CHUMBI VALLEY

chumbi valley, a valley connecting tibet (q.v.) with the frontier of british india. lying on the southern slopes of the himalayas at an altitude of about 9500 ft. above the sea, the valley is wedged in between bhutan and sikkim, and does not belong geographically but only politically to tibet. this was the route by which the british mission of 1904 advanced. before the date of that expedition the valley had acquired a reputation for beauty and fertility, which was subsequently found to be only comparative in relation to the barrenness of the rest of the tibetan frontier. the summer months, though not hot, are relaxing and enervating.