Jelep La

Jelepla Pass (also spelt Jelep La) is an all weather pass between India and Tibet. Etymologically the term Jelepla is derived from Jelep meaning lonely and La meaning pass in Tibetan. The pass is in Sikkim and the route connects Lhasa to India. The pass is at an altitude of 4,267 metres (14,300 feet) above mean sea level and is 46 metres (150 feet) in length.

On the Indian side there are two routes to Jelepla, one through Darjeeling and the other through Kalimpong. The Kalimpong route is an ancient one which was responsible for the boost in the local economy due to the trading of wool and furs early last century. The pass was closed after the Sino-Indian War in 1962. It passes through the towns of Pedong in northern West Bengal, Rhenok ,and Kupup.The route from Darjeeling passes through the towns of Ari, Sendochen and Gnatong and finally to Pedong.

The route is scenic with forests of rhododendrons blooming in spring. Numerous hamlets dot the bucolic surroundings which give a traveller a sybaritic experience. On the Tibetan side the pass leads to the Chumbi Valley of the Tibetan Plateau.

History

The Jelepla pass was in use from early times as trade was flourishing between India and Tibet. After the appropriation of India by the British, the British started to construct roads into Sikkim around 1884. This was viewed with some apprehension among the Tibetans and in 1886 a small Tibetan militia occupied the region around the pass. In May 1888, they attacked the British but were warded off. Later in September the same year the British regained the area around the pass.

With the growing Russian influence in Tibet, a British expedition was sent via Jelepla to Lhasa in 1904 led by Colonel Francis Younghusband. This expedition was met by hostile Tibetan forces which were defeated by the British. A trade agreement was then forced on the Tibetans in the absence of the 13th Dalai Lama, who had fled to Mongolia.

After India's independence in 1947, Sikkim, which was then a monarchy gave India the status of a suzerain nation. After the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950 and supression of the Tibetan uprising in 1959, the passes into Sikkim became a conduit for refugees from Tibet before being closed by the Chinese. During the 1962 Sino-Indian War, there were border skirmishes between the Indian and Chinese armed forces in and around the passes of Jelepla and Nathula - this was despite Sikkim still being a separate Kingdom at this stage. After the war the two passes were closed permanently. With the recent thawing in relations between India and China, plans are afoot to reopen the Jelepla Pass (following the July 6th 2006 reopening of the Nathula Pass) which is projected to result in an economic boom for the region.