Introduction
North Sikkim as explained in the previous blogs is one of the most gorgeous place to travel in India. We met a Police in East Sikkim who mentioned, North Sikkim is 10x beautiful yet 10x more dangerous. So beautiful places like these come up with their own restrictions and challenges, hence here’s 7 things to keep in mind before planning your next trip to North Sikkim
Things to keep in mind:
Permits and Permits
Yes, this is one unique thing which you’ll find in most of the states of North East but more tricky especially in North Sikkim. I’ve travelled all the 28 states of India and trust me, the process here is the most difficult among all. Permits can be issued only be few agencies (mostly in Gangtok) and not online. Also one has to get the xerox copies of the same and submit it, also get the seal for original copy in major check posts. Failing to get this will lead to a bigger issue.
Permits for vehicles
You heard it right, even your vehicle needs a permit, be it your own or rented ones. If you’re traveling with a rental taxi, I think agency should handle the permit for it, but own vehicle yes different permit is required and same rules applies whatever was applied to personal permit wrt stamping and xerox copies.
Forget public transportation
Another interesting thing here. No buses are available even until Lachen, Lachung forget about the places ahead. Sharing jeeps do run from Gangtok, Mangan but they’re very limited and can only take you upto Lachen, Lachung. So one has to rely on private taxis and rented vehicles.
Rental vehicles
This doesn’t apply to other tourist places in Sikkim and around like East Sikkim, Darjeeling, West Sikkim but in North Sikkim rental vehicles with Sikkim registration are only allowed. Even Bengal vehicles are also not allowed. This doesn’t apply to personal vehicles, but should have valid documents.
Get ready for plan cancellations
Heavy snowfall in winters, extreme rainfall in monsoon, broken bridges, landslides, etc might block the road anytime spoiling your plan entirely. Mangan-Chungthan road can be closed, Chungthang-Lachen road can be blosed, Lachen-Gurudongmar road can be closed, Chungthang-Lachung road can be closed and same for Lachung-Zero Point as well.
So it may not just delay but might skip the entire place itself. The number travelers who missed one or more destinations is way higher than the ones who covered them all, so be mentally prepared.
Network issue
Not all places in that area are connected with network properly. As I remember, only Airtel was working in Lachen and not Jio, Lachung had both. Network might be available at some places, but don’t rely on it entirely. Also some places might face power cut for indefinite time, be mentally prepared for all of this.
Fuel availability
This is another great challenge on planning trip to North Sikkim. The last fuel pump is available only at Mangan and one has to cover the entire circuit until you reach Mangan back. The fuel may be available in black in Lachen, Lachung but its impure and expensive. Also due to vast number of trucks, taxis visiting there, petrol availability would be naturally lesser, plan before for all these. Same applies for mechanics as well, only truck and taxi mechanic might be present, no service for bikes.
Conclusion
This was my insights from my journey to North Sikkim with a rented bike in May ’25. Things might have changed, but no matter whatever it is, there’s no other land as beautiful as few of the places in North Sikkim. Worth all the troubles to be honest.
