Cross Hill and the French mission story

The Paris Foreign Missions Society spent much of the 19th century trying to establish Catholic missions in Tibet, from the Chinese side and from India. Father Augustine Desgodins was one of its most persistent priests. After years on Tibet's eastern frontier, he came to Pedong in the early 1880s, the last good base on the road to Jelep La, and founded a mission here.

In 1882 he raised a cross on the hill above the town, as a memorial to missionaries headed for Tibet. The hill has been called Cross Hill ever since. The climb from the road takes 15–20 minutes, and from the top you see the Pedong ridge, the valleys toward the Reshi river and, on clear days, the hills of Sikkim, in the direction the priests hoped to go.

Back in town, the Sacred Heart Church, part of the same mission, still serves the local Catholic community. Visit quietly and outside services. The story of French priests, Lepcha converts and Tibetan traders on one mountain road is part of what makes Pedong more than a transit stop.