Gurudongmar Lake

Where

Mangan district, North Sikkim, about 5 km from the Tibet border

Altitude

5,430 m (17,800 ft) per the Sikkim government; elevation models put it nearer 5,150 m

Distance

About 65–70 km from Lachen, around 3 hours each way

Timings

Early-morning visits only; vehicles leave Lachen around 4–5am

Entry fee

No separate fee; covered by the North Sikkim permit

Permit

North Sikkim Protected Area Permit via a registered operator. Indian nationals only

Best time

April–June and October–November

Time needed

A full day from Lachen

Gurudongmar is a glacial lake in the far north of Sikkim, about 5 km from the Tibet border. It is one of the highest lakes in India, sacred to Buddhists and revered by Sikhs, and on a clear morning the water turns deep turquoise under the bare peaks of the Khangchengyao range.

How high is Gurudongmar Lake?

The Sikkim government gives 5,430 m (17,800 ft), the figure on most signboards. Satellite elevation data (Wikidata, and the terrain model behind our weather data) puts the lake surface nearer 5,150 m (about 16,900 ft). Either way, it is higher than Everest Base Camp in Nepal (5,364 m) by the official figure and close to it by the satellite one, and it is the highest point most travellers in India ever drive to.

The lake in numbers

• Area: about 118 hectares, with a shoreline of about 5.3 km.
• Fed by the Gurudongmar glacier; the lake is dammed by a moraine.
• Source of the Teesta: its outflow joins Tso Lhamo Lake and becomes one of the headwaters of the Teesta River.
• Frozen from about November to mid-May, except one stretch of water (see the legends below).
• Wildlife: yaks and blue sheep graze the plateau around it.

The legends

• Guru Padmasambhava, returning from Tibet in the 8th century, is said to have touched the frozen lake so that part of it would never freeze, giving the herders water all year. The lake is named after him.
• Guru Nanak is linked to the lake by a Sikh tradition with a similar story: a frozen lake thawed by the touch of his staff. The Army's Sarva Dharma Sthal at Chungthang commemorates his visit.

How the visit works

You spend the night at Lachen (about 2,750 m), then leave between 4 and 5am so you reach the lake in the early morning, before the wind rises. The road runs through Thangu and over a high, bare plateau. Visits are short, often 15 to 30 minutes, because of the altitude and Army timings. Most trips then drive back down and across to Lachung for Yumthang. See our North Sikkim tour packages.

Road distances from OpenStreetMap routing. Drive times are what we see on these mountain roads, not map estimates.

Permit and is it open?

• Indian nationals only. Foreigners cannot visit Gurudongmar.
• Permit: filed by a registered Sikkim operator with photo ID and passport photos. Recent itineraries require at least two nights in North Sikkim.
• 2026 status: after the October 2023 flood closed the Lachen road, permits for Lachen and Gurudongmar resumed in March 2026, and the road reopened again in August 2026 after a monsoon closure. Access has been on and off, so check the day before. See is North Sikkim open now?
• Vehicles: only Sikkim-registered vehicles listed on the permit; check-post cut-off times apply on the way north.

Weather at the lake

At this height the air is below freezing for most of the year. The ten-year record shows daytime highs below 0°C from October to May, and snow can fall in any month.

Monthly averages for 2015–2024 from ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, at the site's elevation (about 5150 m). Rain and snow are rated relative to this location's own year.

• April–June: the road is usually open and the lake begins to thaw.
• October–November: clearest skies; the lake starts freezing in November.
• December–March: the road often closes after snow.
• July–September: monsoon landslides lower down are the main risk.

Altitude and safety

• Acclimatise: nights in Gangtok and Lachen before going up. Talk to your doctor about altitude medication before the trip.
• At the lake: walk slowly, keep the visit short, and drink water.
• Turn back if anyone has a headache that won't ease, vomiting, breathlessness at rest or confusion.
• Not advised for infants, very young children, or anyone with heart or lung conditions. Yumthang and Zero Point give snow at a lower height.

Things most guides don't tell you

• The sun is fierce. Sunglasses and sunscreen matter as much as a down jacket.
• Pack a breakfast. Nothing is open on the plateau at dawn.
• Chopta Valley and the Thangu meadows are on the same road; ask your driver to stop on the way down.

Nearby

• Yumthang Valley, across the valley via Chungthang.
• North Sikkim tour packages.
• Gangtok to Lachung cab.