Gangtok District is an administrative district of the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

. It was renamed in 2021 as a result of administrative reorganisation of the state, which also saw three subdivisions of the East Sikkim district spawned off as a separate Pakyong district. The headquarters of the Gangtok district is

Gangtok Gangtok (, ) is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Sikkim. The seat of East Sikkim district, eponymous district, Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayas, Himalayan range, at an elevation of . The city's population of 100 ...

, which is also the state capital. Gangtok is the hub of all administrative activity in the state. The district is bounded by the Pakyong district in the south and southeast,

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

in the east, the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in the northeast, Mangan District in the north and

Namchi District Namchi District is a district of the Indian state of Sikkim. Its headquarters is at Namchi. Geography Namchi district lies at an altitude of 400 to 2000 metres and has a temperate climate for most of the year. Major urban centres include ...

in the west. The civilian region is administered by a

district collector The district magistrate, also known as the district collector or deputy commissioner, is a career civil servant who serves as the executive head of a district's administration in India. The specific name depends on the state or union territo ...

, appointed by the state government. A major general is assigned to administer military forces in the district. As of 2011 it is the most populous of the six

districts of Sikkim There are 6 districts in Sikkim, an Indian state, each overseen by a Central Government appointee, the district collector, who is in charge of the administration of the civilian areas of the districts. The Indian army has control of a large terr ...

History

East Sikkim was part of the kingdom of Sikkim for most of its history. In the 19th century, the district was under the rule of the

ese. After the Anglo

Bhutan War The Duar War (or Anglo-Bhutanese War) was a war fought between British Raj, British India and Bhutan in 1864 to 1865. It has been the only military conflict between the two states since 1774. Background Across the nineteenth century, British ...

, the territory was virtually under the command of the British forces. After

India's independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic movement t ...

in 1947, the area was part of the kingdom of Sikkim under the protection of India. During the

Sino-Indian War The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...

of 1962, the Nathula Pass witnessed a few skirmishes between India and China. In 1975, the Sikkim formally became part of the Indian Union as India's 22nd state. The district was under the occupation of the Nepalese for 30 years in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Geography

The district occupies an area of . The two important Mountain Passes of East Sikkim are Nathula and Jelepla, both passes connects Sikkim with China. Military-wise, the district is a very sensitive area with the

Indian army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

having control over most areas east of Gangtok and near its borders with

and

. Visitors to this region are restricted and just a few areas are open to tourists in the areas east of Gangtok. Popular tourist locales of East Sikkim and Pakyong districts are the Tsongmo Lake, Lake Menmecho, Dzuluk, Baba Mandir, Gnathang Valley, Elephant Lake Kupup, Lungthung View Point, Tukla Valley, Thambi View Point and the

Nathu La Nathu La(, Sikkimese language, Sikkimese: རྣ་ཐོས་ལ་) is a mountain pass in the Dongkya Range of the Himalayas between China's Yadong County in Tibet, and the Indian states of Sikkim. But minor touch of Bengal in South Asia. T ...

pass. The pass was first opened during the 1904 Younghusband Expedition to Tibet. It saw a tremendous boom in trade during 1950–1959 when the Chinese troops occupying Tibet were supplied through the pass. The pass and Baba Mandir are open to Indian nationals only. To enter this region a special permit is required; the Inner Line Permit has to be obtained one day prior to departure. This permit is made through local tourist offices. Other tourist areas include the town of Gangtok, the Phodong Monastery north of Gangtok and the

Rumtek Monastery Rumtek Monastery (), also called the Dharma Chakra Centre, is a gompa located in the Indian state of Sikkim near the capital Gangtok. It is the seat in exile of the Gyalwang Karmapa, inaugurated in 1966 by the 16th Karmapa. It is also a focal ...

. Other special attractions in the Capital City Gangtok are M G Marg, Hanuman Tok, Ranka Monastery, Himalayan Zoological Park, Palzor Stadium, Tashi View Point, Pakyong Airport view Point. Zuluk And Gnathang Valley are famous attractions in East Sikkim.

Wildlife sanctuaries

Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary, and Fambong Lho Wildlife Sanctuary two famous wildlife sanctuaries lies in the East Sikkim district.

Rivers and lakes

Tsongmo_Lake_or_Changu_Lake_-_East_Sikkim

Rivers

River Teesta, the largest river of state flows in East district from Dikchu to Singtam. River Jaldhaka originates from Kupup and flows south east towards

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. Other major rivers of east sikkim are Ranikhola, Ratey River, Roro River, Rangchang Khola etc.

Lakes

List of important lakes of Gangtok district and Pakyong District are: * Lake Menmecho * Lake Tsomgo * Elephant Lake * Aritar Lake * Manju Lake * Mulkharka Lake * Nathula Lake * Gnathang Heart Lake * Yalk-la Lake. etc.

Flora and fauna

Variety of plants and wildlife are found in the East Sikkim and Pakyong District. The important ones are

Red panda The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzz ...

the state animal, Blood pheasant, the state bird, Dendrobium nobile the state flower and

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

the state tree are found in the wildlife sanctuaries of East sikkim. Other important wild animals include

Snow Leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') is a species of large cat in the genus ''Panthera'' of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because ...

