Lachen tourism has resumed after more than four months, with the Sikkim government reopening access to Lachen and destinations such as Gurudongmar Lake following repairs to a damaged approach road and the reopening of a Bailey suspension bridge over the Taram Chu in Mangan district.
Tourist movement to Lachen had stopped in April after a landslide caused a cave-in on the approach to the 400-foot-long bridge, cutting the road connection to the destination. The stretch was repaired at the end of August, allowing the bridge to reopen to traffic. The district administration subsequently announced that Lachen was open to tourists.
Anant Jain, the Mangan district collector, issued an order stating that the Taram Chu route connecting Lachen with Chungthang was available for tourist movement. Chungthang is the junction from where roads lead to Lachen and Lachung, two major destinations in north Sikkim.
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. The restriction is intended to prevent night travel and ensure that tourists reach their destinations before darkness, according to a source cited in the report.
The reopening restores access to the Lachen-Lachung circuit, one of Sikkim’s popular tourist routes. The circuit has faced repeated disruption since the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood caused by the outburst of South Lhonak Lake in the upper reaches of Mangan. The flood washed away bridges, damaged roads and triggered landslides, disrupting road connectivity to Lachen and Lachung.
Connectivity to Lachung was restored earlier, while Lachen was reopened to tourists in March this year. That reopening was followed by the fresh cave-in near the Bailey bridge in April, once again halting vehicular movement to the town and nearby tourist sites.
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 access would allow visitors to use the full north Sikkim circuit and expressed hope that tourist footfall would rise in the coming months.
The movement restriction at Toong places operational limits on travel even as the route reopens. Tourists and vehicles using the Lachen-Lachung connection will have to plan journeys around the 4pm checkpoint deadline under the district administration’s order.
