CHOOSE YOUR JOURNEY
Choose your preferred dates
Each batch follows the same thoughtfully curated journey through Lower and Upper Dzongu. Select the dates that work best for you.
THE REGION
Dzongu
A protected homeland shaped by rivers and mountains.
Dzongu is a protected reserve for the Lepcha community in North Sikkim. The region lies across the Teesta from Mangan and is shaped by the Teesta and Rongyong Chu rivers, forested mountains and under the sacred gaze of Kanchenjunga.
More than a destination, Dzongu is a living cultural homeland where relationships between people, land, language and belief continue to shape everyday life.
ELEVATION
~1400 ft
DISTRICT
Mangan
Protected Lepcha Reserve
Permit Required
THE JOURNEY
The Bridge to Mayal Lyang
In Lepcha tradition, Mayal Lyang represents a sacred land of origin, belonging and harmony. Bridge to Mayal Lyang is both a journey into Dzongu and an inward journey, an invitation to slow down, listen and reflect.
Through time spent with the land and its people, the journey encourages us to learn from their relationships with nature, community, memory and everyday life. Shared meals, village paths, conversations, forests and rivers become spaces for introspection helping us reconsider our own relationship with place, belonging and the way we choose to live.
| “Travel slowly enough for a place to reveal itself.”
THE PEOPLE
The Lepchas
The Lepchas are the indigenous people of Sikkim, the Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills, and adjoining regions of Nepal and Bhutan. They refer to themselves as Rong and hold a cultural identity deeply connected with the Eastern Himalayan landscape.
Their language, oral histories, stories, spiritual traditions, food and material culture reflect generations of engagement with forests, rivers and mountains. This journey offers an introduction to these living relationships through the people who continue to practise, reinterpret and carry them forward.
WHAT YOU'LL ENCOUNTER
People, Places & Living Traditions
This journey unfolds through encounters with people and their stories, with places shaped by memory, and with traditions that remain part of everyday life. Each experience is guided by those who call Dzongu home, offering a deeper understanding of their relationship with the land and one another.
Availability may vary with the season, local rhythms and the presence of community hosts.
Share breakfast with Mr. Chewang Lepcha and his family at their farm in Sangdong. An indigenous farmer and seed keeper, Chewang preserves traditional seeds and the knowledge they carry.
Depending on seasonal farm activities and local conditions, guests may also join a hands-on introduction to indigenous farming, seasonal crops and seed conservation.
Breakfast with a Seed Keeper
Visit the Nettle Handloom Training and Production Centre to understand how Himalayan stinging nettle is processed, spun and woven. Explore its relationship with traditional clothing, local knowledge and contemporary livelihoods.
From Himalayan Nettle to Fibre
Take a short hike and drive towards a nearby waterfall, with the opportunity to enter the water if conditions are safe. Later, settle beside the Rongyong Chu and savour a home-cooked packed lunch amid the sounds of the river and forest.
A Riverside Picnic
Walk across the Ru-Soam, a traditional Lepcha cane bridge woven from generations of skill, memory and understanding of the land. When the 2023 GLOF disrupted roads and modern bridges, this inherited knowledge revealed its enduring relevance, helping communities reconnect across a changed landscape. More than a crossing, the Ru-Soam is a living expression of Lepcha ingenuity, resilience and cultural heritage.
The Living Bridge of Dzongu
Meet Padma Shri Jorden Lepcha and learn about the Sumok Thyaktuk, the traditional Lepcha hat.
Discover its materials, making process and cultural significance, and the work involved in keeping this knowledge alive.
The Craft of Sumok Thyaktuk
Follow unhurried village and monastery trails through traditional homes, agricultural fields, cardamom plantations and forest stretches. The walks offer time to observe how everyday life is shaped by the landscape.
Walking Through Upper Dzongu
Discover Lepcha cuisine with your host, Sangsey, through its local ingredients, flavours and everyday food traditions. When the season and conditions allow, join her in foraging for ingredients and preparing breakfast together.
Cooking with Sangsey
Visit Tungkyong Dho, a sacred lake where Lepcha ancestral stories and the living landscape come together. Recognised as Sikkim’s first Biodiversity Heritage Site, it offers a rare glimpse into how cultural memory, community stewardship and biodiversity remain deeply intertwined in Dzongu.
The Sacred Lake of Tungkyong Dho
THE FESTIVAL
Chalum Damroo Festival
During the harvest season, Dzongu’s hillsides glow with ripening mandarin oranges, bringing colour and fragrance to its orchards and villages. Held in Gnon-Sangdong, the Chalum Dambroo Orange Festival celebrates this abundance through local produce, traditional food, games, music and cultural performances, a joyful expression of Lepcha heritage, agrarian life and community spirit.
Seasonal experience — not included in every batch
DAY 0 . GANGTOK
Before Dzongu: Meeting Gangtok
Before entering Dzongu, the group spends a day experiencing another side of Gangtok through its people, neighbourhoods and creative practitioners. This relaxed beginning also allows participants to meet one another before travelling together.
MEETING POINT
Travel cafe / Tag Along
TIME
10.00 am
DURATION
Approximately 4–5 hours
INCLUDED
Curated experience and lunch
GANGTOK STAY
Not included
Pre-journey gathering:
16 / 23 October (October batch)
20 November (November batch)
Guided Gangtok city walk
Pottery at Studio Zyema
Botanical walk & nature journaling
Traditional Thangka painting
Neurographic art & Tai Chi
The group will choose one experience or, where feasible, a combination of two based on collective interests and practitioner availability.
