Old Silk Route — Zuluk Loops & NathangValley.
Distance
230 km
Duration
2 days
Climb
4,000 m
Old Silk Route — Zuluk Loops & Nathang Valley.
Sikkim's Old Silk Route retraces the historic India–Tibet trade trail through the eastern Himalaya. From Gangtok the road climbs past Rongli and Aritar to Zuluk, where a legendary sequence of 32 hairpin switchbacks corkscrews up the ridge to the treeless high valley of Nathang and the frozen Elephant Lake at Kupup, both near 4,000m. A frontier zone requiring permits, best ridden March–June and September–December.
Quick facts
SurfaceMixed
Distance230 km
Days2
Total climb4,000 m
Fuel stops1 along route
DifficultyChallenging
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2 days, 2 moods.
A suggested split across 2 days with 7 waypoints to discover along the way.
GangtokStart · Start in Sikkim's capital. Arrange the Protected Area Permit and a registered guide for the Silk Route zone here. Fuel up — stations are scarce beyond Rongli.
RongliFuel Stop · Permit check-post and the last dependable fuel and hot lunch before the climb. Top off the tank here.
Aritar & Lampokhari LakeScenic Point · Sikkim's oldest natural lake, a boat-shaped tarn ringed by pine — a worthwhile short detour before turning up into the high country.
ZulukOvernight · Overnight in Zuluk (2,900m), a former army transit hamlet on the ridge. Homestays only; the air thins here, so rest early before the loops.
Nathang ValleyScenic Point · A treeless bowl at ~4,000m nicknamed the Ladakh of the East — yak herders and a tiny Buddhist village. The zigzag climb from Zuluk past Thambi View Point is the route's signature.
Kupup — Elephant LakePhoto Spot · An elephant-shaped lake at 4,000m beside the old Tibet trade trail, near the world's highest golf course. The turn-around point of the Silk Route.
GangtokEnd · Descend via the Tsomgo road back to Gangtok. End of route.
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