Sikkim Old Silk Route

A high Himalayan route with dense switchbacks and border-country scenery.

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Why this ride

A high Himalayan route with dense switchbacks and border-country scenery. The road: NH10 and mountain roads. Distance and riding time are estimates from the checkpoints until the road is measured on this page.

Roadbook

1. Gangtok start

   Gangtok sits on a ridge in the Himalayan foothills of Sikkim, at about 1,650 metres, and on a clear morning you can see Kangchenjunga, the third-highest mountain in the world at 8,586 metres, floating pink above the clouds. Sikkim was an independent Buddhist kingdom until it joined India in 1975, and the culture is still a mix of Lepcha, Bhutia and Nepali traditions, with prayer flags on the rooftops, monasteries on the hills and a feeling of calm that surprises people coming from the plains. The state became the first in India to be fully organic in its farming, and the cities are noticeably clean.

   The centre is MG Marg, a pedestrian street with cafés, shops and benches where families walk in the evening, and everything is built on steep slopes, with stairs and winding lanes linking the layers. Rumtek monastery, a few kilometres outside the city, is a major seat of Tibetan Buddhism, with golden roofs and the chanting of monks. Momos, thukpa noodle soup and fermented vegetables are the local food, and a hot cup of butter tea does not appeal to everyone, but it is a classic.

   The Silk Route in the name of the ride refers to the old trade path to Tibet over the Nathu La pass at about 4,300 metres, which was an important link for wool, salt and tea until the border closed in 1962. It reopened for limited trade in 2006. Foreign visitors and many others need a special permit to travel on that road and to Tsomgo Lake, which lies at nearly 3,800 metres, so arrange it through an agent in advance. The roads climb in tight switchbacks through rhododendron forest and then bare rocky ground, with sudden fog, landslides in the monsoon and bitterly cold air at the top.

   Gangtok is a city of thirty thousand with fuel stations on its main roads, but down in the Teesta valley, Singtam is a fifteen-kilometre run away and offers more choice. Fill the tank before climbing, as the roads are long and services few. The best time to ride is from March to May and from October to November, when the skies are clear and the rhododendrons bloom, and monsoon rains from June to September can close roads.

2. Tsomgo Lake stop · 3753 m

   Tsomgo Lake, also called Changu, sits at about 3,750 metres in the mountains east of Gangtok, a small oval of cold water cupped in a bowl of bare slopes. It is a glacial lake, fed by melting snow, and it freezes over in winter, when the surrounding hills are white. The Sikkimese hold it sacred, and local lamas once used the colour of its water to foretell the year ahead. In spring the banks are bright with primulas and rhododendrons, and in autumn the air is sharp and clear.

   The road to the lake is part of the old trade route that once carried wool, tea and salt between Sikkim and Tibet, and it continues up to the Nathu La pass on the Chinese border at more than four thousand metres. Because this is a border area, visitors need a permit, which has to be arranged in Gangtok through a registered agent or the tourist office, and the army controls access to the higher parts of the road. Rules change from time to time, so check them before you set off.

   The ride up from Gangtok is steep and spectacular, with a long run of hairpin bends through forests of rhododendron and fir, then out into open, high pasture. The surface is often rough, with landslides, potholes and patches of ice, and fog can arrive without notice, cutting visibility to a few metres. Winter snow can close the road for days at a time, and the best months are from April to June and from September to November. At this altitude, many people feel the effects of thin air, with headaches and shortness of breath, so go slowly and drink water.

   Gangtok, about sixteen kilometres away as the crow flies but much further by road, is the nearest town with proper fuel and supplies, so fill up there and carry an extra layer, since it can be freezing even on a sunny day. The sunlight at this height is strong, so bring sunglasses and sun cream.

3. Nathang Valley stop
4. Zuluk stop

   Zuluk is a village strung along a ridge in the eastern Himalayas, on the old Silk Route that once connected Sikkim with Tibet, and it is a very different place from the busy tourist spots of Gangtok. The village is small, with a few homestays, an army post and a prayer-flag-covered hillside, at around three thousand metres. On clear mornings, the sunrise lights up the peaks of Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world, which seems to float above the clouds.

   The road is the main attraction. Just above the village, the track from Zuluk to Thambi viewpoint climbs the mountainside in a series of tight, stacked hairpins, thirty-odd bends in all, and from the top the road looks like a ribbon of thread dropped on the slope. The road was part of the old trade route and was used by traders carrying wool, yak butter and tea, and later by British expeditions to Tibet. Today, the route is mainly used by the army and by visitors, so the traffic is light, but the surface is often rough, with loose gravel, potholes and landslides, especially after rain.

   The ride from Gangtok to Zuluk is long and demanding, taking most of a day. The road winds through forests of oak and rhododendron, past villages and tea plantations, then climbs into high, open country, with big views and almost no traffic. The weather can change quickly, with fog and drizzle common, and in winter snow and ice make the road dangerous. The best time for riding is from March to May and from October to November, when the skies are clearest.

   Because Zuluk is in a border area, a permit is required, and it must be arranged in advance through an agent in Gangtok. Fuel is not available in the village, so fill up in Gangtok or Rangpo, and carry spare if you can, since distances are long and stations are few. Homestays offer simple rooms and hot meals, with rice, dal, vegetables and sometimes yak cheese, and electricity can be unreliable, so bring a torch and warm clothes for the cold nights.

5. Rongli finish

Where this sits

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