Tsomgo Lake (Changu) — the high glacial lake on the Nathu La road
Tsomgo or Changu Lake, a frozen-in-winter glacial lake at 3,753 m on the Gangtok–Nathu La road: why it is revered, the permit rule, the wildlife and when to go.
Sikkim⛰ 1,650 m4 itineraries
Gangtok
Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim: its monasteries and stupas, the royal chapel, Rumtek, Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La, with measured road times and the permit rules.
Itineraries you can copy
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Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La from Gangtok — a permit day on the high road
Day plan · First visit · Road trip
A day on the Nathu La road from Gangtok: Tsomgo Lake at 3,753 m and the border pass, with the permit rule for Indian visitors, road times and the season to go.
Best Apr–May · Oct–Nov
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One day in Gangtok — monasteries, the royal chapel and the ridge
Day plan · First visit · Temples & heritage
A one-day Gangtok plan: the Do-drul Chorten, the Tibetology museum, the royal Tsuklakhang, Enchey Monastery, Hanuman Tok and an evening on Mahatma Gandhi Marg.
Best Mar–May · Oct–Nov
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North Sikkim road day from Gangtok — Kabi Lungchok, Phodong and Labrang
Day plan · culture · Temples & heritage
A day trip north of Gangtok: the Kabi Lungchok blood-brotherhood site, Phodong Monastery of the early 18th century and Labrang of 1826–1843, with road times.
Best Mar–May · Oct–Nov
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Two days in Gangtok — the town, Banjhakri Falls and Rumtek Monastery
1 night · 2 days · First visit · Classic
A two-day Gangtok plan: the Do-drul Chorten, the Tibetology museum, the Tsuklakhang and Banjhakri Falls, then Rumtek Monastery, Lingdum and Saramsa Garden.
Best Mar–May · Oct–Nov
See the plan →Going together
No one has started a group going to Gangtok yet. Start one and other travellers can ask to come along.
Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, climbs a ridge at about 1,650 m in the eastern Himalaya, with Kanchenjunga to the west on a clear day. Wikipedia says it grew into a pilgrimage place around the Enchey Monastery in the 1840s and became the capital in 1894, and that it is the centre of Sikkim's tourism.
Start with the town's own sights. The Enchey Monastery stands on the ridge, and the Tsuklakhang is the royal chapel of Sikkim's former kings. Then see the white Do-drul Chorten with its 108 prayer wheels and the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology below it, and the army-kept Hanuman Tok. Further out, Rumtek Monastery is the seat of the Karmapa in exile, and the Banjhakri Falls and Energy Park is a short drive north. On the North Sikkim road are Phodong and Labrang monasteries and the Kabi Lungchok treaty site. East of the town the road climbs to Tsomgo Lake and the border pass of Nathu La, both in a restricted zone that needs a permit.
The nearest working airport is at Bagdogra in West Bengal, about 126 km and 198 minutes away on our routing; Gangtok's own Pakyong airport has had no operating flights, by Wikipedia's latest account. The nearest main railway station is New Jalpaiguri, about 118 km away. From Delhi it is about 1,473 km by road, and free-flow routing says 18 hours, so most people fly or take the train. Read how to reach Gangtok and when to visit. Mild all year, with a wet monsoon from June to September, when landslides often cut the roads. Copy the one-day plan, the two days with Rumtek, the Nathu La day or the North Sikkim road day, and read things to do in Gangtok.
Photos: Shahriar Amin Fahim247 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Bernard Gagnon (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Indrajit Das (CC BY 3.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Places worth the drive
Nathu La — the border pass east of Gangtok, and who may visit
Nathu La, the 4,310 m pass on the India–China border east of Gangtok: its old trade-route history, the 2006 reopening and the permit rule for Indian visitors.
Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Gangtok — the Tibet museum and library
The Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Gangtok's Tibet museum: its 1957–58 foundation, collections of icons, masks and manuscripts, and how to visit.
