Nathu La Pass

[indushek]

Thanks Fanling for these nice pics.

 

[RoYaL~GuJJaR]

Location of Nathu La in Sikkim, India, towards the left on the map

Geography of the region

Stairs leading to the border on the Indian side

The Chinese Military Checkpost in Nathu La

Nathu La is prone to massive land slides

Vegetation of the region

Indian and Chinese officers at Nathu La

Pilgrims from Tibet may be able to make a pilgrimage to the Rumtek monastery, one of Buddhism's holiest shrines

 

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Indian War memorial at Nathu La

 

[RoYaL~GuJJaR]

Road to Nathu La Pass

A trader from China greets soldiers and media after crossing over to the Indian side of the Nathu La Pass' Sikkim.

The first Indian delegation entering India via Nathula Pass from Tibet (China)

The motorable road to Tibet(China) at Nathula Pass

 

[RoYaL~GuJJaR]

Roads on Mountain

Indian Flag at Nathu La pass

Chines and Indian Soldier

 

[RoYaL~GuJJaR]

[/I]
Army transit camp near Nathu La Pass on the India-Tibet border, one of the two India-China entry points

Another View

Indian soldier at Nathu La

Nathu La Army Camp

Rifle range at Nathu La

The demilitarized actual Nathu La pass, to China

Tourists posting with Indian soldier at Nathu La gate

 

[Fanling Monk]

'Last Indian village' before the Pass embraces lost Tibetan link

MANA, Uttarakhand, India - "I remember merchants from Tibet coming on horseback to Mana," 76-year-old Swajan Singh tells me as I walk up the mountain road from the revered Himalayan temple of Badrinath to Mana, near the Tibetan border. "It all changed after the 1962 India-China war."

Life has not changed much, though, for the crinkly-eyed Swajan. He looks like a Nepali sherpa (mountain guide), and like generations before him, earns a living tending to horses grazing in last of the pastures, amid the last of the vehicular roads in this part of India, at an altitude of about 3,500 meters.

Mana, 43 kilometers from the border and 540km north-northeast of the capital New Delhi, is the last civilian habitation before the
closely guarded Himalayan regions where people are not officially permitted to stay the night.

Seven kilometers below Mana blooms the Valley of Flowers, an Indian Shangri-La believed to be a playground for celestial maidens after sunset. And so it may be. With the setting sun lighting up a bank of white clouds in a surreal glow, the mountains around Mana seem an unearthly paradise.

"Last village in India," proclaims the overhead governmental road sign as I reach the outskirts of Mana, 3km up the road from Badrinath. A historian might happily add: "The oldest living link to India-China trade."

The unique hamlet, perched above the mystical River Saraswati in the central Himalayas, is the ancient home to the last generation of the Bhotiya tribe, a semi-nomadic people of Indo-Tibetan ancestry.

The 300 Bhotiya families in Mana resemble time capsules retaining signs of centuries of trade through high mountain passes, decades of high-altitude agriculture and hand-spun woolen goods, with invading 21st-century changes of satellite TV, two nearby helipads and ******** of wonderstruck tourists.

An unexpected Nescafe vending machine and a Coca-Cola cooler symbolize such changes at the "Himalayan Cafe" inside Mana village.

full story: Asia Times Online :: 'Last Indian village' embraces lost Tibetan link

 

[RoYaL~GuJJaR]

Indian and Chinese soldiers at the opening of the Nathu La Pass

A soldier of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and an Indian soldier (L) stand guard at the Nathu La Pass on the border between China and India

An Indian soldier is seen at Nathu La Pass, a historic trading route in China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 6, 2006. (Xinhua Photo)

Qiangba Puncog (L), chairman of China's Tibetan regional government, shakes hands with Pawan Kumar Chamling (R), chief minister of India's Sikkim State, during an opening ceremony in Nathu La Pass of China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 6, 2006. (Xinhua Photo)

 

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Chinese soldiers across the barbed wire.

Indian tricolor flying high in gloomy weather.

La Ji of the Tibetan ethnic group from Yadong County in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region shows the pass for entering India, at the Nathu La Pass on the border between China and India

Nyima Cering (L), a businessman of China's Tibetan ethnic group, greets an Indian merchant at the Renqinggang Border Trade Market in Yadong County, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region,

Qiangba Puncog(L2), chairman of China's Tibetan regional government, and Pawan Kumar Chamling(R3), chief minister of India's Sikkim State, cut the ribbon at an opening ceremony in Nathu La Pass of China's Tibet Autonomous Region,

An Indian merchant (R) bargains with a herb vendor at the Renqinggang Border Trade Market in Yadong County, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region,

A Chinese armed policeman (L) stands guard on the Chinese side while an Indian soldier stands guard on the Indian side at the Nathu La Pass on the border between China and India

Indian traders holding their travel passes wait to enter China's Tibet Autonomous Region at the Nathu La Pass on the border between China and India

 

[RoYaL~GuJJaR]

Traders (C) from China's Tibet Autonomous Region enter India through the Nathu La Pass on the border between China and India

Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel (right) and People Liberation Army (PLA) of China stand guard on either side of the Indo-China border Nathu La pass.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on second day of his Sikkim visit today reached Nathula Pass

Nathula Pass

Vehicles of Indian traders enter China through the Nathu La pass.

Tourists with chines soldier.

Tourists with chines soldier.

 

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Indian and Chines soldier at Nathu La Pass

Chines Soldier at Nathu La Pass

 

[Shivani Malhotra]

 

[RoYaL~GuJJaR]

LOL.....

watch at 1:15 - 1:24
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[Fanling Monk]

A pass issues by China

Where is the Empire State building

Just walk through there

Let' get something to eat first

 

[Fanling Monk]

You can read, can you?

Obviously English is welcome in this part of the world too. (sign) The Brits....

"Clouds Under Your Feet!'' Yeh I feel I can fly!

Here we are! Jesus, the water is cold here.