Nathu la pass is a high mountain pass located 57KM far from the main city of Gangtok. It is a highly secured military area as it is very close to the India-China border. After a 5 minutes hike from the pass, you can see the Chinese soldiers on the other side of the border. This pass is also known as India-China Trade market route. China exports silk, sheep and yak hairs to us and we export tea, coffee, rice to China.
HOW TO REACH :
You need a permit issued by Sikkim tourism department (office on mall road of Gangtok). So carry 4 passport size photos and 2 copies of ID card with you(one will need for North Sikkim tour if you go). You can go to the office yourself for the permit. But there is no need to do that. Go to any local travel operators on Mall road of Gangtok and book a one day tour to Nathula pass (submit your documents one day before so that travel operators can get a permit for the next day). Charges may vary from Rs1200-2000 per person. This one day tour also includes two other points - Changu lake and Baba Harbhajan mandir.
BEST TIME TO VISIT :
May to October is the best time to visit here. But if you want to enjoy the snowfall and minus temperature then you can go in winters also ( less crowd +everything at low rates). But one point to note is that Nathula remains closed on Monday and Tuesday. So book your package at local operators by keeping this in mind.
DON'T DO ANY CLICKS OF MILITARY BASES OR ANYTHING RELATED TO OUR ARMY. AND PHOTOGRAPHY IS NOT ALLOWED AT NATHULA PASS (when you are hiking up to see India-China border).
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