Kabi Lungchok — the stones of the Lepcha–Bhutia blood brotherhood
Kabi Lungchok, a historic site on the North Sikkim road near Gangtok where a Lepcha chief and a Bhutia leader swore a blood brotherhood: the story and stones.
Banjhakri Falls and Energy Park, Gangtok — a waterfall and the forest healer
Banjhakri Falls and Energy Park near Gangtok: a 30 m waterfall, statues of the forest healer Ban Jhakri, a renewable-energy hall and the road from town.
Tsuklakhang Monastery, Gangtok — the royal chapel of the Chogyals
The Tsuklakhang, the royal chapel and monastery of Sikkim's Chogyals in Gangtok: its role in coronations, the Pang Lhabsol festival and how to visit.
Rumtek Monastery — the Dharma Chakra Centre near Gangtok
Rumtek Monastery near Gangtok, the Dharma Chakra Centre and seat of the Karmapa in exile: how it was built, what is inside, the controversy and how to go.
Phodong Monastery and Labrang — two old monasteries on the North Sikkim road
Phodong Monastery of the early 18th century and Labrang Monastery of 1826–1843, two old Kagyu monasteries on the North Sikkim road beyond Gangtok, with murals.
Hanuman Tok, Gangtok — the army-kept temple on the ridge
Hanuman Tok, the Hindu temple complex on the ridge above Gangtok, kept by the Indian Army: its 1950 founding, the Sanjeevani legend and the Kanchenjunga view.
Enchey Monastery, Gangtok — the "solitary monastery" on the ridge
Enchey Monastery, Gangtok's oldest monastery, on a ridge above the town: its 1909 prayer hall, the cham dance festival, the view and how to fit it into a day.
Do-drul Chorten, Gangtok — the white stupa with 108 prayer wheels
Do-drul Chorten, the white stupa of 1945–46 above the Tibetology institute in Gangtok: what is sealed inside, the 108 prayer wheels, and how to combine it.
On the map
Open the Gangtok map →The places a Gangtok day reaches, with the road time from town. Each opens on the map with its plans and pages beside it.
Before you go
All articles →Things to do in Gangtok — monasteries, the royal chapel, Rumtek and the high road
Things to do in Gangtok: the Enchey and Rumtek monasteries, the Tsuklakhang, the Do-drul Chorten, Banjhakri Falls, and permit trips to Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La.
How to reach Gangtok — Bagdogra, New Jalpaiguri and the road up
How to reach Gangtok, Sikkim: Bagdogra and Pakyong airports, New Jalpaiguri station, road times from Siliguri and Darjeeling, and the monsoon landslide risk.
Best time to visit Gangtok — month by month, from the rain figures
The best time to visit Gangtok, month by month from IMD normals: mild spring and autumn, a very wet monsoon, a cool winter and a frozen lake.
Nearby destinations
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Questions people ask
How do you reach Gangtok?
The nearest working airport is Bagdogra in West Bengal, about 126 km and 198 minutes by road on our routing, and the nearest main railway station is New Jalpaiguri, about 118 km away. Wikipedia says Pakyong airport near Gangtok has had no operating flights. In the monsoon, landslides often cut the roads, so allow extra time.
What are the best things to do in Gangtok?
Visit the Enchey Monastery, the Tsuklakhang royal chapel, the Do-drul Chorten and the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology; drive to Rumtek Monastery; and, with a permit, go up to Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La. The Phodong and Labrang monasteries and the Kabi Lungchok treaty site make a day on the North Sikkim road.
When is the best time to visit Gangtok?
Spring and autumn, which Wikipedia describes as generally sunny and mild. Autumn is drier, and the rain falls steeply after October. The monsoon, June to September, is very wet and can cut the roads, and winter is cool with fog. Snow in the town is rare, and Tsomgo Lake freezes in winter. See our best-time guide.
Photographs by Wikimedia Commons contributors (CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA), resized; each picture is credited on its own page.