Rinchenpong promises breathtaking views of the Kanchenjunga range. Tucked away in one of West Sikkim’s many forested ridges, Rinchenpong, with its bounty of fruits and birds, is a haven for the solitude seeker. Find out about the many things to do in this little Sikkimese hamlet in our Rinchenpong travel guide.


RINCHENPONG, SIKKIM / INDIA

Perched on the mountainside at a dizzying 5576 ft, Rinchenpong offers breathtaking views of the Kanchenjunga range. The dense forests that blanket the mountains here are often sheathed in fog; they have earned Rinchenpong the epithet of the Silent Valley. The woods abound in birds; species of tailorbirds, mynahs, nutcrackers, bulbuls, and minivets can be spotted in these woods. On terraced fields, locals cultivate black cardamom, turmeric, and ginger. Orchards full of kiwis, oranges, sweet lime, and cherries interrupt forests of rhododendron, pine, and chestnut.

In spring, the area comes alive with rhododendrons, roses, orchids, and wildflowers but winter, with its bright red poinsettias, offers the best views of the snowclad peaks. At daybreak, the rising sun paints the Kanchenjunga an aalta red, a sight that many come here to witness.

Rinchenpong, like its sibling, Kaluk, 3 km away, has recently found popularity on the tourist circuit. Earlier, it was known as the place where the British beat a retreat in 1860 after the Lepchas poisoned the only source of drinking water with mountain herbs. Many in the local Lepcha community, like the Limboo community we met in Darap, are transforming their homes into homestays where travellers can learn about their food, culture, and daily lives.

How to Reach Rinchenpong

The nearest international airport is at Bagdogra (129 km) and the nearest railhead is New Jalpaiguri (125 km). Pakyong Airport, 105 km away, is the nearest domestic airport; however, flights are infrequent and often cancelled, and it is better to book tickets to Bagdogra instead. Taxis are available for INR 3000-5000 depending on the size of the vehicle. Shared taxis to Rinchenpong are rare; ride one to Jorethang, then another taxi to Rinchenpong. Alternatively, request your hotel/homestay for a pickup.

When to Visit Rinchenpong

Come in spring, March to early-May, to see a dazzling variety of flowers in bloom. Rhododendrons in shades of red, pink, and white paint the hillside. If you are visiting in spring, go to the Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary for a day hike. Other flowers, like orchids and magnolias, also bloom during this season. The weather is pleasant, with the occasional drizzle, and skies are mostly clear.

Summer, followed by monsoon, brings the rain. Clouds and fog cocoon the mountainside relentlessly. The roads are prone to landslides and it is not advisable to travel during the rains.

Autumn and winter, October to February, bring the clearest of skies and the sweetest of fruits. The kiwis ripen and so do the oranges and the cherries. The weather is cold with temperatures hovering around 15°C in the daytime and 5°C at night. It does not snow in Rinchenpong.

Things to Do in Rinchenpong

See the Sunrise

Rinchenpong offers some of the best views of the Kanchenjunga range, so make sure you don’t miss this spectacle. Watching the first rays of the sun painting the snowy peaks a shade of aalta red will leave you breathless.

Sunrise from the Mayal Paradise Homestay

Go on a Village Walk

Explore the tiny hamlets clinging to the mountainside where hardworking locals have cut terraces to grow black cardamom, maize, turmeric, and a variety of fruits like oranges and kiwis. When in season, the pink flowers of buckwheat crowd the terraces. The pretty huts with colourful walls pop against the green of the lush foliage and bamboo thickets. In these villages, you can find putka honey, the honey of the stingless wasp, which is known for its medicinal properties and sells for $150 a kilogram.

Taste the Local Food

Sikkim is the country’s only organic state and everything that you eat here, from the bunches of rai saag to the plump cabbages, are all free of chemical fertilizers. Squashes grow wild; in the winter you can see them all around the place waiting to be plucked. Not only the fruit, but the stems and the roots of the squash plant are also cooked. Local lentils, like paheli, are tempered with mustard and made into a dal. Radishes, both the tuber and leaves, are eaten raw and cooked; they are also dried and fermented to preserve them for winter. Spinach is eaten fresh and also fermented to make a soup called gundruk ko jhol. The tongue-searing dalle khursani chillies also grow in these mountains.

Foraging is a part of Sikkimese culture. When in season, you can taste the fronds of the fiddlehead fern, known as ningro in Nepali, cooked with chhurpi. The stinging nettle, sisnu, is stewed into soups and mushrooms are cooked in various ways. Locals also forage for the sweet Sikkim berry and the nakima, a purple flower with a slightly bitter taste that is made into a dry curry. Because fruits are so abundant here, locals eat them straight off the trees and ferment them to make wines. Peach wine, grape wine, pineapple wine, guava wine, and cardamom liqueur are popular here.

Iskus ko sabji, rai saag, paheli daal, and papad for lunch

Explore the Monasteries

Trek or hire a car to the Rinchenpong Monastery. Established in 1730, it is Sikkim’s third oldest monastery. It is closed when we visit, and we are left admiring the artwork on the exterior walls. The Rinchenpong monastery houses a rare Ati Buddha statue in the Yab-Yum position, in which the Buddha is depicted as meditating while embracing a woman; it signifies the power of the union of the male and the female. When I ask about the lettering on the prayer flags, I am told that they are incantations read out by the lamas to cure diseases and other ills. The wind carries them far. From the grounds, Kanchenjunga, Pandim, and Kabru sparkle silver and gold in the sun. Pelling and Geyzing appear like honeycombs of houses mushrooming with alacrity on the opposite mountain.

1.5 km uphill, past a winding footpath through the forest, is the 200-year old Resum Gompa whose red and yellow façade brightens up the relentless greenery of the foliage. There is a chorten and some ruins here. You can get an incredible 360-degree panorama of the mountains from here.

