Sikkim Stories: Lachung Village

Lachung is a small village in north Sikkim & your base camp for overnight stay if you want to visit the Yumthang valley& the Zero point. Most of Lachung’s inhabitants are of Lepcha, Tibetan descent and the languages spoken here are Nepali, Lepcha, and Bhutia. You can easily explore the town by foot, as it is a minuscule village filled with amazing people and serene surroundings. The same has to be however done by 5 p.m. because Lachung gets dark really early & there are rarely any street lights. The life in these villages is tough. Locals here doze off really early as they have to travel long distances to open their shops for tourists the next day. Kids have to walk for hours to reach their schools. However it is these kind & trustworthy locals of Sikkim that make you feel comfortable & welcome even in such harsh climate & terrains.

The government has discontinued the sale of plastic bottled water in this region to reduce the pollution & there’s a fine of Rs. 5000 if anyone is caught selling it.

Lachung Village @ 5p.m.

We reached Lachung by 5 p.m. & our stay there was in a small hotel (Hotel Golden Valley) with all 3 meals included in the package. Given a choice I would not have booked this particular hotel because the washrooms weren’t that clean. Hence even if you are booking your Lachung stay through your agent, try and search some good hotel on internet yourself & negotiate for it. Lachung is a very small village with no shops open after sunset and has a very raw feel to it & hence most of the hotels have same facilities (but there’s no harm in trying).We gorged on some yummy homemade chicken & rice (thankfully the food was lip smacking), danced a little in our room (to entertain Viraaj) & went to bed by 11 as we had a long day lined up next.