CityDekho
Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary

Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary

wildlife park · Sikkim

A 104 sq km sanctuary in the Singalila Range in western Sikkim, running up against Nepal to the west and, to the south, West Bengal across the Rambong Khola stream.

State
Sikkim
Type
Wildlife Park

A 104 sq km sanctuary in the Singalila Range in western Sikkim, running up against Nepal to the west and, to the south, West Bengal across the Rambong Khola stream. The rhododendrons bloom from March until May, and that is the whole case for coming. Outside those months you are walking good ridge forest with nothing in flower, which is a fine day out but not the day out you came for. So fix your dates first and build the rest of the trip around them. If you can choose, aim for the middle of that window rather than its edges. It is also spelled Barsey.

Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary is known for

Rhododendron bloom, March to MaySingalila Range ridge walksBorders Nepal and West Bengal

Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary guide & itineraries

Been to Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary?

Write what you would tell a friend — where you stayed, what you would skip, the thing you wish somebody had mentioned before you went. We read every submission before it goes up.

Share your story

People also explored

Travellers viewing Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary also loved these

Sikkim

Gangtok

Gangtok is where most Sikkim trips begin, and its real value is as a base rather than a destination.

Sikkim

Tsomgo Lake & Nathula Pass

Tsomgo Lake, also written Changu Lake, is a high-altitude glacial lake at 3,753 metres in the rugged East Sikkim district, held in a steep oval valley just…

Sikkim

Lachung

Lachung is a mountain village in North Sikkim at around 2,700 metres, set where the Lachen and Lachung rivers meet amid apple orchards and waterfalls.

More wildlife escapes

More places you'll love

Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Mount Harriet National Park

Look at the back of a twenty-rupee note: that picture was taken here.

Assam

Dibru-Saikhowa National Park

Water sets the terms here. The park lies between the Brahmaputra and Lohit in the north and the Dibru in the south, at an average of 118 metres, and it holds…

Assam

Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary

The hoolock gibbon, India's only ape, lives in this patch of evergreen forest, calling from the hollong trees that dominate the upper canopy, and you are far…

Assam

Dehing Patkai National Park

India's largest surviving stretch of lowland rainforest sits here, 231 square kilometres of dipterocarp forest across Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts, part…

Chhattisgarh

Kanger Valley National Park

Roughly 200 square kilometres of Bastar, running about 33.5 km from the Teerathgarh waterfalls in the west to the Kolab river on the Odisha boundary, and only…

Andhra Pradesh

Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary

The tide runs this place. The forest floods at least twice a day, and the mangroves hold themselves clear of the water on a tangle of stilt-like prop roots…

Arunachal Pradesh

Kamlang Wildlife Sanctuary

Few places in India can list a Bengal tiger and a snow leopard on the same sheet.

Maharashtra

Velas Beach

Located at the northern tip of Ratnagiri district near Mandangad, Velas is a secluded coastal village roughly 220 km from Mumbai.

Maharashtra

Kihim Beach

Situated just 12 km north of Alibaug town, Kihim is easily accessible via the ferry route from Mumbai to Mandwa.

Gujarat

Narara Marine National Park Beach

A unique coastal area where low tide allows visitors to walk shallow waters and observe living corals, sea anemones, and crabs up close.

Assam

Nameri National Park

Nameri National Park, in the Sonitpur district of Assam at the foothills of Arunachal Pradesh, is a birdwatcher's paradise along the Jia Bhoroli river.

Maharashtra

Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary

Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Western Ghats of Kolhapur district in Maharashtra, is one of the region's oldest protected areas and is known for its…

Trending in Sikkim

Gangtok

Gangtok

Gangtok is where most Sikkim trips begin, and its real value is as a base rather than a destination. The town itself is a steep ridge of concrete with one pleasant pedestrian street, MG Marg, where no vehicles and no spitting are allowed and the whole town walks in the evening. Rumtek monastery, half an hour out, is the seat of the Karma Kagyu lineage and the more worthwhile hour. Enchey, closer in, is quieter still. Tsomgo lake and Nathu La are the standard day trip. Both need permits arranged through a registered operator in Gangtok, both are high — Tsomgo is at around 3,700 metres — and Nathu La is closed to foreign nationals entirely. If you have only been in the hills a day, that altitude gain in a single drive is a lot. For actual Sikkim, keep going. Pelling for the Kanchenjunga view, Yuksom for the walking, north Sikkim for Lachung and the Yumthang valley — all of which need their own permits. March to May and October to early December. The monsoon here brings serious landslides and roads close for days at a time.

Tsomgo Lake & Nathula Pass

Tsomgo Lake & Nathula Pass

Tsomgo Lake, also written Changu Lake, is a high-altitude glacial lake at 3,753 metres in the rugged East Sikkim district, held in a steep oval valley just kilometres from the international border. The water changes colour through the year: deep blue in summer, turquoise later, then solid white once winter locks the surface into thick ice. Carry on up the same high-security mountain road and it climbs to the Nathula Pass checkpoint, at 4,310 metres on the ancient Silk Road route, where heavy military wire marks the line between India and China.

Yumthang Valley

Yumthang Valley

Yumthang Valley, often called the Valley of Flowers of Sikkim, is an alpine meadow at around 3,500 metres in North Sikkim. In spring its slopes blaze with rhododendrons and primulas, and there are hot springs, the Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary, and Zero Point higher up.

Rumtek Monastery

Rumtek Monastery

Rumtek is the largest monastery in Sikkim and the seat-in-exile of the Karmapa, head of the Karma Kagyu (Black Hat) lineage. Rebuilt in the 1960s by the 16th Karmapa as a faithful copy of Tibet's Tsurphu monastery, it holds the Golden Stupa with his relics, a monastic college, and treasures of the lineage. Ritual dances, deep-horn ensembles and the view back across the valley to Gangtok make it the centrepiece of any Sikkim circuit.

Where next?

More like Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary

Wildlife & Safari

Or a different kind of trip

Hill StationsBeachesHeritage

Everything in SikkimBrowse all destinations