The Waiting Mart of Nathu La

Six kilometres inside Indian territory from the international boundary at Nathu La in Sikkim, a cluster of green-and-white buildings stands quietly on a windswept slope.

The Indo-China border trade mart appears ready for activity. The structures are orderly, with steep sloping roofs and clean geometric lines. Yet the complex remains deserted.

Built in an architectural style rarely seen elsewhere in India and resembling structures across the border in China, the complex was designed to host traders from both countries.

For the past six years, however, the market has fallen silent. Border trade through Nathu La was suspended in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic halted movement across the high-altitude corridor that once formed part of the historic Silk Route. Officials and security personnel in the region now express cautious optimism that trade could resume this year, restoring a limited but symbolically important commercial link between India and China.

Before the suspension, Chinese traders crossed the border through Nathu La and travelled nearly six kilometres into India to reach the designated market area. There they sold products such as fur coats, leather goods, blankets and Pashmina shawls before returning the same evening to their villages across the border. Indian traders were permitted similar access to designated trading points on the Chinese side.

The system was tightly regulated and will remain so if it resumes. Officials familiar with the arrangements say the govt has prepared a list of more than 30 items cleared for sale through the border trade marts. Only these approved products can be traded. The number of Chinese vehicles permitted to cross into Indian territory has also been fixed under the established protocol.

Historically, the Nathu La border trade functioned as a four-day weekly market operating between June and Sept, when weather conditions at the pass are relatively stable. Movement will remain restricted to the designated trading zone. An Indian Army personnel stationed in the region, speaking on condition of anonymity, said reopening the mart would also change the administrative presence in the area.

“Once the markets reopen, this entire zone will see the regular presence of multiple govt agencies,” he said. “Intelligence agencies, in particular, will be active for obvious security reasons. At present, apart from visitors, only personnel from the Army, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) are stationed here.”

The comment reflects the sensitivity surrounding the location. Nathu La, at 14,140 feet above mean sea level, remains one of the few points where India and China maintain a formal framework for border trade. Reaching the pass requires official permits. Beyond Gangtok, the road to the border is punctuated by checkpoints where permits are verified repeatedly. Movement towards Nathu La can be halted at any point depending on weather conditions or operational requirements.

From Gangtok, the road climbs nearly 60 kilometres to the pass. Despite the well-engineered highway built by the Border Roads Organisation, the journey takes about two hours as altitude rises sharply. The effects become noticeable along the way. A pulse oximeter showed oxygen saturation levels gradually falling with altitude, with a marked dip at the pass. Small oxygen canisters are sold by Sikkimese women near the Gangtok police checkpoint where visitors collect their permits.

ITBP personnel stationed in the region caution that visitors should not travel to Nathu La without proper acclimatisation. Ideally, they say, travellers should spend several days at a higher altitude than the plains before attempting the climb. Even after reaching the pass, they advise remaining in what they describe as an ‘oxygen-saving mode’: No running, no hurried climbing of steps and no unnecessary exertion.

The terrain along the route reflects the harshness of the environment. As the road climbs higher, the landscape becomes increasingly dry and rocky. Streams and narrow waterfalls appear along the mountain slopes, many frozen mid-flow under thick layers of ice.

Near Tsangmo Lake, the otherwise quiet route briefly becomes lively with tourists. Apart from the lake, visitors are drawn by yak rides. Decorated yaks stand in orderly lines as handlers guide tourists on short rides around the area.

As Nathu La approaches, the civilian landscape gradually gives way to a stronger military presence.

Observation posts, memorial plaques and an anti-aircraft gun displayed near the pass mark the Indian side. The area also includes a designated space where routine bilateral meetings between Indian and Chinese officials are held. A stone marker commemorates Jawaharlal Nehru’s arrival at Nathu La by motor vehicle in Sept 1958.

Across the narrow stretch that forms the international boundary, Chinese territory is clearly visible. Buildings with distinct architectural styles stand on the other side, including an international mail exchange facility.

Chinese soldiers patrol their side of the border, and groups of civilians can occasionally be seen standing near the buildings, sometimes waving across.

Unlike the Indo-Pakistan or Indo-Bangladesh borders, where the Border Security Force forms the first line of defence, the Sikkim sector sees a strong Indian Army presence alongside the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

The region is guarded by the Indian Army’s 17th Mountain Division, popularly known as the Black Cat Division, working alongside ITBP personnel often referred to as Himveers or Snow Warriors. The boundary line here has no continuous fencing. In winter, large stretches are buried under deep snow—sometimes rising to waist level—making routine patrols physically demanding and logistically complex. Protecting the border in such terrain depends on constant human presence rather than physical barriers.

Near the trade mart, a board describing Nathu La as the ‘Pass of Listening Ears’ recalls a very different past. The route once formed part of the Silk Route connecting India with Tibet and China and also served as a corridor for the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage. It records the passage of Buddhist scholars, the Dalai Lama’s journey through the pass in the 1950s and Jawaharlal Nehru’s travel along the route to Bhutan.

But if border commerce resumes, the deserted complex could once again see traders from both sides exchanging goods and currency, reviving one of the few remaining economic links along the Indo-China frontier.

(Based on this correspondent’s recent visit to the Nathu La Pass)

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