DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand’s historic Kilong Mandi, near the India-China frontier in Chamoli district, is stirring back to life after decades of isolation.
Border tourism is bringing visitors to a marketplace that once linked Indian and Tibetan traders, while bilateral moves to restore trade suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic have rekindled hope across this strategically important region.
Padma Shri awardee and noted Nainital-based photographer Anup Shah, 77, who has undertaken the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage twice, recalled Kilong’s former prominence.
“Situated about 35 km beyond Niti village, amid velvet-green alpine meadows, Kilong drew Tibetan traders carrying wool, salt, pashmina and borax before the 1962 war,” he told this newspaper.
“Indian merchants sold grain, jaggery, spices, cloth and daily-use goods. Trade through Niti Pass ended after the war, and the market slipped into history. Reviving this tradition through careful planning could be a boon for travellers drawn by scholarship, heritage and spirituality.”
In August 2025, India and China agreed to resume border trade through three designated points, Lipulekh Pass, Shipki La and Nathu La, following its pandemic-era suspension. Kilong Mandi and Niti Pass, however, have not been notified as formal trading points. Any reopening along this route would require security, customs, immigration and administrative arrangements.
Even so, the agreement has renewed debate over restoring Uttarakhand’s old trans-Himalayan corridors.
Commerce Ministry data show that India-China merchandise trade stood at about Rs 10.60 lakh crore in 2024-25, including Indian imports of roughly Rs 9.42 lakh crore and exports of Rs 1.19 lakh crore. The trade deficit stood at nearly Rs 8.23 lakh crore.
Traditional trade across Himalayan passes is tiny by comparison but holds disproportionate importance for border livelihoods, cultural ties and India’s presence in remote settlements.
“The road now allows us to see our ancestors’ trading heritage up close,” said local resident Lakshman Farkiya, who recently visited Kilong.
Entry remains regulated and requires administrative permission, depending on identity documents, weather, road conditions and security directives.
Jyotirmath Sub-Divisional Magistrate Chandrashekhar Vashishth said, “The area was earlier visited largely by local residents, but tourists have begun arriving under the border-darshan initiative. The shift marks a significant change for a zone long viewed mainly through a security lens.”
For frontier communities, the stakes extend beyond commerce. A revived corridor could support homestays, guides, transporters and local produce while encouraging continued habitation in villages vulnerable to migration -- an objective closely aligned with New Delhi’s border-development strategy in the region.
Speaking to TNIE, Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj said, “The Centre’s Rs 4,800-crore Vibrant Villages Programme is expected to improve roads, communications, tourism infrastructure and livelihood opportunities in frontier settlements. Calibrated tourism, backed by heritage conservation and strict ecological safeguards, could turn Kilong into a landmark historical destination.”