The high country: Yumthang in flower, Gurudongmar frozen at 5,430 m, and two valleys that feel a long way from anywhere.
Altitude
Up to 5,430 m at Gurudongmar
Getting there
Via Gangtok; Bagdogra (IXB) to Lachung is a long day
Best time
March to May for rhododendron, October to November for clarity
How long it needs
3 to 4 nights, always via Gangtok
About North Sikkim
North Sikkim is the reason people come back. The road runs up the Teesta past waterfalls that fall straight onto it, through Chungthang where the river forks, and into two valleys that could not be less alike.
Lachung sits under apple orchards and leads to the Yumthang Valley, which in April and May is a floor of rhododendron under snow peaks. Above it, Zero Point at 4,700 m is snow for most of the year.
Lachen leads to Gurudongmar, a lake at 5,430 m that is sacred to Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus alike, and one of the highest lakes in the world you can drive to. The air is thin, the light is enormous, and you do not stay long.
What people come for
Yumthang Valley, the Valley of Flowers
Zero Point at 4,700 m, snow-bound most of the year
Gurudongmar Lake at 5,430 m
Chopta Valley and the Lachen approach
Seven Sisters and Naga waterfalls on the Teesta road
Lachung Monastery and the apple valleys
Know before you go
Gurudongmar is open to Indian nationals only. Foreign passport holders can go as far as Lachen and Chopta Valley. This is a central government rule, not ours.
Everything north of Chungthang needs a protected-area permit, issued in Gangtok against original photo ID and photographs.
At 5,430 m altitude sickness is real. We build the ascent through Gangtok and Lachen rather than rushing it, and we do not recommend Gurudongmar for infants, for anyone with a heart or lung condition, or in late pregnancy.
Zero Point and Gurudongmar are extra excursions on top of the base North Sikkim run, and every operator prices them separately. So do we, openly.
Packages
2 trips that include North Sikkim
Each of these can be lengthened, shortened or recombined. If you want North Sikkim on its own, or bolted onto something else entirely, just ask.
Tell us roughly what you want. We will send back a real itinerary.
Dates, how many of you, and anywhere you have your heart set on — that is enough for us to start. You will get a day-by-day plan with named hotels and one all-in price, in writing, before you pay anything.