Himalayan black bear The Himalayan black bear (''Ursus thibetanus laniger'') is a subspecies of the Asian black bear. It is distinguished from '' U. t. thibetanus'' by its longer, thicker fur and smaller, whiter chest mark. The species is considered an ecological ind ...

Clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through Northeast India and Bhutan to mainland Southeast Asia into South China. It w ...

Large Indian civet The large Indian civet (''Viverra zibetha'') is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The global population is thought to be decreasing due to hunting and trapping driven by the deman ...

etc. Forest Department, Government of Sikkim has also confirmed the presence of Royal Bengal Tiger in the

Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary encompassing an area of in the Pakyong District of the Indian state of Sikkim. It was established in 2002 and includes the hamlets of Aritar, Dakline Lingtam, Phadamchen, Dzuluk, Gnathang M ...

of Pakyong District in January 2019.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census East Sikkim district along with Pakyong District has a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 283,583, roughly equal to the nation of

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. This gives it a ranking of 574th in India (out of a total of

640 Year 640 ( DCXL) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 640 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming y ...

). The district has a population density of . Its

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 70 million annu ...

over the decade 2001-2011 was 14.79%. East Sikkim has a

sex ratio A sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. However, many species deviate from an even sex ratio, ei ...

of 872

females An organism's sex is female (symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and male ...

for every 1000 males, and a

literacy rate Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

of 84.67%. Hinduism is followed by majority of the people in the Gangtok district. Buddhism followed by a considerable minority, while Christianity is the third largest religion, 40% of its adherents live in Gangtok. Islam is the fourth-largest religion and is mainly found in migrants in urban centres, mainly Gangtok.

Languages

At the time of the 2011 census, 65.59% of the population in the district spoke Nepali, 8.63%

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, 8.16% Sikkimese, 3.41% Lepcha, 2.25% Bhojpuri, 1.68% Bengali, 1.55%

Limbu Limbu may refer to: * Limbu people, an indigenous tribe living in Nepal, Sikkim (India) and Bhutan ** Limbu language, their Sino-Tibetan language *** Limbu script **** Limbu (Unicode block) * Rambahadur Limbu Rambahadur Limbu, (; 8 July 1939 � ...

, 1.49% Tamang, 1.14%

Sherpa SHERPA (Securing a Hybrid Environment for Research Preservation and Access) is an organisation originally set up in 2002 to run and manage the SHERPA Project. History SHERPA began as an endeavour to support the establishment of a number of open ...

, 0.75%

Rai (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

and 0.51% Tibetan as their first language.

Assembly constituencies

The district is divided into 7 assembly constituencies. * Khamdong-Singtam * Shyari (BL) * Martam-Rumtek (BL) * Upper Tadong * Arithang *

(BL) * Upper Burtuk

Divisions

Administrative divisions

East Sikkim is divided into three sub-divisions till June 2021. In June 2021, the two subdivisions of Pakyong and Rongli were constituted as Pakyong District:

Important towns and cities

The major towns and cities of Gangtok District are *

* Singtam * Ranipool * Upper Tadong * Dikchu * Sherathang * Makha

Transport

Roadways

East Sikkim is connected with wide road network managed by Border Road Organization, National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited and State PWD. East Sikkim has the following

National Highways National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in Eng ...

: * National Highway 10 connecting

Siliguri Siliguri (, ; ), also known as Shiliguri, is a major Tier ii cities in india, tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms the twin cities, Twin Cities with the neighbouring city of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeel ...

, lies in East Sikkim from Singtam to

via Ranipool. * National Highway-717A connecting Bagrakote to

, lies in the East Sikkim from Ahopul, Ranipool to

. * Small portion of National Highway-717B connecting

Rhenock Rhenock () is a town, just 29 km from Pakyong, Pakyong City in the Pakyong district in Sikkim, India, located on the border with the Kalimpong district of West Bengal. It lies 63 kilometres east of Gangtok, and 47 kilometres north of Kalimpong on ...

and Menla, Sherathang via Zuluk and Rongli lies in East Sikkim. Larger portion lies in Pakyong District. * National Highway-310 connecting Ranipool and Nathula via

lies totally on East Sikkim. * National Highway 310A connecting

and Mangan lies in East Sikkim from Gangtok to Tingda via Penlong. * Some portions of National Highway 510 also lies in East Sikkim in Singtam Sherwani area.

Airways

Pakyong Airport Pakyong Airport is a domestic airport serving Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, India. It has been operationalized under the UDAN Scheme of the Government of India. Spread over , the airport is located at Pakyong, about 31 km (22 m ...

lies on the town of Pakyong in Pakyong District is the nearest airport from East Sikkim. The airport has daily direct flight services from

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

and

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

Railway

Rangpo Railway Station an under construction railway station of

Northeast Frontier Railway zone The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the Zones and divisions of Indian Railways, 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, and responsible for operation and e ...

is the nearest railway station that lies on Rangpo Town of Pakyong District.

References

External links

Official district government website

(including a map of the Gangtok subdivision), Land Revenue & Disaster Management Department, retrieved 13 September 2022. * {{Sikkim Districts of Sikkim