North Sikkim
Lachung sits at about 2,650 m (8,690 ft) beside the Lachung Chu, 126 km and about six hours north of Gangtok. The road runs by Kabi, Mangan and Chungthang, where the Lachen and Lachung rivers meet to make the Teesta.
Photo: North Bengal Tourism / Unsplash
Tung checkpost
Every vehicle must be through the Tung checkpost by 16:00, going up and coming down. That rule, not the scenery, sets each departure time in the north, so lunch is never long. Cars come from a registered Sikkim operator, as the protected area requires.
Photo: nur alam / Unsplash
Yumthang, 3,564 m
The checkpost beyond Lachung queues badly in season, so the car leaves at 06:15. The road follows the Lachung Chu through fir and larch, the one conifer here that drops its needles in winter, to the meadow at 3,564 m (11,690 ft).
Photo: Ayush Paul / Pexels
March to May
Around Yakse the road enters the Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary, some 24 species over 43 sq km, in flower from March to May. Primulas, iris and poppies cover the meadow until the monsoon, with yaks grazing among them.
Photo: Amit Merchant / Unsplash
A sulphur spring
Cross the footbridge at half your usual pace to the sulphur hot spring, where the water is led into a hut and small pools. Back in Lachung for lunch, there is an easy afternoon on foot: Lachung Monastery of 1880 among its apple trees, and the weaving center.
Photo: Saief Al Emon / Unsplash
The Dzumsa
Lachung runs its own affairs through the Dzumsa, a village council under an elected Pipon that settles disputes by consensus. Rooms here are simple by city standards, so we choose a house with heaters and a generator for the power cuts.
Photo: Pulak Bhagawati / Unsplash
When to go
From late December to February, snow can close the north road, and the district can suspend permits after heavy rain, as it did for about four months in 2025. Permits go only to children over five. We check road and permit status the evening before you drive north.
Photo: Rutva Andharia / Unsplash