North Sikkim

North Sikkim is a district of the Indian state of Sikkim. Its capital is Mangan. It is the largest of the four districts of Sikkim. Mangan is also known as the Cardamom Capital of the world. The climate and terrain best suit the cultivation of the larger variety of Cardamom here.

The people are mainly of Nepali descent. Other ethnic groups include the Lepcha and Bhutia communities. Nepali is the most widely spoken language in the district. It also has one of the lowest populated regions of the state.

The region has many power projects and enjoys almost uninterrupted electricity. The steep gradient and the innumerable lakes on the higher reaches facilitate ideal conditions for generation of hydro electric power. The most prominent effect of the steepness of the valleys is the prevalence of land slides that at times drop to anything between 3000 to convert|5000|ft|m|abbr=on carrying devastation along their course. Most of them are caused either by the melting snow beds on top of the mountains or by erosive action of the rains. Roads however, are in a poor condition owing to the frequent landslides.

The landscape is mountainous with dense vegetation all the way up to the alpine altitude before thinning out to desert scrub towards the Northern Tundra. Numerous waterfalls astride the main road make the trip to this district extremely picturesque. It is also home to the Himalayan Red Panda. The Himalayan Red Panda (Ailurus Fulgens) is the pride of Sikkim. It is not a real Panda Bear as the name suggests but is considered an exotic animal. It belongs to the Raccoon family and is generally found between heights of 2000 m to 4000 m. It is as big as a domestic Siamese cat (approximately 2 ft long), a triangular shaped face with a stripe on its cheek, with red fur and black eyes. It has a sprinkling of white on its back and chest. The tail is bushy, black or brown in color and long like that of a skunk. They generally live on treetops.

Most of North Sikkim is restricted to travelers and permits are needed to visit these areas. The area, which shares a sensitive border with the People's Republic of China is heavily patrolled by the Indian army.

Most of the people of the state reside near Mangan, the district headquarters which is about convert|2000|ft|m above sea level. Further north the elevation increases with the vegetation turning from temperate to alpine to tundra. Temperatures range from about 25° to below -40° in the extreme high reaches where the altitude is in excess of 6,000 metres. Kanchenjanga is the highest peak at over 8,000 m, straddling its eastern border with Nepal.