Zhangmu (11,000 ft) better known by its Tibetan name, Khasa, is a small settlement clinging to a hill side 10-km inland from the friendship bridge across the Bhote Koshi. After the closure of the China / India border from Gangtok, Zhangmu has become the major trading route between Tibet and Nepal. The climate is quite different from the hinterland. The hills around Zhangmu are heavily wooded with innumerable waterfalls in the summer and frozen `icicles' during the winter. It has a bank, a post office, a government stores, and is presently undergoing a construction boom to meet the demands of trade and tourism