Travelling in Sikkim -2

Sikkim –part II

A visit to Gangtok always includes a visit to Nathula pass- the Indo-Chinese border. I have never seen the border of a country and have no idea about what to expect.

The drive to Nathula is back breaking. Landslides during the rainy season have damaged the roads considerably and in many places the Border Roads Organisation is at work at recreating the road.

As the winding road takes us further up we see the landscape changing. The tall green trees give way to shrubs and we know we are going to a higher altitude. The nip in the air is suddenly no longer a nip but a good bite and the gloves and woollen caps come out of our backpacks.

It is apparent that this is a sensitive area as there is a large military presence. Every kilometre or so signboards announce the barracks of some regiment. Morale boosting phrases are painted on sheds and even embedded in the landscape.

The nearer we approach the number of jawans appears to increase and then at after a certain point no tourists cars are allowed further. At 14,140ft Nathula was on the ancient Silk trading route and today links India to China’s autonomous region of Tibet. Closed after the war in 1962 it was reopened for trade in 2006. People with trading permits are on certain days allowed to cross to the other side. We climb the steps to the actual fence where Indian soldiers stand guard.

I am quite astonished. My idea of a border crossing is that of the Wagah border which I have seen on television several times. This is nothing like that. Merely barbed wire with a cable running parallel to it. On the Indian side is a small structure housing a conference room for army officials and a small memorial to soldiers. On the Chinese side is a much more imposing structure still in the latter stages of construction.

What struck us most was that we drove to the border on rough roads in 4 wheel drives. It would be a very difficult task for an ordinary car to reach this spot.

Yet on the Chinese side we could see a perfectly tarred road and on which a sedan stood comfortably parked. Obviously the Chinese road making techniques appear to have withstood the vagaries of the weather better than ours!

The landscape is dotted with look out posts, both Chinese and Indian. The Chinese posts have blue coloured roofs and the Indian posts are green. My heart went out to the soldiers who have to live in these harsh conditions to protect the country. It’s certainly not an easy job and they deserve more appreciation.

A young Indian Jawan looked at us and smiled. He had overheard us talking in Marathi and told us he hailed from a village near Akola in southern Maharashtra. . The soldiers on duty all belong to the Bihar regiment. Their Chinese counterparts appear to be much younger.

On the drive down we first stopped at the Baba Mandir, a temple erected in the memory of a soldier and then we drove down to enjoy the views of the TsongoLake. The lake which is frozen in winter is surrounded by a valley of flowers in the months of April and May. Even without the flowers it has a charm of its own.

Despite the cold winds we sat and enjoyed a picnic at the side of the lake located at an altitude of 12,200 feet.