Resumption of Trade via Lipulekh Pass

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India has officially restarted its border trade with China through the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand after a six-year suspension.
The trade route had been completely shut down since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Lipulekh is a very important high-altitude mountain pass in the Himalayas that serves as a key trade corridor and transit gateway.
It sits at a crucial geographic trijunction connecting India, Nepal, and China (Tibet).

On the Indian side, it is situated inside the Vyas Valley in the Pithoragarh district of the Kumaon region in Uttarakhand, India.
On the Chinese side, it connects India directly to the Purang region, which is also known as Taklakot in Tibet, China.
The pass sits at an approximate high-altitude crest of 5,200 meters or around 17,060 feet above sea level.

Following the Anglo-Nepal War, British India and the Kingdom of Nepal signed the 1816 Sugauli Treaty, which made the Kali River the western boundary of Nepal.
The core dispute happens because both nations disagree on the exact geographical source of the Kali River.
India states that the river begins at the springs of Kalapani, which places Lipulekh firmly inside Indian territory.
Nepal argues that the river starts farther west at Limpiyadhura, and therefore claims the entire land pocket as part of its own country.
After staying closed since the 1962 Sino-Indian War, bilateral border trade through the pass resumed in 1991 under a formal bilateral protocol.
In 2020, India opened an 80-kilometer road connecting Dharchula to Lipulekh to make travel easier for pilgrims.
Nepal strongly protested this project and published a revised constitutional political map that included Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura, but India rejected this move.

The pass serves as one of the shortest and most popular routes for pilgrims going on the sacred Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
It acts as an active cross-border trade hub where Indian merchants exchange high-altitude commodities, wool, and local crafts with Tibetan markets.
Logistical assembly points like Nabhidhang and Gunji feature dedicated customs offices, border security outposts, and warehouses.
Because the final 600-meter approach has very steep terrain, merchants rely on horses and mules to move cargo to the border line.