culture · Nathang Valley, Gangtok
Gnathang 1888: reading the old battle ground
The trouble began in 1886, when Tibetan troops crossed Jelep La and built a fort at Lingtu, inside Sikkim, on the road the British were pushing towards the pass. In March 1888 a British force drove them out of Lingtu and set up a defended camp at Gnathong, the plateau where the village stands today. The Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal arrived on 21 May, and the next morning the Tibetans attacked.
By the British account the fight lasted three hours, from about 7 to 10 am, and the Tibetans withdrew over Jelep La. In September the British attacked again, taking Tuko La, a nearby pass, and then Jelep La itself. That winter the Chinese Amban came to Gnathong to negotiate. The talks dragged on, and led in 1890 to the Convention of Calcutta, which fixed the Sikkim–Tibet border. Gnathong was, for a season, where that border was argued over.
Today you see a quiet valley, a village and Army posts. We know of no marked battlefield site open to visitors, so do not wander looking for one. Stand by the road, look north towards Kupup and Jelep La, and picture a stockade on this flat ground with smoke from its fires. Fifteen years later, in December 1903, Younghusband's escort marched out of here for Tibet, and the valley's short spell in world affairs was over.
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What happened at Nathang in 1888
During the 1888 Sikkim expedition, the British set up a defended post at Gnathong after driving Tibetan troops from Lingtu. On 22 May 1888 the Tibetans attacked it, and after about three hours of fighting they withdrew over Jelep La. In September the British took Tuko La and Jelep La. Negotiations at Gnathong that winter led to the 1890 Convention of Calcutta.
Is there a war memorial or museum at Nathang
Not one we can point you to for the 1888 fighting. There is no museum, and we know of no marked battlefield open to visitors. The Army has posts in the area, which you should not photograph. The value here is the story and the landscape. For a formal memorial, the Sherathang war memorial near Nathu La honours soldiers of the 1967 clashes.
Why is Nathang also spelt Gnathang or Gnathong
They are different spellings of the same Tibetan-derived name, written down by British officers, surveyors and later officials in their own ways. Gnathong appears in 19th-century British accounts of the 1888 campaign, Gnathang in the census, and Nathang on most road signs and travel sites. All three refer to the same high valley and village above Zuluk.
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