Nathula is a mountain pass connecting the Indian state of Sikkim with Autonomous Tibet Region occupied by China. It is located at an altitude of 4300 Meters. Nathu La is one amongst the three trading border posts through which the actual exchange of trading goods takes place between India and China, the other two being Shipkila in Himachal Pradesh and Lipulekh in Uttarakhand. It was closed form 1962 and reopened after 24 years in the year 2006. The opening of the pass is expected to boost the economy of the region and provide growth of trade between the two nations. The trade is limited at present to 29 products of India to be exported and 15 Chinese products to be imported. The opening of the pass has shortened the travel distance to various Hindu and Buddhist sites of pilgrimage in India and China. Nathu La is located on the old Silk Route which is %63 Kms long from Lasha in Tibet to the plains of Bengal. The actual location of the pass is 54Kms east of Gangtok and 430 Kms from the Tibet autonomous region capital Lasha. The temperature here is cold to extreme cold with the summer temperature never rising above 15?centigrade. There are no permanent human settlements in the area. Despite these there is large number of defense personals on both sides of the border.
