Lachung-Yumthang Valley

Yumthang Valley is a grazing pasture surrounded by the Himalayan mountains in the North Sikkim dstrict of Sikkim, India. It is at an elevation of 3,575 metres (11,800) above msl at a distance of 150 km from the state capital Gangtok. It is also home to the Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary, and has over twenty-four species of the rhododendron, the state flower. A tributary of the river Teesta flows past the valley and the town of Lachung, the nearest inhabited centre. Yumthang is closed between December and March due to heavy snowfall.

The rugged Himalayan range at Yumthang

A forest rest house is the only permanent residence in the valley. During the spring months, the area blooms with rhododendrons, primulas, poppies, iris and other flora. During the summer months, villagers take their cattle to these heights to graze (a practice known as yaylag pastoralism).

Lachung (Hindi: लाचुंग) 27°37′00″N 88°39′00″E / 27.61667°N 88.65°E / 27.61667; 88.65 is a town in northeast Sikkim, India. It is located in the North Sikkim district and is near the border with China. Lachung is at an elevation of about 9,600 ft or 3,000 m and at the confluence of the Lachen River and Lachung Rivers, tributaries of the River Teesta. The word Lachung means “small mountain”. The town is approximately 125 km from the capital Gangtok.

The Indian Army has a forward base in the town. Before the annexation of Tibet in 1950, Lachung was a trading post between Sikkim and Tibet, after which it was closed down. The town’s economy has been boosted by tourism in recent years as the region has been opened up by the Indian government. Tourist come from all over the world to visit the town between October and May, mostly on their way to the Yumthang Valley and the Lachung Monastery. Most of Lachung’s inhabitants are of Lepcha and Tibetan descent. Languages spoken here are Nepali, Lepcha and Bhutia. During winter the town is usually covered in snow.

Lachung has been described as the “most picturesque village of Sikkim” by British explorer Joseph Dalton Hooker[1] in his definitive, The Himalayan Journal (1855).