The Old Silk Route, Sikkim

Zuluk or Dzuluk Located at a height of around 10,100 feet on the rugged terrain of the lower Himalayas in East Sikkim - India, Zuluk / Dzuluk is a small village beside a winding road. A branch of the old Silk Road "2000 years ago" passed over the mountains near Gangtok, and you can follow it still today. It was once a transit point to the historic Silk Route from Tibet (China) to India. It is relatively an emerging and offbeat destination in East Sikkim. This small village accommodates a population of around 700 people. It is the very first village within this whole Silk Route circuit to offer home-stay facilities for tourists. Zuluk itself does not offer views of the snow peaks but only 14 kms away the Thambi View Point offers a panoramic view of the entire Mt. Kanchenjungha range. Zuluk is a hilltop and a transit point within the Silk Route. The road through Zuluk makes almost 32 hairpin turns to reach Lungthung and total of 97 S-curves from Lingthum till Zuluk, which makes it a unique engineering feat. There is a local Nag Temple here. The temple has a cave like structure and the deity of King Cobra or Nag, famous Hindu mythical god is worshipped in the temple. Another great attraction of Zuluk lies in watching the sunrise over Mt. Kanchenjungha and its allied peaks from Thambi View Point (around 14 kms away) at 11,200 feet. The glittering rays of the rising sun kisses the snow clad peak of Mt. Kanchenjungha, which slowly turns crimson and then golden and finally silver.

The village of Zuluk itself is an attraction with its mixed population of Nepali, Sikkimese and Tibetan people. There is substantial army presence in the town and you should be careful about photographing army installations. The old Silk route is the rare confluence of natural beauty and history of human civilization. The Silk Route or Silk Road refers to a network of ancient trade routes connecting Asia, Europe and Africa. Extending more than 6,500 kms, the Silk Route was majorly used to transport Chinese Silk to Europe through Central Asia from 2nd Century BC. However, many trade routes (both sea and land routes) existed in much earlier times that connected the main Silk Route and traded in different commodities ranging from salt to gold. Silk Route’s greatest contribution to world history was not mere trading of few commodities but exchange of ideas, art and science between Asia, Europe and Africa. It was the world’s first information superhighway. [First Image creditSomshri Patnaik]

This road is fascinating and dangerous also. There are a total of 97 S-curves from Lingthum till Zuluk. Image credit Saikat Thakur

Image credit Sourav Guha

Image credit atimit kundu

The Incredible maize, Locally known as Bhul Bhulaiya, This road starts from Lingthum and after 97-S curves reaches top of Zuluk. Image credit Saikat Thakur

Image credit Siddhartha Mandal

Army camp. Image credit Pradipta Basu

Zig-zag road of Zuluk ‘Bhulbhulaia’, the view of zig-zag road from Thambi unique to Zuluk. One can see the complete road starting from Zuluk, passing through the lower hills up to Thambi. Image credit Pradipta Basu

Image credit Pradipta Basu

Silk Route , Zuluk, East Sikkim - Over the years several trade routes, which played a major role for the rise of international trades round the globe that we see now, are closed, un-used. They are never used any more for the exchange of commodities and culture. One such route was known as “Silk Road” which has got tremendous historic reference. Image credit Gokul Banik