From Forbidden Frontiers to Open Roads: Riding into India’s Living Battlefields

For decades, names like Cho La and Doklam evoked only terse military briefings and distant headlines. They were places spoken of in strategic circles, not destinations marked on travel itineraries. That changed in December 2025, when Sikkim took a bold step—turning restricted frontier zones into regulated spaces of remembrance, learning, and adventure.

On December 15, 2025, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang flagged off a convoy of 25 vehicles and motorcycles from Ridge Park in Gangtok, formally opening civilian access to the Cho La and Doklam regions. With that ceremonial flag-off, India’s borders in the eastern Himalayas began telling their stories directly to its people.

Opening the Frontier, Carefully

The move is part of the Union government’s Bharat Rannbhoomi Darshan initiative and the Vibrant Village Programme, both aimed at promoting border-area tourism while strengthening livelihoods in remote regions. Access to Cho La and Doklam has been available since October 1, 2025, but under strict regulation: permits only for Indian nationals, mandatory applications through registered Sikkim tour operators, and daily caps on vehicle movement.

Tourists must follow a “No Trace and Carry Your Trash” policy, reflecting the fragile Himalayan ecosystem and the sensitivity of active border landscapes.

According to the Sikkim government, visitors are also required to spend at least one night in designated villages such as Zuluk, Gnathang (Ganathang), or Kupup. This condition ensures tourism income reaches local families directly, rather than bypassing them through large hotel chains.

CS Rao, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Sikkim, said the state worked in close coordination with the Indian Army, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), and state police to ensure safety and basic facilities, including restrooms and cafeterias, along the route.

Where History Was Written in Snow

Cho La holds a special place in India’s military memory. In October 1967, Indian Army troops clashed with China’s People’s Liberation Army here, shortly after the confrontation at Nathu La. These engagements reinforced the alignment of the boundary as it exists today and remain among the most significant post-1962 episodes along the India–China frontier.

Doklam, meanwhile, sits at the tri-junction of India, Bhutan, and China—an area of enduring strategic importance because of its proximity to the Siliguri Corridor, often called India’s “Chicken’s Neck,” which connects the Northeast to the rest of the country. In 2017, Doklam became the focus of a 73-day standoff between Indian and Chinese forces, drawing global attention to the region’s geopolitical sensitivity.

For travellers today, these are not abstract locations from history books. They are high-altitude plateaus, windswept ridges, and narrow roads where soldiers once stood their ground—and where civilians can now reflect on that legacy.

Adventure with Purpose

India’s tourism policymakers see border tourism not as thrill-seeking alone, but as nation-building. The Ministry of Tourism has noted that historic battlefields, often located in remote and challenging terrain, carry stories of extraordinary courage and sacrifice. Under initiatives like Bharat Rannbhoomi Darshan, the ministry has worked with the Indian Army’s adventure and outreach wings to identify and responsibly develop such sites as tourism products.

The potential is significant. According to the Ministry of Tourism, India recorded over 2,500 million domestic tourist visits in pre-pandemic years, with growing interest in experiential, adventure, and heritage travel. Separately, government assessments under the Vibrant Village Programme highlight that border districts—particularly in the Himalayan and Northeast regions—remain underexplored despite high employment potential through homestays, guiding services, transport, and local crafts.

Sikkim’s approach reflects this thinking: controlled access, strong security coordination, and a clear link between tourism and village-level income.

From “Gray Zones” to Shared Geography

For years, areas like Cho La and Doklam were labelled “gray zones” for civilians—visible on maps but inaccessible in reality. Opening them now carries symbolic weight. It demystifies the frontier and reinforces a simple idea: borders are more secure when citizens understand them, value them, and contribute economically to their sustainability.

For bikers tracing the old Silk Route, for young Indians curious about military history, and for adventure travellers seeking meaning beyond photographs, these newly opened roads offer more than scenery. They offer context—of geography, sacrifice, and the everyday lives that now unfold where only soldiers once stood.

In Sikkim’s high passes, India’s frontier is no longer just defended. It is being shared.