Kalimpong, until 1962
For decades the mule caravans from Lhasa ended here, after the 4,390 m (14,400 ft) Jelep La. The pass closed in 1962, but the trade left a hotel, a newspaper's story and a habit of counting in miles.
Photo: Ayush Paul / Pexels
Jelep La, 120 km away
Caravans came down over the pass with bales of yak wool and climbed back toward Lhasa with watches and fountain pens. The wool was stored in godowns in town, then sent on to Kolkata, and from there to England.
Photo: Dhruvin Pandya / Unsplash
A crowded crossroads
So many traders, agents and informers came through that Nehru is said to have remarked that most of Kalimpong were foreign spies. The town had become the harbor of Tibet.
Photo: Mosharraf Hossain / Unsplash
Upper Cart Road
David Macdonald, Britain's trade agent in Tibet for twenty years, made his family home a hotel for travelers bound for Tibet and Everest. It is now the MAYFAIR Himalayan Spa Resort, and the Heritage Rooms in the old house keep their fireplaces.
Photo: Andrew Lamb
1925 to 1963
Gergan Dorje Tharchin printed the Tibet Mirror here, a Tibetan-language paper read in Lhasa. The 13th Dalai Lama wrote to encourage him and became a reader.
Photo: Unsplash
8th Mile, 10th Mile
The town still counts along the old road from the plains. St Augustine's School and St Teresa's Church stand at 8th Mile; Lark's Provisions is simply on 10th Mile Road. Give a driver the mile first and the shop second.
Photo: Boudhayan Bardhan / Unsplash
The road east
The old road still runs east through Algarah and Pedong to Rongli and Zuluk, but the Zuluk permit is issued to Indian citizens only. On a US passport, the trade's story is best heard in Kalimpong itself, over two or three nights.
Photo: Dhruvin Pandya / Unsplash