The story of North Sikkim
Where Sikkim's oldest promises were made
Sikkim's own founding story starts here. In the 13th century, the Lepcha chief and seer Thekong Tek and Khye Bumsa, a prince from Kham in eastern Tibet, swore blood brotherhood at Kabi Lungchok, 17 km north of present-day Gangtok. Stone pillars still mark the spot. The Bhutia royal line that became the Chogyals of Sikkim in 1642 traced its descent from Khye Bumsa, and the Lepchas, who call themselves Mutanchi Rongkup, held to their place as the first people of the land. Further up the same road, Tumlong served as the Chogyals' capital from 1793 until 1894.
Beyond Mangan the valley splits. At Chungthang the Lachen Chu and the Lachung Chu meet to form the Teesta, and each river leads to a village that runs itself. Lachen, the big pass, and Lachung, the small pass, are governed by the Dzumsa, a council of every household under an elected headman called the Pipon. The system dates from the first half of the 19th century, and the state still recognises it in place of a panchayat. In 1849 the botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker walked up both valleys collecting rhododendrons before he and Archibald Campbell were detained by the Sikkim court.
The north has also lived through hard years. On the night of 3–4 October 2023, South Lhonak lake in the far north-west burst its moraine wall. The flood reached Chungthang around midnight and destroyed the Teesta III dam within minutes, then tore out bridges and stretches of road down the valley. Since then, North Sikkim has opened and closed in stages. Villages that depend on visitors have rebuilt, but every trip here should begin with one question: check current status before you travel.
