North Sikkim

Capital – Mangan
A land - where haven touches the earth, the ambience creates mystery, landscape dominated by elements, silence can be heard, vision tends to travel beyond the horizon, soul starts meditating- unknowingly, mind gets rejuvenated; and a land that makes you bow.Explore Incredible India with Special Holidays.

North Sikkim is the northern district of Sikkim. Mongan is the district headquarter of North Sikkim. At an altitude of 3950 ft the town is located at a distance of 65 km from Gangtok, the state capital. Tourists need special permits to visit North Sikkim beyond Mangan. North Sikkim can be visited only as part of an organized tour.Explore Incredible India with Special Holidays. Explore Incredible India with Special Holidays.The road from Mangan goes straight to Chungthang, another major town of North Sikkim. At 5,600 ft. Chungthang is 95 km from Gangtok. From here the road bifurcates. The road to the left goes to Lachen and the road to the right reaches Lachung. Lachen is the base from where tours to Gurudongmar lake and Chopta valley is organised. Lachung on the other hand is the base for your tours to Yumthang valley.

Your journey to North Sikkim - a land full of unfamiliar experiences - starts from Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim. Landscape changes rapidly on every curve, as your road winds upwards. With thick smell of wild flowers, mossy trees, streams rushing down, mists coiling up from the deep gorges, sudden flashy flight of colourful birds, huge snow range embossed in the horizon, wide spread valley, deep blue sky, lonely prayer flag waving leisurely at the distant top - you are on your way to a different destination.All tour and Travel needs for India by Indian travel agent.

naturebeyond`s special package to North Sikkim includes all these places and gives you a much-desired break from the madding city life. All tour and Travel needs for India by Indian travel agent. A dream-come-true and never-before opportunity to explore the pristine and virgin landscape of a remote high altitude plateau now comes right to your desktop. Just click your mouse and set out for an unforgettable experience with naturebeyond.

note: Almost the entire zone of North Sikkim comes under the restricted territory, foreigner's visit beyond Thangu is prohibited.All tour and Travel needs for India by Indian travel agent.

Tourism in the region is at a nascent stage and guests may not get the same level of service in north-sikkim as they would in other parts of the region.

PLACES TO VISIT
Mangan
Mangan is the district headquarters of North Sikkim, a  little hamlet with flower patches, and the water wheels strung with bells set in exquisite miniature gardens more than compensate for the primitiveness of the region.
The Mangan Bazaar (market place) is situated on the North Sikkim highway with around fifty odd shops.All tour and Travel needs for India by Indian travel agent. The district collectorate where the district collector and other government department function is situated around two kilometers uphill from market at a place called Pentok and is approached by a link road. On the sides of this link road while traveling towards Pentok lies a public ground and Mangan Senior Secondary School. Just opposite to Mangan, separated by river Teesta, is seen a sloppy villages namely Lingdong, Barfok, Hee-Gyathang falling under Dzongu area. From the Pentok area, the picturesque view of mount Siniolchu (a range of mount Khangchendzonga) is also seen.

The region is famous for the Phensong and Phodong Monastery, the latter being considered one of the six main monasteries of Sikkim.

Kabi Longtsok
The 134 km drive from Gangtok to Yumthang takes you through Kabi Longtsok, where Sikkimese history began in the 13th century. It was here that the treaty of blood brotherhood  between the Lepcha chieftain, Tetong Tek and the Tibetan chief Khye Burnsa was sworn and signed. Tour Incredible India with Indian Travel agent.Amidst the shadows of tall trees and cardamom fields, a memorial stone and a place of worship mark the historical spot for those who pass by. Slightly ahead is a small monastery. 

Chungthang
Chungthang is situated on the way to Yumthang. It is a small town surrounded by high mountains that seem to touch the sky. Chungthang lies on the confluence of two hilly rivers Lachen and Lachung Chu and the starting point of river Teesta has emerged as a major subdivision settlement in North Sikkim. From here the road bifurcates for the Lachen and Lachung valleys. The spot worth visiting at Chungthang is the rock on which legend has it Guru Padmasambhava rested and the imprint on it is said to be his footmark. There is a small opening in the rock which remains filled with spring water Adjacent to the rock there is a small stretch of land where paddy grows, defying the conditions which are not conducive to the growth of this crop here, It is said that while here Guru Padmasambhava had sprinkled a handful of grain on this spot and paddy has grown here ever since. Chungthang is also a good place to halt for sometime for a cup of tea before proceeding onwards to Yumthang. It  is predominantly a Lepcha region.Tour Incredible India with Indian Travel agent.

Lachung
Lachung is a very small town with scattered settlements, dominated mostly by Bhutias. There is also an army cantonment for the border protection. You can visit monastery, handicraft centre, go around for village. If you are interested then you can do trout fishing.  Tour India with Indian Travel Agent.

A Bhutia village has a unique local self-governing body called the Zumsa which substitutes the Panchayat. It is located about 25 kms from Yumthang Valley. Tour India with Indian Travel Agent.To get a glimpse of Lachung Monastery you have to come to the opposite slope of the highway.

