Tourism activities to resume in picturesque North Sikkim from Monday

Gangtok, Sep 7 (PTI) Tourism in North Sikkim is set to resume from Monday, nearly four months after it was suspended due to natural calamities, an official said..

CS Rao, the additional chief secretary of the tourism and civil aviation department, said tourists can visit Lachung, Yumthang Valley and Zero Point, while Lachen will reopen in the next tourist season.

"North Sikkim will reopen for tourists and online permits are being issued from Monday," Rao told reporters here on Sunday.

He said tourists must cross the Sanklang bridge check-post by 1 pm while proceeding and Toong bridge by 2 pm while returning.

North Sikkim (Mangan District) had remained closed to tourists since May-end due to natural calamities, he added.

Rao said the Sanklang bridge has been rebuilt by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to restore connectivity to Dzongu region and added that a diversion has been created to reduce travel time by about one-and-a-half hours for visitors going towards Chungthang.

To a query on the battlefield tourism initiative announced earlier this year by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Rao said Chola and Doklam will be opened to domestic tourists starting September 27.

"It has been decided to open Chola and Doklam for domestic tourists from September 27, with an initial limit of 25 vehicles per day," the officer stated.

These destinations are part of a larger plan to promote tourism to historic military zones, which also includes the well-known Nathula Pass. PTI KDK MNB