One morning, while seeing sunrise from a small Himalayan village, British explorer “Joseph Dalton Hooker” uttered “Lachung” as the “most picturesque village of Sikkim”. This small village gives a Nightingale calling to all mountain-lovers around the world. Well, I am going tell you a wonderful tale of that tiny magical beautiful village.

It was 7:45 pm, quite dark everywhere. I couldn’t find myself where I was. I only knew that I was heading for extreme north of Sikkim, border of India- Tibet. Car dropped me in a small lonely village at a height of 8610 ft. I found some monks on the road to show me a place to stay. After a warm dinner and a dizzy brandy, I went towards the silky bed. In the early morning, I woke up and went towards the balcony of that small cottage. Ah! The sky was pale blue. The all surrounding mountains were chilly white. Wind was hearable and so chilly and smelly, just like flavored ice-cream. School-going Tibetan kids were almost freezing in their thick woolen clothes. Peach trees were looking dreamy in that exotic background. That was the first introduction of the small village “Lachung” to me. I heard about it so much before. I saw the beautiful pictures of this village in different travel books. It looks lovely in winter. After a charming morning coffee, I headed towards exploring this small mysterious village. Well, so many unique things came in my observation. The most beautiful scene I watched when I was standing beside “Lachung Chu [river]”, which divides the village into two small picturesque slices. I saw some tribal “Lepcha” women coming back from woods with the basket full of small woods in their back. Atmosphere was totally quiet and fresh. I could hear my own footstep. It was a very healthy feeling inside to walk in such eco-friendly village like “Lachung”. I found the “Indian Army Base-camp” in the top of the village, which is quite an exotic thing to see. At night you can hear the constant sounds of shooting practice from the faraway. I found so many breathtaking waterfalls, beautiful apple gardens in the out skirts of the village. After finishing the exploration in that afternoon, on the next day early morning I hiked towards the “Yumthung” valley and left that fairy tale Nightingale village behind my camera focus.

I found and believed this small Himalayan village as one of the perfect healthiest destination in this earth. It is embraced by snow-capped mountain peaks, breathtaking waterfalls, sparkling streams and apple orchards. “Lachung” is famous for its apples, peaches and apricots.There are so many small home staying arrangements and cottages for staying. A star category Hotel is also available there. Small and exotic Buddhist cafes are everywhere for a cup of fresh farm milk-tea or a plate of scrumptious Tibetan momo. At “Lachung” you can visit the “Lachung Gompa”, built around 1880, the monastery is situated amidst apple orchards across the river from the town centre. Also go see the handicraft centre which has exquisitely woven rugs and blankets.You can also visit the “Shingba Rhododendron” sanctuary through which flows the “Yumthang Chu”. The sanctuary is known for its abundance of Rhododendron trees and shrubs.Most of Lachung’s inhabitants are of “Lepcha andTibetan” descent. Languages spoken here are “Nepali, Lepcha and Bhutia”. “Lachung” is perfect for an overnight halt before you visit the spectacular “Yumthang valley”. You will probably need a special entry permit for visiting “Lachung”, which is obtainable from “Gangtok (capital of Sikkim)”. The town is approximately 125 km from the capital “Gangtok”. You can come to this village directly from “Gangtok” or via “Mangan(capital of north Sikkim)”. The most favorite time to visit this village is November to February. This tiny picturesque village is just fabulous in deep winter with the variations of beautiful flowers and colorful fruits. In a word, it is such a costly jewel of Himalaya, unless you go there, you can’t imagine.