Gangtok, April 18: The Sikkim Hotel and Restaurant Association (SHRA) is pinning hopes on Nathu-la, a desolate mountain pass linking Sikkim to Tibet, to trigger a tourism boom .

At a time when Sikkim is going the whole hog to draw tourists to the Himalayan state, the association has urged Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to hold talks with China to open the silk route of yore for pilgrims bound for Manas Sarovar and Mount Kailash.

A three-member SHRA delegation, led by president elect S.M. Gurung, called on Vajpayee during his four-day visit to the hill state and submitted a memorandum seeking his intervention to fulfil the Sikkimese tour operators’ and hoteliers’ long standing demand.

Allowing the transit of pilgrims via Nathu-la (14,200 feet), an “all weather pass”, would go a long way in developing the economy, SHRA members said

Kailash (22,022 feet) and Manas Sarovar, situated on the high plains of the western Tibetan plateau between Gurla Mandhata and Kun Lun mountain ranges, is a destination that holds great appeal for Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. The “promised land” of Manas Sarovar and Kailash, is considered the abode of lord Shiva

“We urged the Prime Minister to reopen the time-tested route, once the most popular with pilgrims from India and Sikkim,” said Association general secretary S. Thendup Wangdi. “An all-weather road exists on both sides of the international border, which can be used to travel comfortably.”

Pilgrims intent on visiting the “holy land” are taken via the India-Nepal-Tibet (Kathmandu-Zhangmu-Nyala-Lhatse-Saga-Manas Sarovar) route by travel agencies, because “it is relatively easy to get permission. One has to cover an arduous 1,208 km over rugged terrain to reach the destination,” Wangdi said.

“NAthu-la has been opened to domestic tourists since the past three years. Gangtok, on the Indian side, is 52-km from the border pass and Yathung, on the Tibet side, barely 30-odd km. The Gangtok-Yathung-Gyantse-Lhatse-Saga-Manas Sarovar route is totally motorable, making for a much safer passage,” he added.

The only other trail open to pilgrims bound for Kailash and Manas Sarovar is through the treacherous Dharchu-la in Pittoragarh district. The route, with no proper resting town on either side, is extremely difficult to traverse. It is not easy to procure permits from the Union ministry of external affairs either.

“The meeting with the Prime Minister went off well. Though he made no commitments, we are confident he will definitely do something to reopen the route,” Wangdi said.