Gangtok, March 25 Nearly 200 tourists were stranded in Chungthang, North Sikkim, after multiple landslides, caused by heavy rainfall, disrupted road connectivity, officials said on Wednesday morning.
Mangan District Collector Anant Jain said the landslides occurred on the crucial Chungthang-Lachen route on Tuesday night, leaving tourists heading for Lachen stranded in the middle.
The stranded visitors were accommodated overnight at an ITBP camp and a gurudwara in Chungthang, he said.
Restoration work by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is underway, officials said, adding that authorities will review the situation and may allow travel only after the routes are declared safe, depending on the weather conditions.
Some tourists have since returned to Gangtok and cancelled their travel plans, they said.
Meanwhile, the road to Lachung, which was also blocked on Tuesday night, has been cleared, and tourists from that side were safely sent back to Gangtok on Wednesday morning.
Officials said the situation is being closely monitored as intermittent rainfall persists in the region.
The Lachen route had only recently reopened on March 9 after being severely damaged in the 2023 glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF).
Additionally, key tourist destinations such as Tsomgo Lake and Nathula remain closed due to heavy snowfall over the past few days.