If India were to count its blessings, Sikkim should be counted twice. The imposing Kanchenjunga, the mesmerising hills and valleys, are the gifts nature has abundantly bestowed upon the northeastern state of Sikkim. Its capital city, Gangtok, 100-odd kilometres further north of Darjeeling, the popular hill town in West Bengal, mostly features on itineraries as a pitstop for sightseeing tours, or to see the Kanchenjunga peak, the third-highest in the world, or to visit its multiple monasteries.
But Gangtok has more to offer. The monasteries, the gumpas, the streets and the quaint buildings have troves of stories hidden in plain sight. There were hardly any accessible resources to hear these. Attempts were made but they remained inconclusive. As the legendary record producer, Rick Rubin, once said, “There’s a time for certain ideas to arrive, and they find a way to express themselves through us.” Thus, The Gangtok Walk (TGW) came into being.
A couple of landmarks deep into The Gangtok Walk, participants climb a flight of stairs, take an unexpected turn, and step onto a well-barricaded footpath. Usually short of breath, as cars zoom past them, they look around expecting an intricate or ornate building but find none. I point to the roof of a barely visible government bungalow across the road, amidst the foliage. This pretty much sums up the premise of The Gangtok Walk – revisiting history through buildings that go unseen, ignored by itineraries and forgotten by locals.
A short path leads into a compound of a bungalow near Zero Point. This is a stone’s throw away from the Tourist Permit office and the Directorate of Handicrafts, teeming with tourists every day for permits and presents. The bungalow does not get a second glance perhaps because it looks no different from the few government bungalows lingering from the pre-merger era. But there is more than what meets the eye.
This quaint one is said to have housed officers from the famed Indian intelligence agencies. The Himalayas were a theatre of both the Great Game as well as the Cold War, well documented in books such as The Great Game in the Buddhist Himalayas by Phunchok Stobdan, and Sikkim: A History of Intrigue and Alliance by Preet Mohan Singh Malik. Kalimpong, a town nearby, was a nest of spies, as recollected by Gyalo Thondup in his book The Noodlemaker of Kalimpong.
Gangtok had its own share. Our last queen, Hope Cooke, an American, was accused of being one, albeit wrongly[1]. The stories of spies in the Himalayas are endless. This bungalow housed, or is believed to have housed, some of the characters.
The much-needed context
The walk then proceeds through the green belt of Gangtok. Since the government owns these stretches, the foliage remains untouched and is a pleasure to walk through. Walking towards the Tashi Namgyal Academy beside the roof of the State Archives is when conversations usually break out between the participants of the walk. Plants and trees, like the 150 varieties of ferns Sikkim boasts of and the Nepalese Alder, serve as landmarks. At a stop before the almost century-old colonial White Hall, a tree is labelled Cryptomeria Japonica. Japanese pine is just one of innumerable trees and crops that encapsulate the use of the Himalayas as plantations for colonial enterprises.
Throughout TGW, buildings that are considered ordinary and ignored by sight-seeing itineraries are paused at and given their due. Participants have remarked that while the walk may be through sparsely populated stretches of Gangtok, it ends up contextualising everything they see in the town and beyond. Context is especially required when they finally see the facade of the humble Palace, in contrast to the imposing Tsuklakhang monastery close by. This is the tangible representation of Buddhist kings being Dharma Rajas – also the translation of Chogyal. The spiritual was always placed above the temporal.
TGW’s participants are only a minuscule slice of the million plus tourists that visit Sikkim annually[2] but they are off the beaten track. Sikkim serves as an easy getaway for tourists from the neighbouring states of West Bengal and Bihar. Their consumption forms much of the income flowing to the hospitality industry and revenue from tourist permits is the highest contributor to non-tax revenue of the state government.
Recurring landslides on a poorly managed National Highway in the West Bengal section of NH 10 frequently disrupt the flow of tourists. Thankfully, the highway was recently handed over by the West Bengal Government to the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), a central government agency, which will hopefully maintain it better.
But the issue is bound to persist because of the unsettled nature of young-fold mountains. Stable roads are necessary for Sikkim’s tourism to flourish. The Pakyong Airport has not been able to function due to visibility issues. An upcoming train station at the border town of Rangpo, slated for 2025, is expected to aid year-round tourism.
Another recurrent debate is the issue of balancing sustainability and livelihoods. The stress on infrastructure in Gangtok doubles during the “season”, causing hour-long traffic jams and shortage of cabs. Although the capital is blessed with a large water source, a major town called Namchi faces acute water crisis, which exacerbates during the tourist season.
The fragile ecosystem
If you were to look at the map of India, on the eastern part, wedged between Nepal and Bhutan, a patch of land sticks out like a thumb. It was once a third of the Middle Himalayan trio. That is the 22nd state in the Union of India – Sikkim. The capital Gangtok was the fourth and final among the capitals of the Namgyal dynasty which reigned in Sikkim from 1642 to 1975[3]. The location was decided by its proximity to passes leading towards Tibet, guided by British interests, of course.
Gangtok became the capital when the British had firmly established their hold over this Himalayan kingdom[4]. This picturesque town, blessed with gentle slopes and warm smiles is, to this day, treated by tourists as a mere pit-stop.
The Gangtok walk begins at the Sikkim State Archives building and moves up along the Tashi Namgyal Academy, a public school in Gangtok. The four hour-long walk then heads over to the White Hall building which was built in 1932 on the highest point within city limits and Tsuklakhang palace and monastery. The final two stops on the walk are the Dukhit Pan Dokan and MG Marg from where the food walk begins.
