Famous Indian Pass at Sikkim

Nathu La: About this sound listen is a mountain pass in the Himalayas. It connects the Indian state of Sikkim with China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The pass, at 4,310 m (14,140 ft) above mean sea level, forms a part of an offshoot of the ancient Silk Road. Nathu means "listening ears" and La means "pass" in Tibetan. On the Indian side, the pass is 54 km (34 mi) east of Gangtok, the capital of Indian state of Sikkim on JN Marg and only citizens of India can visit the pass, that too after obtaining a permit in Gangtok.

Nathu La is one of the three open trading border posts between China and India; the other two are Shipkila in Himachal Pradesh and Lipulekh (or Lipulech) in Uttarakhand.Sealed by India after the 1962 Sino-Indian War, Nathu La was re-opened in 2006 following numerous bilateral trade agreements. The opening of the pass was expected to bolster the economy of the region and play a key role in the growing Sino-Indian trade but that has not happened. Currently, agreements between the two nations limit trade across the pass to 29 types of goods from India and 15 from the Chinese side. The opening also shortens the travel distance to important Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the region.

Dongkha la : or Donkia Pass (el. 18,000 ft or 5,500 m) is a high mountain pass in the Himalaya connecting Sikkim in India with Tibet in China.The pass offers a view of the Tibetan Plateau. The pass is located in North Sikkim. The Tso Lhamo Lake is located near the pass, 6.5 km (4.0 mi) long and 2.5 km (1.6 mi) wide.The Teesta River is attributed to originate from Tso Lhamo lake. The Gurudongmar Lake some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to west-northwest also feeds Teesta.



  • Goecha La :(el. 4940 m.) is a high mountain pass in Sikkim, India in the Himalaya range.The southeast face of Kanchenjunga, the World's third highest mountain, is viewable from the pass, which is also a base camp for those aspiring to scale the mountain(Kangchenjunga is considered to be holy and the mountaineers halted a few meters before the peak).