| Bum La Pass | |
| Photo Width: | 250px |
| Location: | Tsona County, Tibet, China - Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, India |
| Range: | Himalaya |
| Map: | India Arunachal Pradesh#China Tibet |
| Label Position: | top |
| Coordinates: | 27.7237°N 91.8916°W |
| Native Name: | 邦拉山口 |
The Bum La Pass is a border pass between China's Tsona County in Tibet and India's Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh.[1] It is 37 km away from the town of Tawang in India's Tawang district and 43 km from the town of Tsona Dzong in China's Tsona County. The pass currently serves as a trading point between Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet.[2] It is also an agreed Border Personnel Meeting point for the security forces of China and India.
An old traders road went from Tawang via Milakatong La Pass ("La" in the Tibetan Language means "pass") to Bum La Pass and finally to Tsona Dzong in Tibet.
The road to Bum La is also a historical route, the People's Liberation Army of China invaded India during the 1962 Sino-Indian War. Here in Bum La Pass one of the fiercest battles, the Battle of Bum La Pass, took place in the 1962 Sino-Indian War.
In 2006, Bumla pass was re-opened to traders for the first time in 44 years. Traders from both sides of the pass were permitted to enter each other's territories, in addition to postal workers from each country.[3] [2]
It is often covered with heavy snow throughout the year. It is one of the most off-beat passes in the world.[4]
Visit by civilian tourist of India is permissible with permission from the Indian Army. The track is very treacherous, only SUVs advisable, and that too only on clear weather day with no snowfall or rainfall.
Created by falling rocks, boulders and trees in an earthquake, there is a Sangestar Tso lake (lake is called Tso in Tibetan) that featured Madhuri Dixit (Bollywood actress) in the movie Koyla, as a result this lake is sometimes also called Madhuri lake. The lake is about 20 km from Tawang town, about 7 km beyond the bifurcation of road leading to Bum La Pass.
There is a Heap of Stones here where visitors place pebbles as gratitude to the mighty Himalayas and the guardians of our northern frontiers. There is a Sino-India friendship sign here.[5] [6] [7]
It is one of the five officially agreed Border Personnel Meeting points between the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army of China for regular consultations and interactions between the two armies to improve relations.[8]
Here, there is a hut on the India side where border meetings are held by the rival armies.
A special permit is required to visit Bum La Pass. The Permits can be requested at the Office of the Deputy Commissioner in Tawang District, and the same has to be stamped in the Indian army cantonment of Tawang. Without the army stamp, visitors will not be allowed through the numerous check posts on the way.