The Himalayas are a fragile ecosystem. The alarming rate of global warming can be seen by how little snow sits atop the sky-high peaks, even late into December. Tourism is a stress on Sikkim’s ecology, but a major livelihood for its six lakhs residents. The distance from major markets discourages most industries from attaining economies of scale. The booming pharmaceutical business came to Sikkim only because of subsidies offered by the Union Government under North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP)[5].
The million-plus visitors, the waste generated and the noise have been a burden on Sikkim’s ecology. But the Sikkimese are keen to serve even higher numbers. Why wouldn’t they? The pay is good and there are no financial incentives for sustainable tourism.[6]
Although the state is keen to emulate its neighbour, Bhutan, that has balanced tourism with sustainability, we are yet to see tangible results.. The government intends to divert tourism from North Sikkim to the unexplored and verdant West Sikkim.
One of the beneficiaries of this move would be my ancestral village called Chakung, where attempts are on to develop it as an adventure tourism hub. The step to make local guides compulsory for visiting Nathu La has provided livelihoods and helped moderate visitors’ behaviour, vital to protect the precious ecology.
The typical tourist that visits Sikkim comes on a package tour. Armed with a checklist of lakes, landmarks, and viewpoints to shoot pictures at. From an overarching perspective, it can be seen as a homogenised Himalayan hill station which boils down to 3 Ms – Momo, Monks, and Mall Road. Yet, this is only a chapter of the story. Sikkim doesn’t need ‘premium’ tourism — it needs slow travel. Travellers who wish to immerse themselves in the land, with its people. There is more to us beyond our Himalayan peaks.
And TGW is one of many ongoing attempts that flow from this perspective. During the walks, I continually refer to books and reports, such as Opening the Hiddenland by Saul Mullard and Mandala Kingdom by Alex McKay, which have been instrumental to understanding Sikkim of the past. When guests ask me for book suggestions, I am only too glad to share. It is a pleasure to see people read beyond the mainstream books about Sikkim that only revisit the events leading to 1975, and then be contacted months later about how much they enjoyed those.
Illustration: Nikeita Saraf
Revisiting the past
The need to walk in Gangtok and learn about Sikkim’s history is because it is more than just 1975 when it joined the Union of India. A lot needs to be made sense of. There is no official name for the type of architecture in Sikkim. Gary Chopel Bhutia, chief town planner of Gangtok Municipal Corporation and architect by training, has termed it as ‘Tibeto-Lamaist’.
Sikkim, today, may be a part of South Asia but its creation was only one of the many reverberations the world felt when a young Temujin was born on the steppe in 1162.
The rich tapestry of different cultures and ethnicities weaves together a multitude of Himalayan tales. Whether it’s the pioneering Newars of Kathmandu valley who served as architects and artisans for the Mongols[7] or the suffering of Tibetans fleeing Communist China, the historical events reflect in the heritage buildings and monuments.
The stories of ordinary people are brought out in another experience called The Gangtok Food Walk. Food best presents the culture and experiences of the average people who don’t necessarily have books to record their tales. In my walks, I partner with restaurants such as The Local Cafe, pioneers in Himalayan fusion cuisine, to revive dishes dhindo[8] and khurri[9] that are either fading from memory or simply in need of better marketing. These dishes, unsurprisingly, are healthier and have smaller carbon footprints than the usual fare, with buckwheat taking a central role. Of course, the classic momo and Nepali thali remain staples of any culinary experience in Sikkim.
Lal Bazaar, Gangtok’s wet market also features in the food tour. Walking towards it down Thado Bato (steep road), you come across the everyday people that make up this small city. The shops lining the crowded street look inviting and promise a good deal. That there are no cars honking adds to Gangtok’s charm.
The Gangtok Food Walk is about ingredients, cooking techniques, and evolution of these dishes attempting to present the fascinating story— which connects the dots between survival instincts, Organic Sikkim, Columbus’ ambition, missionary zeal and more. It is also a contrast to the heritage-focussed TGW. The two are best done on two consecutive days like the Parasuramans from Bengaluru recently did.
During the research, development and execution of TGW, I have had the privilege of meeting a diverse range of people from vendors at Gangtok’s wet market to encyclopaedic guests to senior bureaucrats. Their support in my endeavours comes in the form of offering valuable inputs, and most importantly, giving me access to some beautiful government premises for the walk. Unfortunately, I have had no such luck in dealing with a trust that represents the interests of the former royal family.
During the walk, we enter the palace compound from the back gate. The royal chapel is where the walk peaks — in altitude and stories. Visitors walk across the flat tract of land, adorned by the stone which gives the town its name. Gangtok means hill top. Revisiting curses, prophecies and promises, one can only admire the palace, from afar. The beautiful two-storey yellowish bungalow remains barred and inaccessible to the public, though devoid of residents. A usually dramatic sky, mesmerising view of Kanchendzonga and the imposing structure featured on TGW’s logo are a consolation.
Then begins the descent and the walk concludes on MG Marg, Gangtok’s Mall Road. It can sometimes feel like all the tourists in Gangtok have descended on that one stretch at a pre-planned moment. A visitor observed that the historic locations were rather deserted but the bazaar, which was once considered to be at the very edge of Gangtok, was teeming with people.
At the end of the day, those who walk with me through Gangtok’s less-known paths sleep in a city different from the one they woke up in. I am only glad to be the medium.
Yash Palzang Gurung is the founder of The Gangtok Walk. His interest in Sikkim’s history and culture culminated in this experience. He is grateful to be able to learn and be rewarded for it.
Photos: Yash Palzang Gurung
