If
someone would like to stay very close to nature and enjoy the silence away from
the din and bustle of the city then Zuluk-Nathang (old Silk Route) are the
places. This is an offbeat tourist
destination getting popular in last few years. This place is well connected
from Gangtok (3 hours), Siliguri (NJP/Bagdogra – 7+ hours) or Kalimpong (4
hours). You need to take permits from Rangoli, East Sikkim to entire this
route. No Foreigners are allowed to entire this place due to army base camps
and international borders (Bhutan and China).
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| NJP-Mankhim-Aritar-Phadamchen-Zuluk-Nathang-GAngtok Map |
Our itinerary:
Day 1: NJP to Mankhim (near Aritar)
Day 2: Mankhim to Padamchen (near Zuluk) via Rangoli and Lingtum
Day 3: Phadamchen to Nathang via Zuluk and Lungthung
Day 4: Nathang to Gangtok via Old Baba Mandir, Kupup, New Baba Mandir, Changu
Day 1 (Mankhim):
We have arranged our trip without any trip organizer/group,
rather we went with one driver who stay in Rangoli and traveled this route
multiple times. Barnabesh, a gentle and decent person, was our driver cum guide
cum organizer.
Mankhim & Aritar Lake (Lampokhari Lake: 4600ft):
Normally, Silk Route travelers stay 1st night in
Ichhe or Sillery Gaon. But we had visited this place earlier, so moved to a new
place called Mankhim. We stayed at Kanchanjunga Mirror Home Stay. This is
located near Aritar lake view point. Most surprisingly this remote home stay
has all modern facilities like western bathroom with geyser, good room
conditions with new floor carpets and clean bed covers.
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| Our Home Stay at Mankhim - Kanchanjunga Mirror Home Stay |
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| With Lalit Rai, owner of our home stay |
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| CampFire at Mankhim |
You can visit Aritar Lake which is 15 minutes’ drive from here. On the way there is a Monastery as well.
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| Aritar Lake |
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| Monastery near Aritar |
Day 2 (Phadamchen):
We took permit from Rangoli and then move
forward to Zuluk. Today our destination is Padamchen. We opt this place as
Zuluk is bit populated this days and we would like to stay in less populated
place. After all formalities we started from Rangoli and in less than 1 hours
we reached a beautiful village called Lingtum,
one of the cleanest village of Sikkim. Then we crossed a beautiful falls called
Kuekhola Falls.
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| Kuekhola Falls |
We reached Phadamchen in another 1 hour. It is a quaint village
enroute to Zuluk. You can take an afternoon walk to nearby localities. They
will welcome you with mist, fresh air and calmness.
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| with Local ladies |
Day 3:
Zuluk or Dzuluk (10000 ft.):
Starting from Padamchen you reach Zuluk in 30 minutes. Zuluk
is the most popular place in the entire route with ~60 families and few home
stays. Unfortunately when we reached, Zuluk was full of clouds and mist and
visibility was very less.
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| Zuluk village |
Lungthung (13000 ft.) & Thambi View Point:
Lungthung is around 1
hour up-hill drive from Zuluk. This place has few homes and 1-2 home. This
place is one of the most beautiful place in the entire route with zig-zag roads
in one side and kanchanjunga view on the other side. You can take some spectacular snaps here. Sun
rise from Thambi view point near Lungthung should be a must see point in your
plan.
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| Zig-zag roads near Zuluk |
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| Sun Rise from Thambi View point |
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| Kanchanjunga from Thambi |
There is another beautiful lake near (5 minutes walk) Lungthung-Nathang
high way. This lake is known as Strawberry
Lake and surrounded by mountain and mountain reflection on the water.
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| Strawberry Lake |
Nathang or Gnathang (13,500
ft):
This place is fully covered with Inidian Army and this is a
level 2 Armey base camp near Indo-China border.
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| Nathang |
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| Our Home Stay at nathang |
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| cards at night @ Nathang Home Stay |
From Nathang you can visit few nearby places. Few of the attractions are:
Tukla Valley
KalPokhari or India Lake
Nag Temple and Adi Baba Mandir
Kupup Lake or Elephant Lake
Kupup village
World’s highest Golf course (Yak
Golf Course) near Kupup
Ice hockey field near Kupup
Momencho Lake
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| Monastery in Nathang Valley |
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| Kupup or Elehant lake |
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| Other side of Kupup Lake |
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| Kala Pokhri or India Lake |
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| Kupup Village |
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| Kupup lake view on the next day |
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| Blue bright clear sky from Kupup village |
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| Kupup Check Post |
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| Ice Hockey Ground |
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| World's Highest Golf Course |
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| In Worl records |
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| You can go to Lasa (permit is tough to get) |
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| On the way to Gangtok, an unknown lake |
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| another heavenly lake en-route to Gangtok |
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| Frozen Changu Lake |
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| Changu Lake - another view |
Important Information:
1.
This place does not have any hotels, home stays
are only options
2.
Package trip includes car, fooding and lodging
in home stay
3.
Permit (from Rangoli) required to entire this
route - 1 PP size photo and ID card Xerox required, Keep the original ID card
with you too. Foreigners are not allowed to visit this place
4.
Winter is very chill with frequent snowfalls and
continuous -ve temperature. Carry warm clothes accordingly
5.
No Mobile connection in Zuluk-Nathang range
(BSNL has some connectivity), No internet
6.
Keep medicines with you – No medical store
7.
No ATM
Our Driver and Home stay details:
Driver Barnabesh (9832368745): He took sole responsibility
and arrange everything for us superbly
Manhkhim Home Stay: Kanchanjunga Mirror Home Stay (Lalit
Rai)
Phadamchen Home Stay: Golden Dream Home Stay (Nima)
Nathang Home Stay: Sun Sheat Home Stay (K B Pradhan)
For more Snaps visit my fliker website:
Contact me for any details.
