Shipki La Pass:
Himachal Pradesh has opened the Shipki La pass, a motorable mountain pass at an altitude of 3,930 metres in the tribal Kinnaur district, to domestic tourists.
- Shipki La Pass is a motorable mountain pass situated at an altitude of 3,930 meters, bordering India and China in tribal district of Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh.
- It also serves as the boundary post on the frontier between China and India.
- It is one of the highest motorable passes.
- Through this pass the Sutlej River (known as Langqen Zangbo in Tibet) enters India, and has long served as a vital trade corridor between India and Tibet.
- The old name of Shipki La was Pema La, or Shared Gate, also known as Shared Pass.
- It was declared the Line of Actual Control post-1962, and later, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police named it Shipki La.
- The opening of Shipki La to tourists is part of a broader strategy to stimulate economic growth in Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti, which share a 240-km border with China.
