Jelep Pass

Jelep Pass, Tibetan Jelep La, Chinese Zhiliepu Shankou, mountain pass on the border of the Indian state of Sikkim and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Jelep Pass lies at an elevation of about 14,390 feet (4,386 metres), in the Dongkya Range of the eastern Himalayas. The pass (la), with its gentle gradient, was a crucial link in the main trade route from India to Tibet until the border was closed in 1962. It is connected by an all-weather road via Gangtok in Sikkim (16 miles [26 km] southwest) to Darjiling and Shiliguri in West Bengal state, and a spur road leads north to Natu Pass (Natu La), another important passage through the Himalayas.