Travel style · Sikkim
Snow and winter in Sikkim
Gulmarg powder, Auli slopes and white Spiti
Skiing in Gulmarg and Auli, winter Spiti at minus twenty, frozen Ladakh and snowfall weekends in Shimla and Manali. We plan winter trips with heated rooms, road-status checks and spare days for snow.
Photo: Original: Yoghya Derivative work: UnpetitproleX · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsWinter shrinks the Himalaya to the places a road still reaches. Gulmarg gets some of the deepest snow in the range from January to March. Spiti stays open from Shimla through Kinnaur when most passes close.
Sikkim is India's second-smallest state, a steep wedge between Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan that climbs from 300 m on the Teesta to Kangchenjunga at 8,586 m. Come for Gangtok, the monasteries of Pelling and Yuksom, and the permit-only high lakes of the north and east. Go March to May or October to December; plan seven to ten nights.
Trips
Snow and winter trips in Sikkim
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
North Sikkim: Lachen, Lachung, Gurudongmar
Private SUV with driver
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
North Sikkim on a budget, 5 nights
Seats on shared permit-tour vehicles
6 places
Where to go
Photo: Original: Yoghya Derivative work: UnpetitproleX · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Gurudongmar Lake
A sacred lake above 5,100 m near the Tibetan plateau
Photo: Tushar2486 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Lachen
The Lachenpa village on the road to Gurudongmar
Photo: Indrajit Das · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Lachung
A valley village of the Lachungpas, base for Yumthang
Photo: Indrajit Das · CC BY 3.0 · Commons
Tsomgo Lake
A glacial lake at 3,750 m on the road to the Nathu La
Photo: Joginder Pathak · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Yumthang Valley
Rhododendron meadows and a hot spring above Lachung
Photo: Tsen2006 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Zuluk
Hairpin loops on the old mule road from Kalimpong to Lhasa
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Original: Yoghya Derivative work: UnpetitproleX · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
The pre-dawn drive to Gurudongmar
Leave Lachen in the dark at about 4 am, watch the light come up over Thangu, then cross the bare high plateau to the la…
Photo: Jeetpswiki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Prayer flags and offerings at the lake shore
Stand at the shrines by the lake where Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu pilgrims leave offerings and carry home water. Learn th…
Photo: Original: Yoghya Derivative work: UnpetitproleX · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Preparing for 5,000 m the right way
Gurudongmar is not a casual outing. Plan the days before it so your body has time to adjust: a night in Gangtok, a nigh…
Photo: Prof Ranga Sai · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Lachen monastery above the village
Climb to the village monastery above Lachen, a Nyingma gompa at the heart of Lachenpa religious life, with painted wall…
Photo: Amitabha Gupta · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Thangu and the Chopta valley meadows
On the way to or from Gurudongmar, stop at Thangu, a small settlement at about 3,900 m, and visit the nearby Chopta val…
Photo: Amitabha Gupta · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
An evening with a Lachenpa family
Spend your Lachen night in a family homestay rather than a lodge. Sit by the kitchen stove, eat rice, dal, local greens…
Photo: Amitabha Gupta · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Morning at Lachung monastery
Walk or drive up to the village monastery above the Lachung Chu before your Yumthang trip or on a spare morning. It is …
Photo: Indrajit Das · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
A walk through Lachung village
Spend two hours walking the lanes of Lachung, across the suspension bridge and between wooden homes, orchards and small…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: Indrajit Das · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Budget
Lachung village homestays
Family homes across Lachung's hamlets take guests in a few rooms each, with home-cooked dinners and breakfasts. Th…
Photo: Tsen2006 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Budget
Zuluk village homestays
Zuluk has no hotels; family homestays in the village and nearby hamlets host Silk Route travellers with simple roo…