Phodong Monastery
This is one of the major monasteries of Sikkim belonging to the Karmapa sub-sect of Kagyupa monastery. Chogyal Gyurmed Namgyal built the monastery sometime in the first quarter of the 18th century. Beautiful moral paintings adorn the walls of this monastery. Tour India with Indian Travel Agent.

Singhik
A destination 4 km from Mangan, from where one can take a glorious view of Mt. Khangchendzonga, and its neighboring peaks. Half an hour uphill walk takes you to an ancient monastery. Chungthang It is a small town situated at the confluence of Lachen & Lachung River. According to legend Chungthang was the meeting place of Guru Rimpoche & Lepcha Chieftain Thekung Tek.Experience India with Indian Travel Agent. It was here from where the word Demazong originated according to the prophecy of Guru Rimpoche.

Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary
The sanctuary is rich in collection of ground flora and other vegetation. 

Yumthang Valley
Yumthang, the rightfully called the Valley of Flowers as in Flowering season there blossoms vivid colours of variety of Rhododendrons, chimals and blue poppies. Yumthang is located on a flat valley and is near the tree line, the surrounding mountains seems to kiss the heavens. The journey from Lachung to Yumthang has a very picturesque landscape and is lined with Rhododendrons & 108 other types of Orchids which bloom in different colours from April to May.Experience India with Indian Travel Agent.

Lachen
This new destination of the millennium, only opened on the 20th of December 2000, for domestic and foreign tourists. It's a natures gifted wonderland- infact words will fall short to describe the glory of this place. The people, culture, monasteries ,valleys flowers zone. Visit India with Indian Travel agent.The famous Yak race is Thangu, Chopta Valley and Domestic Tourists can also visit Gurudongmar Lake and Cholamu Lake, the source of river Teesta.

Gurudongmar
The Calm and crystal clear water of the Gurudongmar Lake is largest and probably the highest in Sikkim. This is also one of the sacred lake and many pilgrims visit this place once in a year. Visit India with Indian Travel agent.
 
Phodong Monastery, Labrang Monastery and Tumlong Palace ruins
All these three are located within an area of one square kilometre and about 40 kilometres from Gangtok on the North Sikkim Highway. Phodong Monastery which belongs to the Kargyupa Sect (Karmapa), is situated about a kilometre uphill by a jeepable road that bifurcates from the North Sikkim Highway. Phodong monastery was built by the Chogyal Gyurmed Namgyal somewhere in the first quarter of the eighteenth century. Indian Travel agent provides hotel bookings, hotel booking in India.The main annual puja is performed on the 28th and 29th day of the tenth month of the Tibetan calendar when the religious Chaams or dances are also demonstrated. Another kilometre uphill from Phodong Monastery on the same jeepable road is the Labrang Monastery which was built about one hundred years later but belongs to the Nyingmapa sect. Just below the road between Phodong Monastery and Labrang Monastery are the ruins of the third capital of Sikkim, Tumlong. In the beginning of the nineteenth century, the capital of Sikkim was shifted from Rabdanste to Tumlong which then remained the capital for almost ninety years, The Raja's house is now in complete ruins covered with a thick canopy of bushes but we can conjure up an image of what it looked like from Dr. Hooker's account during his visit and imprisonment here in 1849. He wrote in the Himalayan Journal It was an irregular low stone building Of Tibetan architecture, with slanting walls and small window high up under the broad thatched roof, above which, in the middle, was a Chinese looking square copper gilt canopy, with projecting eaves and bells at the corners, surmounted by a ball and a square spire. On either gable of the roof was a round topped cylinder of gilded copper, something like a closed umbrella. The chortens surrounding the Palace have however withstood the vagaries of 'nature and many of them can be seen. There are many buses plying on the route on which Phodong lies. Taxis are also readily available for Phodong from Gangtok. Cheap accommodation is also available at Phodong Bazar which also has a few shops.Indian Travel agent provides hotel bookings, hotel booking in India.

Yumthang Hot Springs
Photographs of the natural scenes of Switzerland and Yumthang valley look so similar that it is difficult to distinguish between them.We provide tourist transport in India. It is well known for its hot springs to reach which one has to walk a few hundred yards from the road and across a pedestrian bridge on the River Lachung. For the convenience of bathers a hut with two pools in which the hot spring water collects has been constructed. Hot water rich in sulphur, emanates from a spring just behind the hut and is diverted to the pools. It is difficult to imagine that water so hot in its natural form could be found in a place so cold. Yumthang is now open to foreigners and has also caught the fancy of filmmakers and a part of some movies have been shot here.

Lachung
This place is an ideal nature spot of Sikkim and has been recently opened to foreign travellers in an organised manner. This visit gives a rare chance to the visitor to understand Sikkim at its best and the traditions of the local people and culture. If one is looking for Shangrila-then its here. If one is looking for Shangrila-then its here.We provide tourist transport in India.

Chopta Valley
It has breathtaking alpine scenery with lofty snow capped peaks, meandering rivers and alpine flowers that bloom in June-July. It is about 20 minutes drive from Thangu. Gurudongmar Lake is a holy lake at an altitude of over 17,000 ft, it is beyond Chopta and armed with a special permit it is possible to reach the same during a day's excursion ex-Lachen.We provide travel & tours in India.