The Chogyals of Sikkim: A History Told in West Sikkim

Before the kings: Lepcha and Limboo roots

The Lepcha are generally regarded as the oldest inhabitants of Sikkim. They call themselves Rong, and their world is mapped onto the land: rivers, lakes and peaks each have a spirit and a story. Lepcha elders tell that the first man and woman were shaped from the snows of Kanchenjunga, the mountain they call Kongchen Konglo. They also tell of a great flood, when Tendong Hill above Namchi rose to keep the people above the water; Tendong Lho Rum Faat, on 8 August, gives thanks for it. These are sacred stories, told as such.

The Limboo, called Tsong in old Sikkimese texts, farmed the western valleys of what are now Gyalshing and Soreng districts and the hills across the Nepal border. Their villages, their kinema and tongba, and their own script are still part of daily life around Dentam, Hee Bermiok and Rinchenpong.

From the 13th century, Bhutia families came south from Tibet. Sikkimese tradition remembers a pact of blood brotherhood between the Bhutia chief Khye Bumsa and the Lepcha chief Thekong Tek, sworn at Kabi Longtsok in North Sikkim. A later agreement, the Lho-Mon-Tsong-Sum, is remembered as binding Bhutia (Lho), Lepcha (Mon) and Limboo (Tsong) into one country.

Yuksom, 1642: three lamas and a throne

The story of the kingdom starts in a meadow above the Rathong Chu. In 1642 three Tibetan lamas of the Nyingma school, Lhatsun Chempo, Kathok Kuntu Zangpo and Ngadak Sempa Chempo, met at Yuksom. The usual explanation of the name is exactly that: the meeting place of the three lamas. According to the tradition they found, or were led to, a man named Phuntsog Namgyal, said to descend from Khye Bumsa, and consecrated him as the first Chogyal, the dharma king, of Sikkim.

The place is Norbugang, a ten-minute walk from Yuksom bazaar. There is a stone throne under an old pine, a chorten beside it, and a stone said to carry a footprint of Lhatsun Chempo. Kathok Lake, a short walk away, is the pool whose water was traditionally used in the consecration. Above the village, Tashi Tenka marks the site of the old palace, now little more than terraces and a view.

Buddhist tradition says Guru Rinpoche had blessed the whole region centuries earlier as Demazong, the hidden valley of rice. The three lamas saw the coronation as fulfilling that prophecy.

To see it today, walk from the bazaar to Norbugang early, before the day trippers arrive from Pelling, then on to Kathok Lake and up to Tashi Tenka. All three fit into a slow morning, and the walk to Dubdi fills the afternoon.

Dubdi, Sanga Choeling and Pemayangtse

The young kingdom built its monasteries fast. Sanga Choeling, on the ridge above Pelling, was established in 1697 and is among the oldest in Sikkim; the walk up from Pelling takes about 40 minutes. Dubdi, a steep 45-minute climb through forest above Yuksom, was built in 1701 under the third Chogyal, Chakdor Namgyal, and is often called the oldest monastery in Sikkim still standing in its early form.

Pemayangtse, the perfect sublime lotus, followed around 1705, founded in the line of Lhatsun Chempo. It became the senior Nyingma monastery of the kingdom. Its monks were traditionally drawn from ta-sang, or pure, Bhutia families, and its head lama had the honour of anointing the Chogyals. On the top floor is Zangdok Palri, a seven-tiered painted wooden model of Guru Rinpoche's celestial palace, carved by Dungzin Rinpoche over about five years.

Visit Pemayangtse in the morning, when the prayer hall is open and the monks are at their rituals; dress modestly, walk clockwise and ask before taking photographs inside. The monastery holds its cham, the masked dances, in February or March before Losar; check current status before you travel.

Tashiding and the Bumchu vase

Tashiding stands on a heart-shaped hill where the Rathong Chu meets the Rangeet. Ngadak Sempa Chempo founded it in 1641, a year before the coronation, and it was enlarged in 1717 under Chakdor Namgyal. The Thongwa Rangdol chorten here is said to cleanse sins by sight alone, and long rows of carved mani stones line the paths.

Every year on the 14th and 15th days of the first Tibetan month, usually in February or March, the lamas open the sacred Bumchu vase and read its water. The folk reading is simple: full means plenty, low means scarcity, murky means trouble. Pilgrims come from across Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan. Festival dates follow the lunar calendar, so check current status before you travel.

Tashiding is about 40 km from Pelling and 19 km from Yuksom by road, and the monastery itself sits at the end of a 20–30 minute climb from the road. It makes a natural stop between Yuksom and Legship, and combines well with a night in Yuksom.

Rabdentse, 1670–1814: a capital on a ridge

In 1670 the second Chogyal, Tensung Namgyal, moved the capital from Yuksom to Rabdentse, a ridge just below Pemayangtse. Today it is a ruin of stone walls and chortens reached by a forest walk of about 20–30 minutes, with Kanchenjunga on clear mornings straight ahead.

Rabdentse's years were troubled. The royal chronicles describe a Bhutanese incursion around 1700, linked to a dispute with Chakdor Namgyal's half-sister, Pende Ongmu, and the king took refuge in Tibet before being restored. Later in the 18th century Gorkha armies from Nepal overran much of western Sikkim. The ridge became too exposed, and by 1814 the court had moved to Tumlong in North Sikkim. Gangtok became the capital in 1894.

The British arrived on the scene in the same century. A campaign in 1860–61 ended in the Treaty of Tumlong, and Sikkim later became a British protectorate. The monarchy lasted until 1975, when Sikkim became the 22nd state of India.

The British campaign left its own story in Soreng district. At Rinchenpong, people point out a small pond called Bishey Pokhari, the poison lake; the local story is that Lepcha fighters poisoned it so British soldiers who drank there fell ill. It is folklore rather than recorded history, but it shows how long memory runs in these villages.

Kanchenjunga, guardian of the land

Every community here treats Kanchenjunga, at 8,586 m, as more than a mountain. For Buddhists it is the abode of a protective deity, Dzonga, and the five summits are often described as five treasuries of snow. Pang Lhabsol, on the 15th day of the seventh Tibetan month in August or September, honours the mountain as guardian, with warrior dances; it is commonly said to have been introduced by Chakdor Namgyal and to recall the old brotherhood pact. Ravangla holds one of the biggest celebrations.

Out of respect for this belief, climbers since 1955 have traditionally stopped a few metres short of the true summit.

The same idea of a sacred landscape runs through Khecheopalri Lake, about 25–30 km from Pelling. Its older name, Sho Dzo Sho, is usually translated as "O lady, sit here", and the lake is honoured by Buddhists and Hindus alike. Local belief, told as folklore, says birds pick up any leaf that falls on its surface. Like Yuksom and Tashiding, it lies within Demazong, the hidden valley Guru Rinpoche is said to have blessed.

Walking the story today

You can follow the kingdom's first two centuries in three or four unhurried days, mostly on foot and by shared jeep.

• Day one: Pemayangtse at opening time, then the forest walk to Rabdentse.
• Day two: Sanga Choeling at dawn, then a shared jeep to Yuksom.
• Day three: Norbugang, Kathok Lake and the climb to Dubdi.
• Day four: Tashiding on the way back south towards Legship and Jorethang.