A long walk (or, a car ride) from the Rinchenpong Monastery through wet forests of fern, rhododendrons, magnolia, and other trees will bring you to the Rinchen Choling Monastery, a relatively new structure with blazing red windows and lovely artwork. Follow the footpath to enter Rabindra Smriti Van, where there are plaques celebrating Tagore’s poetry.

Rinchen Choling Monastery

Sample Fruit Wines at Azing’s Model Farm

Climb some 400 steps downhill to visit Azing’s Model Farm, a manicured wildness along the slopes that is redolent pineapples, cherries, guavas, oranges, pomegranates, cardamoms, tree tomatoes, and various other vegetables and fruits. They brew a variety of fruit wines that you can sample and buy. The shop also sells honey at INR 800 a kilogram and homemade pickles. Spend some time admiring the produce and the striking views of the valley and the mountainside before huffing and puffing your way up to the main road. They also have a homestay for guests.

Visit Shanti Van

A steep descent will bring you to Shanti Van, which commands a panoramic view of over 180⁰ of mountains and wooded mist-strewn valleys. Cottony clouds give way to a precipitous drop; in the wedge, the jade Teesta appears beguilingly calm. Faded blue and yellow murals with inscriptions in Tibetan line ruins of stupas, beneath which Buddhist monks are said to have buried their riches.

Stop by Bikh-Pokhri

According to legend, in 1860 the Lepchas poisoned the waters of this lake, the only source of drinking water, to halt the marching British troops. With many of the soldiers dying, the British had to retreat. In winter, when we visited, the lake was completely dry. Nearby, tucked into the woods, is an old British bungalow that functions as a guesthouse now.

Bird Watch

West Sikkim, including Rinchenpong, is very rich in avifauna. You can spot species of babblers, mynahs, nutcrackers, and many other birds in the woods and fields here.

Where to Stay in Rinchenpong

We always stay in homestays in Sikkim and Rinchenpong was no exception. Having stayed at Shiva Gurung’s Daragaon Village Retreat in Darap and Sherpa Ji’s Sherpa Lodge Homestay in Okhrey, we had high expectations from Mayal Paradise Homestay which we had booked after reading some excellent reviews, and needless to say, we weren’t disappointed.

Mayal Paradise Homestay, run by the amiable Dawa Ji and his family, offers unrivalled views of the Kanchenjunga, Pandim, Kabru, Narsing, and Thinchinkhang peaks. Located in Yangsum, 2 km down the hill from Rinchenpong bazaar, the homestay has 3 rooms and can sleep more than 10 people. You can try local Sikkimese food, and homemade grape wine, here and Ashish makes a mean country chicken curry that will make you want to come back for more. Dawa ji’s garden is alive with cardamom, ginger, oranges, tomatoes, dalle khursani, kiwis (trust us when we say those kiwis are the best in the world!), rai saag, sweet limes, lemons, strawberries, orchids, poinsettias, cherries, roses, and a variety of other pretty things that bloom. Rooms are INR 1000 per person per night. Dawa ji will make you feel like family; we spent hours chatting in the sun while the puppies, Puppy, Lomri, and Guchhi napped in the grass. We were sad to leave, and we can’t wait to go back!

Be respectful of the surroundings. Remember that water is a scarce resource in the mountains and that laundry that you are impatient to wash can actually wait. Carry all plastic litter, packets of chips, and mineral water bottles, to Siliguri because there are no recycling facilities here.

The Yangsum Heritage Farm, run by Thendup and his wife, Pema, is another great place to stay at Yangsum. The heritage farmhouse, built in 1833 and remodelled in 1966, is set on 44 acres of open mixed forest of pine, cherry, rhododendron, magnolia, chestnut, dhupi, and a variety of crops like turmeric and cardamom. Tariffs start from INR 4500 per night.

If you want modern amenities like TV and Wi-Fi, the Ghonday Village Resort in Kaluk is a good option. The resort offers panoramic views of the Kanchenjunga range and you can request local food.

Guide to Sustainable Travel in Sikkim

  • Carry all plastic waste, including packaging for consumables, home with you because recycling facilities are rare in Sikkim.
  • Single-use plastics have been banned in Sikkim. Do not ask for one if you buy goods at the local shop.
  • Carry a reusable water bottle that you can refill at your homestay.
  • Be respectful of local traditions.
  • Do not litter. Do not be that person that chucks empty packets of chips from vehicles.

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Mohana & Aninda

Mohana and Aninda are travellers and advocates for car-free travel. Two-together is their travel blog where they document their travels to encourage and inspire readers to seek solace in new places, savour local cuisines, and relish both unique and everyday experiences. When they are not travelling, they are actively researching trip ideas and itineraries, obsessing over public transport timetables, reviewing travel budgets, and developing content for their blog. They are currently based in Edinburgh and exploring Scotland and beyond by public transport.

4 responses to “Rinchenpong, Sikkim, Travel Guide”

  1. contact@travelswithbelly Avatar
    contact@travelswithbelly

    This place sounds like an absolute dream. How I wish I could book a plane ticket, take a train, ride a taxi and arrive here. India is so high on my bucket list.

  2. thecareful Avatar
    thecareful

    I was transported while reading your post, Rinchenpong is such a magical place!

  3. Sarah Camp | In Search of Sarah Avatar
    Sarah Camp | In Search of Sarah

    What a lovely place – it looks so scenic and the food looks amazing too! Beautiful photos!

  4. space time hindi Avatar
    space time hindi

    Hi, I would love to travel the sikkim and you have shared very amazing travel guide to sikkim I will make a long trip to sikkim. Thank you & keep traveling.

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