Trek to Nathu La. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
On a cold April morning in 2018, I realized that out of 900 applicants, we were one of the 80 who were allowed to go to Nathu La Pass that day.
Look at the words used to describe the mountain range, none will do them justice to explain the sheer grandeur of the Himalayas. Mesmerizing is one way to describe the Nathu La mountain pass in the Dongkya range of the Himalayas, connecting the Chinese border in Tibet and Sikkim. Due to its political sensitivity and disputes over geographic territory, only special permits issued by designated operators allow access to Nathu La Pass. And the fact that we were among the permits issued provided our Sikkim trip with a cherry on top.
Situated at an altitude of 14,400 feet above sea level, this area is supernatural. A simple white blanket had never added such beauty to the scenery as the blanket of snow in the Himalayan passes. Amidst the scattered chatter of our fellow travelers, my mind was having a hard time deciding which aspect of the scenery to take in first. A small crowd gathered a few feet below the pass put an end to my indecisiveness.
With deep respect for our soldiers standing in the air, we started climbing a trail. One of the biggest tragedies of the day was the ban on carrying cameras upstairs, fueling the constant fear that I would forget some crucial detail about this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. But the absence of a camera helped in the permanent etching of each grain of ice into our brains.
As we reached the top of the mountain pass, the clatter of 80 pairs of boots in the snow stopped. There was a barbed wire fence five feet away. We were officially on the India-China border. Two soldiers of the Chinese army patrolled the border. At that altitude, everything seemed so far away or so far below us, and the view below the mountain ranges was a patchwork of green, brown, and white. Some tourists were taken aback by the sudden realization that the piece of land to our left was actually a minefield.
For a moment, all eyes were on the Chinese men again. Perhaps used to the influx of curious tourists, a soldier waved to the Indians on the other side with a brief smile, much to my surprise. Today reading about the rising tension on the border reminded me of that spontaneous wave.
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