Tshoka

Tshoka is a small high-altitude hamlet at about 3,000 metres inside Khangchendzonga National Park near Yuksom in Gyalshing District, Sikkim. Located on the Yuksom-Dzongri-Goechala trek route, it serves as a key overnight halt between Yuksom and Dzongri. Known for traditional Tibetan-style wooden houses, prayer flags, chortens and views of Mt. Pandim and the Kanchenjunga range, it is a scenic and culturally distinctive stopover for trekkers.

Visitors can expect a small, isolated mountain hamlet with traditional wooden Tibetan-style huts with colourful prayer flags, a small lake and monastery/chorten, and terraced surroundings inside Khangchendzonga National Park. The settlement is accessed only by trekking from Yuksom (about 14-16 km steep ascent through forest). There are basic trekkers' huts, homestays and camping grounds, panoramic views of Pandim, Thenchinkhang and Kanchenjunga ranges, and a quiet, rustic environment with limited electricity and mobile connectivity.

Tshoka was established as a Tibetan refugee settlement after 1959, when Tibetan refugees were rehabilitated in the Yuksom area of West Sikkim. The hamlet retains Tibetan architectural style and Buddhist features and later became an important acclimatization halt for the Dzongri-Goechala trek inside Khangchendzonga National Park.

The hamlet reflects Tibetan Buddhist culture with wooden houses, mani walls, chortens, prayer flags and a small monastery/lake considered sacred. It represents the Tibetan community resettled in Sikkim and serves as a cultural stopover showcasing traditional mountain lifestyle and Buddhist practices for trekkers.