Lachen tourism has resumed in Sikkim after the district administration reopened the route to the north Sikkim destination following more than four months of disruption caused by a landslide and damage near a Bailey suspension bridge over the Taram Chu in Mangan district.
The movement of tourists to Lachen and nearby sites, including Gurudongmar Lake, had stopped in April when a fresh cave-in cut off the approach to the 400-foot-long bridge. The bridge is located on the route connecting Lachen with Chungthang, the junction from where roads lead to Lachen and Lachung.
The damaged stretch was repaired at the end of August and the bridge was reopened for traffic. On Thursday, district collector Anant Jain issued an order announcing that tourists could again travel to Lachen and Lachung through the Taram Chu route.
The order also sets a movement deadline for vehicles using the route. Vehicles travelling to Lachen and Lachung, as well as those returning towards Gangtok and Mangan, must cross the checkpoint at Toong by 4pm, according to a source cited in the report. The restriction is intended to prevent night travel and help tourists reach their destinations before darkness.
The reopening restores access to the Lachen-Lachung circuit, one of Sikkim’s popular tourist routes, but follows a series of disruptions linked to extreme events and fragile mountain connectivity. A Glacial Lake Outburst Flood caused by the outburst of South Lhonak Lake in the upper reaches of Mangan had earlier washed away bridges, damaged roads and triggered landslides, severing road links to Lachen and Lachung.
Connectivity to Lachung was restored earlier, while Lachen was reopened to tourists only in March this year. The subsequent April cave-in near the Bailey bridge again halted vehicular movement, extending the interruption to the destination.
The reopening comes ahead of the festive season, when tourism activity is expected to increase across north Bengal and Sikkim. Samrat Sanyal, chairperson of the tourism panel of the Confederation of Indian Industry in north Bengal, said the restored route would allow visitors to access the entire north Sikkim circuit and expressed hope that tourist footfall would rise in the coming months.
Tourist movement will continue to be governed by the district administration’s checkpoint timing, with vehicles required to cross Toong by 4pm. The order marks the latest reopening of the route after repairs to the approach road and the Bailey suspension bridge.
