Nathula
~4,310m · a historic Silk Route pass on the India–China border, open to Indian tourists by permit.
A border you can actually stand at.
Nathula was once a working point on the old Silk Route between India and Tibet, and today it's one of the few India–China border crossings tourists can actually visit, permit in hand. It's less about scenery than the fact of being there — a genuine international boundary at over 4,300m, with Indian and Chinese army posts facing each other across it.
Most visits combine Nathula with Tsomgo Lake and the Baba Mandir shrine as a single, permit-controlled day trip from Gangtok.
The road up is most of the day trip.
- 01Tsomgo (Changu) LakeA glacial lake roughly halfway up, usually the first stop of the day.
- 02Old Silk RouteThe same corridor traders once used between India and Tibet, now a permit-controlled road.
- 03Kupup (Elephant Lake)A small lake further along the route, named for its footprint-like shape.
- 04TheguThe last village before the final climb to the pass itself.
A shrine, a lake, and a closed-door schedule.
Baba Mandir
A shrine to Baba Harbhajan Singh, an Indian Army soldier revered by troops stationed along this border.
Tsomgo Lake
Usually visited on the same day, en route to or from Nathula.
Best Time to Visit
May–October. The pass closes for snow in winter and is weather-dependent even in season.
Good To Know
Nathula is typically closed to tourists on Mondays and Tuesdays, and access can be cancelled on short notice for weather or security — we build a flexible day for this into any itinerary that includes it.