Also: Nathula, Nathu La pass, Nathu La border trade
Definition
Nathu La is a high mountain pass, about 4,310 m above sea level, on the border between Sikkim in India and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, linking Gangtok with the Chumbi valley and used for border trade and the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
Nathu La lies in the Dongkya range of the eastern Himalaya, overlooking the Chumbi valley, a narrow wedge of Tibetan territory between Sikkim and Bhutan. For centuries the pass carried trade between India and Tibet: mules and caravans brought wool, furs and salt from Lhasa via Yatung, and returned with cotton cloth, grain, metal goods and other items. In the colonial era, the 1904 British expedition to Tibet under Francis Younghusband passed through the region, and trade through the Chumbi valley grew.
After the 1962 war, trade through Nathu La stopped. In 1967 there were serious clashes at Nathu La and nearby Cho La between Indian and Chinese troops, in which Indian forces held their positions, a result often seen as restoring confidence after 1962. Sikkim became a state of India in 1975. In 2003, India and China agreed to reopen trade through Nathu La, and trade resumed in 2006. In 2015 China allowed Indian pilgrims to use Nathu La as a route to Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar.
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