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A historic trade pass on the old Silk Route linking Sikkim with the Tibetan plateau.

Nathu La sits at roughly 4,300 m on the Himalayan crest east of Gangtok. Like other passes here it is a saddle in crust thrust up during the India–Asia collision, threading between peaks toward the edge of the Tibetan plateau.

Once a busy artery of the Silk Route, it lies among alpine lakes and meadows and receives heavy snow, remaining one of the highest motorable passes in the region.

Sources

• Survey of India

A short reference note: this summary draws on third-party sources such as the Geological Survey of India and Wikipedia. In time I plan to give every geological feature its own learning-oriented write-up — with custom diagrams, graphs, and study pointers — as I’ve already done for the 11 locations that have an Instagram reel.