Cho La (Sikkim and Tibet)

Cho La
གྲོ་ལ
Cho La is located in Sikkim
Cho La
Cho La
Elevation4,593 m (15,069 ft)[1]
LocationSikkim, India – Tibet, China
RangeHimalaya
Coordinates27°25′22″N 88°48′04″E / 27.4227728°N 88.8011808°E / 27.4227728; 88.8011808
Cho La
Chinese卓拉山口
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinzhuō lā shānkǒu

Cho La or Cho-la (Tibetan: གྲོ་ལ, Wylie: gro la) is a mountain pass in the Chola range of the Himalayas. It connects the Indian state of Sikkim with China's Tibet Autonomous Region. It is situated around four miles to the north-west of Nathu La.[2]

Cho La used to be the main mountain pass between Sikkim and the Chumbi Valley (Yadong County),[3][4][5] connecting the Sikkimese capital of Tumlong with the Chumbi town. Towards the end of the 19th century, the British developed Jelep La, and later Nathu La, as they were accessible from British India, and Cho La fell into relative disuse.

History

Southeast Sikkim section of Hooker's map

The Cho La pass was in regular used by the Sikkim royal family, which had a summer palace at Chumbi and used to spend summers there. The road between Tumlong and Chumbi via Cho La was kept in good condition. The route was also the main trading route between Sikkim and Tibet.[4][6]

The first Europeans to visit the Chola Pass were Archibald Campbell (Darjeeling superintendent) and Joseph Dalton Hooker (botanist) in 1849, who attempted to travel to Chumbi in order to visit the Dewan who was staying there. Sikkim had an agreement with Tibet not to allow foreigners into the Tibetan territory. The two men were arrested at the Chola Pass and detained for several weeks. Sikkim had to face retribution from the British Raj for the insult caused.[7][8]

The Cho La pass was one of the sites of the 1967 Nathu La and Cho La clashes between China and India, which concluded with Chinese withdrawal from both the Nathu La and Cho La passes.[9]

Access

On the Indian side, there is a fair-weather mountain road linking the pass to Changgu on the Nathu-la road.[10] On the Chinese side, there is a border outpost at 4,783 metres (15,692 ft) above sea level. Road to the outpost was repaved in 2016.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Introduction to Sikkim's Physiography". Sikkim Biodiversity Board. Retrieved 29 August 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ Bajpai, G. S. (1999). China's shadow over Sikkim : the politics of intimidation. New Delhi [u.a.]: Lancer Publ. p. 193. ISBN 9781897829523. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Xigazê Prefecture-Level City". KNAB Place Name Database – Geographical names of Tibet AR (China). Institute of the Estonian Language. 3 June 2018.
  4. ^ a b Wangchuk, Pema (2013), "India, China and the Nathu La: Converting Symbolism into Reality" (PDF), IPCS Issue Brief 202, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi, p. 1, JSTOR resrep09083
  5. ^ A. Campbell, Itinerary from Phari in Thibet to Lassa, with appended Routes from Darjeeling to Phari, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, April 1848, page 274.
  6. ^ Hooker, Himalayan Journals, Volume 1 (1854), pp. 430–431.
  7. ^ Mehra, P. L. (2005), "Sikkim and Bhutan—An Historical Conspectus", in Suresh Kant Sharma; Usha Sharma (eds.), Discovery of North-East India: Geography, History, Culture, Religion, Politics, Sociology, Science, Education and Economy. Sikkim. Volume 10., Mittal Publications, p. 134, ISBN 978-81-8324-044-4
  8. ^ Douglas, Ed (2020). Himalaya: A Human History. Random House. pp. 225–226. ISBN 978-1-4735-4614-1.
  9. ^ "Sikkim, Red China Clash Renewed". The Dispatch (Lexington). 2 October 1967. p. 5. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  10. ^ "Cho La". dangerousroads.org. Retrieved 1 February 2017. Only 4x4. Impassable from October to June.
  11. ^ 康哲 (16 August 2016). "公路修到海拔4783米哨所 物资补给全程摩托化". 中国军网 (www.81.cn) (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2017. 今年初，西藏军区启动卓拉哨所公路专项整治工程，历经半年多时间，哨所公路整治工程顺利完工。

Bibliography