Lipulekh Pass

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Lipu-Lekh Pass
India Uttarakhand location map.svg
Red pog.svg
China Tibet Ngari location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Elevation 16,780 ft (5,115 m) [1]
LocationBorder between India and Tibet, China [2]
Range Himalayas
Coordinates 30°14′03″N81°01′44″E / 30.234080°N 81.028805°E / 30.234080; 81.028805
  Lipulekh Pass
The vicinity of the Lipulekh Pass

Lipulekh La or Lipulekh Pass is a Himalayan pass in the border between India on the northern border with Tibet region held by China. [3] [2] The Old Lipulekh Peak or Old Lipulekh Pass, a Mount Kailash viewing point at 17,500 ft elevation, lies west of Lipulekh Pass. [3] The Lipulekh pass is near the trading town of Taklakot (Purang) in Tibet and used since ancient times by traders, mendicants and pilgrims transiting between India and Tibet. It is also used by pilgrims to Kailas and Manasarovar. It is reached by the Pithoragagh-Lipulekh Pass Highway (PLPH), and a spur from Nabhidhang (Nabidhang) runs along a glaciated river to Om Parvat. The Mount Kailash in Tibet can be viewed from India from the Old Lipulekh Peak (via NH-9 motorable till the pass) which lies northeast of Gunji and the Limpiyadhura Pass (via Kuthi Valley) which lies northwest of Gunji. [3] The Kali River (Sharda River) rises from the Limpiyadhura northeast of Gunji and flows by the KMVN Huts (Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam resort) at Nabhidhang (a fork route from Nabhidhang goes southeast along the glaciated rivulet to Om Parvat), ITBP Base Camp, Indian Forest Police Checkpost to Gunji.

Contents

Tourism

This pass links the Pithoragarh district India with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, and forms the last territorial point in India's territory. The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a Hinduism pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar, traverses this pass. Lipulekh pass is connected to Chang Lobochahela, near the old trading town of Purang (Taklakot), in Tibet.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharda River</span> River along the India–Nepal border

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Gunji is a small village in Uttarakhand of India. It is administered by India, but disputed by Nepal. It is near the borders of Tibet and Nepal and the confluence of the Kuthi Yankti and Kalapani River, at the east end of the Kuthi Valley. It is officially listed in the map of India. As of now Gunji, Kuti, and Nabhi villages belong to India. The village is on the traditional Indian/Nepalese route to Kailas–Manasarovar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adi Kailash</span> Mountain in Uttarakhand, India

Adi Kailash, also known as Shiva Kailash, Chota Kailash, Baba Kailash or Jonglingkong Peak, is a mountain located in the Himalayan mountain range in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India. It is the second most important peak among the group of five separate peaks in Himalayas in separate locations collectively known as the Panch Kailash or "Five Kailashas", other being Mount Kailash in first place, Shikhar Kailash in third, Kinnaur Kailash in fourth and Manimahesh Kailash in fifth place in terms of importance. Gauri Kund and Parvati Tal glacial lakes are at the base of the Adi Parvat. Adi Kailash & Limpiyadhura Pass are both located northwest of Gunji. The Lipulekh Pass, Old Lipulekh Peak & Om Parvat are located northeast of Gunji. Adi Kailash base camp, near the Hindu Shiva temple on the banks of sacred Jolingkong Lake, is located 17 km northwest of Kuthi (Kuti) village in Kuthi Yankti Valley. The Adi Kailash Yatra Circuit route-1 via Gunji, the eastern-southeastern route, is reached by the Pithoragagh-Lipulekh Pass Highway (PLPH) and its Gunji-Lampiya Dhura Pass Road (GLDPR) paved motorable spur via Kuthi Yankti Valley from Gunji to Adi Kailash. The permits for this route are issued at Dharchula and medical check-up is conducted there. The homestay accommodation is available in the villages along the route in Gunji, Napalachchu, Nabhi, Juli Kong and Kuti. The Adi Kailash Yatra Circuit route-2 via Darma Valley, the western-southwestern route, begins by going up the Darma Valley and then crossing the Sin La pass south of Brahma Parvat to go to Kuthi Yankti Valley to Jolingkong Lake Base Camp. Many travellers who take the route-2, after the Adi Kailash darshan chose to traverse the route-1 in reverse direction till Gunji where they can join the Om Parvat & Mount Kailash-Lake Manasarovar Tibetan pilgrimage route along the Sharda River. Kailash-Mansarovar, Adi Kailash and Om Parvat are sacred to Hindus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Char Dham Highway</span> Proposed two-lane highway in Uttarakhand, India

Char Dham National Highway, is an under construction two-lane 889 km long National Highway with a minimum width of 10 metres in the Indian state of Uttarakhand under Char Dham Pariyojana. The under construction highway will complement the under-construction Char Dham Railway by connecting the four holy places in Uttarakhand states namely Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. The project includes 889 km national highways which will connect the whole of Uttarakhand state. It will connect Delhi–Dehradun Expressway on its southern end to India-China Border Roads on its northern ends.

Tinkar is a village in the Byans Rural Municipality of Darchula District in the Sudurpashchim province of Nepal. It is named after the Tinkar Khola river, a tributary of the Mahakali River, which it joins near the village of Chhangru.

References

  1. Walton, Almora District Gazetteer (1911), p. 229.
  2. 1 2 Ling, L.H.M.; Abdenur, Adriana Erthal; Banerjee, Payal (19 September 2016). India China: Rethinking Borders and Security. University of Michigan Press. pp. 49–50. ISBN   978-0-472-13006-1.
  3. 1 2 3 How Uttarakhand Is Providing "Closer Darshan" To Kailash-Mansarovar Pilgrims, NDTV, 29 June 2023.

Bibliography

Lipulekh Pass
Simplified Chinese 里普列克山口
Traditional Chinese 里普列克山口