Lachung

Lachung, village, northeastern Sikkim state, northeastern India. It is located on the Lachung River, a tributary of the Tista River, in a deep valley at the base of the Himalayas near the border with Tibet (China).

Lachung is a small trading centre (corn [maize] and pulses). It has a dispensary, a rest house, and a monastery and is the site of a government agricultural station. It is linked to Gangtok, Sikkim’s capital, 27 miles (43 km) south, by the North Sikkim Highway. To the north of its bazaar are seasonal grazing settlements, while to the south many hamlets are perched along the riverbanks. A steep winding road from Lachung ascends the mountains to the east and connects with a trail leading to the Tibetan border pass of Thang Kar. Pop (2001) 2,800; (2011) 2,495.