Dongkya Range Explained

Dongkya or Dongkhya range, is a mountain range in the lower Himalayas that forms the eastern border of Sikkim, a state of India. Its northern tip extends to Dongkha La, and as it moves southwards, sometimes referred to as the Chola range,^[1] it is cut by Cho La, Yak La, Nathu La and Jelep La passes.^[2]

Dongkya range and Chola range

S. K. Samanta explains in the Indian Journal of Landscape Systems and Ecological Studies,

Political importance

It was established as the border between Sikkim and Tibet's Chumbi Valley by the 1890 Convention of Calcutta reached between British India and Qing China. The Convention deemed the Dongkya Range to end at Mount Gipmochi at the southern end, which was defined as the trijunction between India, Tibet and Bhutan. However the Doklam plateau at the southern end gives rise to complications and the present day border dispute between Bhutan and China.

Dongkya Range is politically important, however S. G. Burrard, H. H. Hayden and A. Heron comment that while Dongkya Range is politically important, "but from a Himalayan point of view too great a topographical emphasis was given to them upon maps".^[3]

Passes and peaks

Passes

• Dongkha La
• Cho La (Chola range)
• Yak La (Chola range)
• Nathu La (Chola range)
• Jelep La (Chola range)

Mountains

• Pauhunri (7,128 meters)^[4]
• Chugalung (5,759 meters)
• Dopendikang (5,359 meters)

References and notes

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

• Samanta. Samir Kumar. December 2019. Geomorphic Units of The Sikkim Himalaya. Indian Journal of Landscape Systems and Ecological Studies. 42. 2. 148. 0971-4170. .

Further reading

• Book: Suess, Eduard. The Face of the Earth: Das Antlitz Der Erde. 1904. Clarendon Press. en. Eduard Suess.

27.6833°N 138°W

Notes and References

1. Lucksom . S.Z. . 2008 . Endemic and Threatened Orchids of Sikkim and Their Conservation. ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife and Protected Area . 11 . 1: Special Habitats and Threatened Plants of India . 63–67 . 0972-088X.
2. Web site: Wangchuk. Pema. 1 January 2013. India, China and the Nathu La: Converting Symbolism into Reality. live. 2021-03-28. www.ipcs.org. PDF. https://web.archive.org/web/20211030075635/http://www.ipcs.org/issue_briefs/issue_brief_pdf/IB202-CRP-Pema-NathuLa.pdf . 30 October 2021 .
3. Book: Burrard. Sidney Gerald. A Sketch of the Geography and Geology of Himalaya Mountains and Tibet. Hayden. Henry Hubert. Heron. Alexander . Manager of Publications. Sold at the Office of the Geodetic Branch, Survey of India, Dehra Dun.. 1933. Delhi. 213. Sidney Gerald Burrard. Henry Hubert Hayden. Alexander Heron. Internet Archive.
4. Book: Iozawa, Tomoya. Trekking in the Himalayas. 1985. Union City, CA : Heian International. Internet Archive. 978-0-89346-212-3. 201.