ADVENTURE TO NORTH SIKKIM BEGINS NOW…
There are 2 cities in the North Sikkim, which are the base village for treks in the Northern part of the state – Lachen (means “BIG PASS”) and Lachung (means “SMALL PASS”). Our North Sikkim trip will consist of both of these cities. On this page I will describe Lachen, which is the plan for today and tomorrow we will travel from Lachen to Lachung.
About Lachen
Lachen is one of the top tourists destinations in Sikkim and is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Lachen has its own system of rules and regulations known as Dzumsa. The heads of the Dzumsa are known as Pipon and Gyenbos.
The town forms the base village for Chopta valley and Gurudogmar lake. An annual yak race, the Thangu is held there in summer.
Where is it located
Lachen is a town in the Mangan district of Northern Sikkim. It is about 129 km from Gangtok with an altitude of 8838 ft. It takes around 5 hours to reach Lachen from Gangtok.
Our experience: Gangtok – Lachen
Our day starts late today, as in the morning Tashi must complete the north Sikkim travel permits in the morning. He comes to pick us up at around 11 am once all the permits are in place. Here we go…. we start our exciting journey to North Sikkim which is supposed to be exciting, enthralling and thrilling. On our way we, of course, get absorbed in the natural beauty which never fails to impress us. The waterfalls in North Sikkim are the best and we enjoy getting wet in the mist of these waterfalls. Here, disposable plastic is not allowed so plastic water bottles and plastic food packaging are to be thrown away before we enter the protected area.
All these Pics taken enroute Lachen. Our eyes are overwhelmed with such picturesque beauty everywhere in Sikkim.
Food – Finding a vegetarian place to eat is a challenge in Sikkim, as people here love their non-vegetarian food. The owner of our Lachung hotels had suggested “Guddu Aggarwal’s” restaurant which is 100% vegetarian. And May God bless him for this suggestion. A neat and clean restaurant with washroom facility. We reach around 2 pm and he makes piping hot khichdi for us and our usual momos and chowmein.
After a hearty late lunch, we proceed and reach Lachen around 6 pm. The weather is very cold. We had to use all our woolens here to keep ourselves warm and comfortable. We go out to take a walk although its pitch dark. Dinner will be served at 8 pm and there is no way we could stay in the room since there is no electricity. No one can give a time for electricity to resume. There is no reception area, no lounge or a seating area in our hotel.
So how do we pass our time at this time of the hour ? We head outdoors and share spooky stories in the dark and entertain ourselves. The food is simple and good here as is everywhere. I have fallen in love with the saag and daal and rice meals available everywhere. “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise” – we have been following this religiously here as we must get up early at 5.30 every day for a walk or sight-seeing or simply to enjoy the sunrise. The rain gods announce their arrival after 3 pm, so It’s best to retire into the rooms early.
All in all today is more of a travelling day and acclimatizing day.
- Summary
- Altitude of Lachen – 9000 ft
- Distance traveled today – 110 kms
Lachen Homestay Review – Yangla
- Rooms – a very basic hotel, providing just the basic stay facilities. We are not at all impressed and decide to complain to the its owner when we reach Lachung. They say, all hotels in Lachen are very basic, this village is not very tourist friendly. Haven’t checked other hotels, though. People visit here just to spend a night before their Gurudogmar trip.
- Location – Good.
- Food – Good (one of the very few places where I got Ginger tea), package with dinner, next day packed breakfast (bread butter) and lunch.