would be his first visit to the region since he went into exile in 1959.

In an interview with Agence France-Presse in Dharamsala, the Indian town that is now headquarters to Tibet’s exile government, the Dalai Lama said, “It’s not finalized, not yet, but the idea is there.” He said the conversations were taking place “not formally or seriously, but informally.” Wutai Shan is home to many monasteries, and is particularly sacred to Tibetan Buddhists.

“This is my desire, and some of my friends, they are also showing their genuine interest or concern,” he said. “Recently, some Chinese officials, for example the deputy party secretary in the autonomous region of Tibet, he also mentioned the possibility of my visit as a pilgrimage to that sacred place.”

If Chinese authorities allow the Dalai Lama to visit Chinese territory, it will be seen as an important step toward serious talks between the two sides about resolving their long-running conflict, and toward potentially making it possible for the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet, said Robert Barnett, a Tibet specialist at Columbia University.