DAY BY DAY
What each day holds.
The itinerary applies to both date batches. Activities may shift according to weather, agricultural rhythms, community availability and local safety conditions.
DAY 1 | GANGTOK - HEE GAYATHANG
Stay : Hee Gayathang
Entering the Rhythm of Dzongu
Travel from Gangtok to Hee Gyathang in Lower Dzongu. After settling into the homestay, visit the Nettle Handloom Training and Production Centre to learn how Himalayan nettle becomes fibre and supports local knowledge, craft and livelihoods. Later, take a relaxed village walk, cross a traditional Ru-Soam cane bridge and spend time beside a nearby stream.
Nettle fibre and weaving
Village walk
Ru-Soam cane bridge
DAY 2 | SANGDONG
Stay : Hee Gayathang
Seeds, Farmers & Village Life
Spend the morning with local farmers and indigenous seed keepers in Sangdong. Learn about traditional grains, seasonal crops and the changing realities of farming in Dzongu. Share a meal with a farming family and, depending on the season, join simple farm activities. Continue through the village on foot before a riverside picnic at Maney Chu. An informal momo-making session may be arranged in the evening.
Indigenous seeds
Farm interaction
Village trail
Optional momo making
DAY 3 | HEE GYATHANG - LINGTHEM
Stay : Lingthem
Sacred Landscapes & Living Craft
Travel into Upper Dzongu and visit Tungkyoung Dho, a sacred lake associated with Lepcha beliefs and oral traditions. Meet Padma Shri Jorden Lepcha and learn about the Sumok Thyaktuk, the traditional Lepcha hat. Continue to Lingthem for a village walk through homes, fields and cardamom gardens, ending at a mountain viewpoint.
Tungkyoung Dho
Interaction with Jorden Lepcha
Sumok Thyaktuk
Mountain viewpoint
DAY 4 | LINGTHEM - PASSINGDANG
Stay : Passingdang
Monastery Trails, Birds & Cardamom Forests
Begin with an early walk towards a nearby monastery while observing the birds, plants and sounds of Upper Dzongu. After breakfast, follow a gradual downhill trail through cardamom plantations, cultivated fields and forests towards Passingdang. Guests unable to complete the entire trail may travel part of the distance by vehicle. End the day beside the Rongyoung River.
Monastery walk
Informal birding
Cardamom & forest trail
Rongyoung River
DAY 5 | PASSINGDANG
Stay : Passingdang
Water, Food & Lepcha Music
Join the host family in the kitchen and learn about local ingredients and everyday Lepcha food traditions. Walk or drive to a nearby waterfall, followed by an outdoor picnic beside the river. A natural hot-spring visit may be possible depending on local access. In the evening, gather with local musicians for songs, instruments, stories and local chi.
Cooking with the host family
Riverside picnic
Possible hot spring
Lepcha folk music
DAY 6 | DEPARTURE
Leaving Mayel Lyang
Spend a slow final morning at the homestay before departing Dzongu for the agreed onward drop point. Guests should maintain sufficient buffer before onward trains or flights because mountain travel can be unpredictable.
YOUR STAY
Your Homes in Dzongu
Family-run homestays across Lower and Upper Dzongu. Featured community hosts from previous and upcoming Muhaan journeys. The final homestay allocation will be confirmed before departure.
Savong Lee Homestay
HEE - GAYATHANG, LOWER DZONGU
One of Dzongu's early homestays, an ancestral home set among orchards, hosted by Pintso and his family. A warm Lower Dzongu base where village life unfolds at an unhurried pace.
Mayal Lyang Homestay
PASSINGDANG, UPPER DZONGU
Gyatso Tongden Lepcha's family home in Passingdang set within forest and village rhythms of Upper Dzongu. A setting for slow mornings, river sounds and evenings shared with the host family.
Accommodation is in locally run homes. They are warm, clean and comfortable, but should be approached as homes rather than hotels. Room and bathroom arrangements may vary between villages.
What's included.
Five nights' shared homestay accommodation in Dzongu
Transportation from Gangtok throughout the Dzongu journey
Final transfer to the agreed drop point
Meals mentioned in the itinerary
Selected Gangtok experience and lunch
Curated experiences and community interactions
Local guides and community resource persons
Dzongu permits and applicable entry fees
Muhaan facilitator throughout the journey
What's not.
Travel to Gangtok
Accommodation and local transport in Gangtok
Breakfast and dinner in Gangtok
Airfare and train fare
Activities outside the final programme
Shopping, snacks and additional beverages
Travel insurance
Medical or emergency evacuation
Additional transport outside the itinerary
Expenses caused by weather or road closures
Anything not specifically included
GOOD TO KNOW
The Nature of the Journey
This is not a journey built around ticking off sightseeing points. Much of the experience comes from slowing down enough to engage with the people and landscapes around us.
A GOOD FIT
Is This Journey For You?
This journey may suit you if…
You prefer meaningful small-group travel
You are comfortable in simple homestays
You enjoy walking, local food and conversations
You can remain flexible with plans and pace
You want to understand a place beyond sightseeing
Please reconsider if…
You require luxury accommodation
You expect a rigid schedule
You dislike winding mountain roads
You need uninterrupted connectivity
You prefer fast-paced tourism