By road
~124 km from Bagdogra/Siliguri, about 4-5 hours by road
Northeast India · Sikkim
Gangtok, Sikkim
A monastery-capped, cloud-level capital · ~124 km from Bagdogra/Siliguri, about 4-5 hours by road
Getting there
By rail
New Jalpaiguri (NJP) or Siliguri, ~113-125 km
By air
Pakyong Airport, ~32-33 km, though flights are limited and weather-prone; Bagdogra (~124 km) is the reliable choice
Best time to visit
October to December and March to May
Don't miss
Rumtek and Enchey monasteries
Tsomgo Lake
Tashi viewpoint
Banjhakri falls
Things to do
Tsomgo Lake and Nathula day trip
Ropeway rides
MG Marg evenings
Where to eat
Sources: open-meteo, wikimedia, Photo: Kailas98 · CC BY-SA 3.0
What to pack
Layers, permits for Tsomgo/Nathula sorted ahead, walking shoes
A quieter corner
The Rumtek monastery debate courtyard on practice afternoons
Before you go
Sikkim's capital with the important Kagyu monastery at Rumtek (~24 km); Losar and Saga Dawa are the festival seasons.
About Gangtok
- Mountains
Where it is
Gangtok is the capital of Sikkim, built along a ridge at about 1,650 m in the eastern Himalaya between two streams, the Roro Chu and the Ranikhola, with views across the valleys to Kangchenjunga.
History
Gangtok was a small hamlet until Enchey Monastery was built in 1840, and in 1894 the Chogyal Thutob Namgyal moved the capital of the Kingdom of Sikkim here. The town became a stop on the trade route between Tibet and British India, and in 1975 Sikkim became India's 22nd state, with Gangtok as its capital.
People
Nepali is Gangtok's common language, spoken alongside Sikkimese (Bhutia) and Lepcha; the Lepcha are regarded as Sikkim's earliest inhabitants, and the city also has a Tibetan community. Losar, Saga Dawa, Dashain and Tihar are all celebrated, and prayer flags flutter above the streets.
Known for
- Rumtek and Enchey monasteries
- Day trips to Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La
- MG Marg, the pedestrian main street
- The Namgyal Institute of Tibetology
- Momos, thukpa and Sikkimese food
Did you know?
Sikkim, with Gangtok as its capital, became the first state in India to convert all its farming to organic methods, a goal it reached in 2016.
Shrines and sites
- Rumtek Monastery
- Enchey Monastery
- Do Drul Chorten
- Ganesh Tok and Hanuman Tok
Traditions
- Buddhist
- Hindu
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.