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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Kupup
|native_name = Kophu
|native_name_lang = 
|settlement_type = Hamlet
|image_skyline =
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|image_caption =
|etymology =
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|image_map =
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|pushpin_map = India Sikkim#India
|pushpin_map_alt = Location in Sikkim
|pushpin_map_caption =
|pushpin_label_position =
|coordinates = {{coord|27.3434|88.8407 |format=dms|type:village|display=inline,title}}
|coor_pinpoint =
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|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = India
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_name1 = [[Sikkim]]
|subdivision_type2 = District
|subdivision_name2 = [[East Sikkim district|Gangtok]]
|subdivision_type3 =
|subdivision_name3 =
|unit_pref = Metric

|area_total_km2 =
|area_land_km2 =
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m = 3940
|population_footnotes = <ref>[https://www.newindianexpress.com/galleries/nation/2017/aug/29/road-to-doklam-landmarks-near-doka-la-pass-where-india-and-china-engaged-in-an-eyeball-war-100764.html Road to Doklam: Landmarks near Doka La Pass where India and China engaged in an eyeball war], The New Indian Express, 29 August 2017.</ref>
|population_as_of = 2017
|population_total = 250
|population_density_km2 = auto
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| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-zoom = 12
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}}

'''Kupup'''{{efn|Alternative spellings: '''Kapup''',{{sfnp|Brown, Tours in Sikhim|1934|pp=141, 145}} '''Kupuk'''{{sfnp|Steinmann, National Hegemonies, Local Allegiances|2004|p=157}} and '''Kophu'''.{{sfnp|Edgar, Report on a Visit to Sikhim|1874|p=30}}}} is a hamlet in the Indian state of [[Sikkim]] near the border with China. It lies in a transverse valley below the [[Dongkya Range]], close to the [[Jelep La]] pass. A nearby moraine ridge across the valley forms part of the watershed between the [[Teesta River|Teesta]] and [[Dichu River|Dichu]] river basins. To the southeast of the ridge is the lake '''Bitang Tso'''{{efn|Alternative spellings: '''Bithang Tso''',<ref name=Coelho>{{citation |first=V. H. |last=Coelho |title=Sikkim and Bhutan |publisher=Indian Council for Cultural Relations/Vikas Publications |year=1970 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NUhuAAAAMAAJ |page=121}}</ref> '''Bidang Tso''',{{sfnp|Brown, Tours in Sikhim|1934|p=141}}
'''Bedang Tso''',<ref name="sikkimforest.gov.in"/> and
'''Bidantso'''.{{sfnp|Temple, The Lake Region of Sikkim|1881|pp=335–336}}
The meaning is explained as "the lake of the cow-yak".<ref name=Coelho/>}}, also called the '''Elephant Lake''' or '''Kupup Lake''', from which the Dichu river is conventionally believed to originate.

Beyond the valley of Dichu to the east is the Mount [[Gipmochi]], which China claims as the trijunction between India, [[Bhutan]] and itself, but this is disputed by Bhutan and India. The [[Doka La]] pass, next to Gipmochi where India has a [[border outpost]], is accessed from Kupup via a border road.

== Geography ==
[[File:Chumbi-trijunction-in-1923-SoI-map.jpg|thumb|left|270px|Kupup below the Jelep La pass (Survey of India, 1923)]]
[[File:Bidantso-sketch-Richard-Temple.png|thumb|right|275px|A sketch of Bitang Tso by [[Sir_Richard_Temple,_1st_Baronet|Sir Richard Temple]]; Mount [[Gipmochi]] at the far end]]
[[File:Kupup Elephant Lake.jpg|thumb|275px|Contemporary photograph of Bitang Tso]]

Kupup lies in a transverse depression between the [[Dongkya Range]] that forms the border of Sikkim, and the mountains to the southwest. The Bitang Tso or Elephant Lake, a [[glacial lake]] that is regarded as the source of the [[Dichu River|Dichu]] river, is next to Kupup in the same depressioin.{{sfnp|Temple, The Lake Region of Sikkim|1881|p=339}} Kupup lies on the higher ground to the northwest of the Bitang Tso lake.
Darjeeling superintendent [[John Ware Edgar|J. W. Edgar]], who surveyed the area for the construction of a road to Tibet in 1874, described Kupup as "a grassy and rather marshy valley".{{sfnp|Edgar, Report on a Visit to Sikhim|1874|pp=6–7}} It was said that 1,500 men could encamp in the valley. Fuel and rhododendron scrub were plentiful in the locality. To the northeast of the valley is a steep hill called "Tent Hill", which rises to 1,000 ft.{{sfnp|O'Conner, Routes in Sikkim|1900|p=27}} A stream flows down from the Jelep La pass and bends around the Tent Hill to the northwest,{{sfnp|Blandford, Journey through Sikkim|1871|pp=380–381}} and drains into [[Menmecho Lake]], which was described by Edgar as being especially beautiful.{{sfnp|Edgar, Report on a Visit to Sikhim|1874|p=31}} The river flowing from here is called [[Rangpo Chu]], which is an upstream tributary of the [[Teesta River]].

To the southeast of Kupup, the Bitang Tso is considered the source of the [[Dichu River]], even though other streams flowing down from the Dongkya Range provide a greater volume of water. Dichu flows southeast until Mount [[Gipmochi]] on the western shoulder of the [[Doklam]] plateau, where it turns south and enters Bhutan.

