Chungthang
| Chungthang | |
|---|---|
| town | |
|
View of Chungthang, 1938 | |
  Chungthang Location in Sikkim, India | |
| Coordinates: 27°36′16″N 88°38′44″E / 27.6045°N 88.645583°ECoordinates: 27°36′16″N 88°38′44″E / 27.6045°N 88.645583°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Sikkim |
| District | North Sikkim |
| Elevation | 1,790 m (5,870 ft) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Nepali, Bhutia, Lepcha, Limbu, Newari, Rai, Gurung, Mangar, Sherpa, Tamang and Sunwar |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
Chungthang is a town in North Sikkim district in the Indian state of Sikkim. It is situated at the confluence of two rivers: Lachen River and Lachung River, both tributaries of the River Teesta. Chungthang is located a distance of 95 kilometres from the capital Gangtok. The Indian army has a major forward base in the town including a medical centre.
Geography
Chungthang is located at 27°37′N 88°38′E / 27.62°N 88.63°E.[1] It has an average elevation of 1790 metres (5,873 feet).
History
According to a legend, Guru Padmasambhabwa {Buddhist Guru} visited the town before going to Tibet and left his footprint on a rock where he once rested. Around the rock some paddy is grown, which is supposed to be a miracle as paddy does not grow in these conditions. Local people earned their livelihood on these paddy fields until the Army was deployed there.
It is believed Guru Nanak Dev ji visited this place during his trip (Udasi) to China and Tibet. Guru Nanak Dev ji dug his walking stick at a place where eventually the stick has grown into a tree which has trunk in stick shape and leaves are below the rounded trunk which looks like handle of stick. An amrit kund was also made to appear there by Guru ji. Guru Nanak visited the place during his third udasi in order to solace the Karma pa Nying ma pa sect then being hounded out from Tibet by the Ge lug pa sect. It is also said that Guru Nanak, on one of his journeys along with his disciples, had come across this place and vanquished two demons here before proceeding. The footprints of that battle were believed to be still left on that cordoned off rock. It is also said that Chungthang derived from the Punjabi, “Changa sthan” or good place, which Guru Nanak had bestowed on it
People
Most of the residents of the town are Lepcha. Chungthang is rich in biodiversity with a wide variety of orchids, plants and animals found here.