A Buddhist kingdom until 1975, fully organic by state law since 2016, and the only Indian state you enter on a permit. Gangtok sits at 1,650 metres; the roads climb to 4,310.
01 Essentials
Stable reference data. Ticket prices, opening hours and permit rules change without notice — we confirm every one of them in writing before you travel.
Permits. Indian nationals need no Inner Line Permit for the main state, but do need a protected-area permit for Tsomgo, Nathu La, Yumthang, Gurudongmar and Zuluk. Foreign nationals need an Inner Line Permit to enter Sikkim, plus a protected-area permit through a registered operator — and Nathu La and Gurudongmar are not open to foreign passports at all. We file all of these and confirm the current rules before you pay.
02 The map
Tap a marker for what it is and directions. Pin positions are indicative; the directions link searches by name, so it always resolves to the real place.
03 Attractions
Ordered by what most people come for. Photography here is representative of the region rather than of each individual site — we are replacing it with our own as we shoot it.
Monastery · 1,550 m
The seat in exile of the Karma Kagyu lineage, about 24 km from Gangtok. Photo ID is checked at the gate. Arrive for the first horns and sit at the back; no photography inside the prayer hall.
Nearby: Gangtok, Ranka Monastery
Glacial lake · 3,753 m
Frozen solid by January, ringed by prayer flags and yaks the rest of the year. Protected-area permit required, filed three to four days ahead. Oxygen is carried in the vehicle.
Nearby: Nathu La, Baba Mandir
Border pass · 4,310 m
A working border on the old silk route to Lhasa. Open to Indian passports with a protected-area permit; not open to foreign passports, and shut entirely after heavy snow or on closed days.
Nearby: Tsomgo Lake, Baba Mandir
Monastery · 1,800 m
A small Nyingma monastery above Gangtok, quiet on most mornings and reachable on foot from MG Marg if you have the legs for the climb.
Nearby: Ganesh Tok, MG Marg
Stupa · 1945
One of the most important stupas in Sikkim, ringed by 108 prayer wheels, with a monastic institute on the same grounds.
Nearby: Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, MG Marg
Museum · 1958
One of the world's serious collections of Tibetan manuscripts, thangkas and ritual objects. The best hour you can spend before visiting any monastery.
Nearby: Do Drul Chorten, Ridge Park
Pedestrian street
Gangtok's spine: no vehicles, no smoking, no litter, benches down the middle and the whole town out walking after six.
Nearby: Lal Market, Ganesh Tok
Valley · 3,564 m
The valley of flowers in North Sikkim — primula and rhododendron in April, hot springs, and snow on the shoulders well into spring. Requires a permit and a night at Lachung.
Nearby: Lachung, Zero Point
Sacred lake · 5,430 m
Near the Tibetan border, holy to Buddhists and Sikhs alike, and thin enough at 5,430 m that we build in a night at Lachen first. Indian passports only.
Nearby: Lachen, Thangu
Statue park · 2,100 m
A 130-foot Buddha above South Sikkim, consecrated in 2013, with the range behind it on a clear morning.
Nearby: Ralong Monastery, Temi Tea Garden
Monastery · founded 1705
One of the oldest monasteries in Sikkim, in the west near Pelling, with Kanchenjunga filling the window behind it when the cloud allows.
Nearby: Pelling Skywalk, Rabdentse Ruins
04 Things to do
Any of these can be built into a journey. Tell us which ones matter and we shape the days around them.
Rumtek, Pemayangtse, Tashiding — arranged with the monastery
Tsomgo and Nathu La, permits filed for you
Lachung, Yumthang, Lachen, Gurudongmar
The Teesta below Melli, grade II–III
The Gangtok ropeway, three stations along the ridge
Kewzing, Yuksom, Dzongu with permission
Yuksom to Dzongri and Goecha La, the classic route
Momos, thukpa, gundruk, chhurpi, local millet beer
Prayer flags, high lakes, monastery interiors by permission
Over 550 recorded species, best in spring
05 Where you stay
We name specific properties in your written quotation rather than on a public page — availability and rates move constantly, and we will not publish numbers we cannot stand behind on the day you read them.
Ranges are indicative for the high season and are not quotations. Your written itinerary carries named properties, exact room types and firm prices.
06 Food & shopping
Local, specific and cheap. We book restaurants on request, but the best meals here are usually the ones you walk into.
The staple; pork in the hills, plus a fiery dalle chutney
Noodle soup, hot enough to matter at 3,000 metres
Fermented leaf and radish, served as soup or pickle
Pork belly with radish and dried chilli, Bhutia kitchen
Sweet ring-shaped rice bread, festival food
Millet beer drunk hot through a bamboo straw
The main bazaar: produce, cheese, dried chilli, cardamom
Handicraft, thangka, prayer flags, tea
Carpets, wool, wood carving, handmade paper
Sikkim's only tea estate — buy it at the source
07 Questions
If yours is not here, the desk answers within a working day.
Tell us roughly when and for how long. You get a written itinerary, a named driver, and every permit filed — within one working day.
Desk hours 9 am — 8 pm IST · Siliguri, West Bengal