The cart road to [[Jelep La]] on Sikkim–Tibet border, eventually laid by the British, ran on the watershed between Teesta and Dichu rivers. The watershed continues on to the [[moraine|moraine ridge]] above Bitang Tso.{{sfnp|Blandford, Journey through Sikkim|1871|pp=380–381}} British explorers noted that, from here on, the road to Jelep La had a gentle ascent, which was no more than {{convert|1000|ft}} above.

== Current status ==
After the independence of India, a motorable road was constructed between [[Gangtok]] and [[Nathu La]](up to [[Sherathang]]) during 1954–1958. The use of Jelep La was also continued, via the old British cart road as well as along the Nathu La road via Sherathang (8 km from Kupup).<ref>[https://www.openstreetmap.org/directions?engine=graphhopper_car&route=27.3794%2C88.8199%3B27.3507%2C88.8397#map=12/27.2937/88.9075&layers=Y Sherathang to Kupup], OpenStreetMap, retrieved 10 July 2022.</ref>

Trade relations between India and China were suspended during the 1962 [[Sino-Indian War]] and the passes were closed. In 2006, Nathu La was reopened by mutual agreement. A motorable road along the old British alignment has been constructed between [[Kalimpong]] and Kupup, which continues on to Sherathang and Nathu La.

A second settlement of Kupup has grown up on the high ground above Bitang Tso, to support the Indian armed forces.<ref name="sikkimforest.gov.in">[http://www.sikkimforest.gov.in/soer/Wetlands%20of%20Sikkim.pdf Wetlands of Sikkim], ''State of Environment – Sikkim'', 2007, p. 58.</ref> A road to the [[Doka La]] pass near Mount [[Gipmochi]], 5 km distant, runs from Kupup on the northeast side of the valley. During the 73-day [[Doklam standoff]] in 2017, Kupup formed a key link for the Indian military.<ref>Deeptiman Tiwary, [https://indianexpress.com/article/india/doklam-standoff-dolam-5-km-from-face-off-with-india-china-high-alert-but-conflict-far-from-minds-gnathang-valley-doka-la-4806002/ Doklam Standoff: 5 km from face-off with China, high alert but conflict far from minds], The Indian Express, 21 August 2017.</ref><ref>Karma Paljor, [https://www.news18.com/news/india/ground-report-from-last-post-to-doklam-latest-sore-point-in-india-china-ties-1476545.html Ground Report from last Post to Doklam, Latest Sore Point in India-China Ties], News18, 29 July 2017.</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{citation |first=William T. |last=Blandford |title=Account of a visit to the eastern and northern frontiers of independent Sikkim, with notes on the zoology of the alpine and sub-alpine regions, Part I |journal=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |year=1871 |pages=367–420 |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofasi401871unse/page/n451 |ref={{sfnref|Blandford, Journey through Sikkim|1871}}}}
* {{citation |last=Brown |first=Percy |title=Tours in Sikhim and the Darjeeling District |editor-last=Townsend |editor-first=Joan |edition=Revised |publisher=W. Newman & Co |location=Calcutta |year=1934 |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.pahar.2586/page/144 |via=archive.org |ref={{sfnref|Brown, Tours in Sikhim|1934}}}}
* {{Citation |last=Edgar |first=John Ware |author-link=John Ware Edgar |title=Report on a visit to Sikhim and the Thibetan frontier in October, November, and December, 1873 |publisher=Bengal Secretariat Press |place=Calcutta |year=1874 |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924023017829 |publication-date=1874 |via=archive.org |ref={{sfnref|Edgar, Report on a Visit to Sikhim|1874}}}}
* {{citation |last=O'Conner |first=W. F. |title=Routes in Sikkim |publisher=Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing |location=Calcutta |year=1900 |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.pahar.1542 |via=archive.org |ref={{sfnref|O'Conner, Routes in Sikkim|1900}}}}
* {{citation |last=Steinmann |first=Brigitte |title=National Hegemonies, Local Allegiances: Historiography and ethnography of a Buddhist kingdom |journal=European Bulletin of Himalayan Research |volume=25/26 |pages=145–167 |year=2004 |url=http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ebhr/pdf/EBHR_25%2626_06.pdf |ref={{sfnref|Steinmann, National Hegemonies, Local Allegiances|2004}}}}
* {{citation |first=Richard |last=Temple |author-link=Sir Richard Temple, 1st Baronet |title=The Lake Region of Sikkim, on the Frontier of Tibet |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography |date=June 1881 |volume=3 |number=6 |pages=321–340 |doi=10.2307/1800507 |jstor=1800507 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/2274571 |ref={{sfnref|Temple, The Lake Region of Sikkim|1881}}}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.newindianexpress.com/galleries/nation/2017/aug/29/road-to-doklam-landmarks-near-doka-la-pass-where-india-and-china-engaged-in-an-eyeball-war-100764.html Road to Doklam: Landmarks near Doka La Pass where India and China engaged in an eyeball war], The New Indian Express. Has photographs of Bitang Tso and the Kupup village.

[[Category:China–India border]]
[[Category:Gangtok district]]

Kupup - Revision history

Dia at 02:47, 25 November 2025