Zuluk zig-zag road: when to go for snow, fog or clear views

What the zig-zag actually is

Ask anyone in Bengal about the Silk Route and they will show you one photograph: a road looping back and forth across a green or white hillside, layer above layer, like a ribbon dropped on a slope. That road is the section above Zuluk village, built and maintained by the Border Roads Organisation to carry Army traffic up to the Nathang plateau and the border passes. It climbs roughly 500 metres in about 14 km between Zuluk, at about 2,900 m, and Thambi View Point, at about 3,400 m, and keeps climbing after that to Lungthung and Nathang.

Counts of the hairpins vary from source to source and depend on where you start counting, so we will not give you a number to argue over. What matters is that the bends are tight, the road is single-lane in places, and Army trucks have right of way. Drivers who do this road every week take it slowly, and so should you if you ever walk part of it.

The road is also a working road. Army convoys, BRO trucks carrying gravel and the odd yak herder share it with tourist cars, and in winter snow-clearing machines may hold traffic for an hour. Locals use it to reach Rongli market, school and the hospital. Build in time for waiting and you will enjoy it more; on this road the slow car is usually the sensible one.

Where to see the loops from

You cannot see the zig-zag from Zuluk village; you are sitting at the bottom of it. The classic view is from Thambi View Point, about 14 km and an hour above Zuluk, where a railing, a few tea stalls and a sign mark the spot. From here the loops you just drove fall away below you, and on a clear morning Kangchenjunga and the peaks of North Sikkim stand on the western horizon.

Lungthung, about 4 km beyond Thambi and higher still, is the sunrise point most homestays recommend. Some travellers stay a night at Lungthung to catch first light without a pre-dawn drive. A few curves below Thambi there are pull-offs where photographers stop for a lower angle that shows the road against the forest. Your driver will know them.

October to early December: the clearest views

After the monsoon washes the air, the Silk Route has its best visibility of the year. From mid-October to early December mornings are usually clear, the loops show sharp against brown and gold slopes, and Kangchenjunga is visible from Thambi and Lungthung on most days. Days at Zuluk are cool, around 8–15 °C, and nights drop towards freezing. At Nathang nights are well below zero by November.

This is also the busiest season, especially during Durga Puja, Lakshmi Puja and Diwali, when Bengal takes its holidays. Homestays fill up, Rongli permit queues grow, and Thambi has a crowd at sunrise. If you can, go in the first half of November or after Bhai Tika, when the crowds thin and the weather holds.

January to March: snow on the loops

The white zig-zag photograph is taken in winter. Snow usually reaches Nathang and Kupup by December, and Zuluk and Thambi get their heaviest falls in January and February, sometimes into early March. After a fresh fall the loops are drawn in white on a white slope, and the plateau at Nathang can be frozen for weeks.

Snow also closes the road. After a heavy fall the BRO clears it, often within a day or two, but sometimes longer. Drivers carry chains and will turn back if the road above Zuluk is icy. Temperatures at Nathang can fall to −10 °C or lower at night. Plan a spare day, carry proper winter clothing, and read our Silk Route in winter guide before you book. Check current status before you travel.

April and May: rhododendrons and haze

Spring brings rhododendrons, in red, pink and white, to the forests between Padamchen and Thambi and higher up around Lungthung. The bloom follows altitude: lower slopes flower first in March and April, the upper slopes in May and sometimes early June. Primulas and other alpine flowers appear around Nathang once the snow goes.

The trade-off is haze. Spring mornings can still be clear, but by late morning cloud and dust often hide Kangchenjunga and soften the view of the loops. Go early to Thambi and enjoy the flowers on the way down. It is a good time for families, because days are mild and the road is usually open.

June to September: fog, rain and slides

In the monsoon the Silk Route lives inside the cloud. Many days you will see the first two or three bends and then nothing. Landslides on the Rongli–Zuluk road and on NH10 between Siliguri and Rangpo are common, and travel times become unpredictable. Leeches are out in the lower forest.

Some photographers like the mood, and on the occasional clear morning the hills are greener than at any other time of year. Homestays are quiet and prices are at their lowest. Go only with flexible dates and a driver who will tell you honestly when to turn back. If NH10 is closed, the route via Kalimpong, Pedong and Rhenock is the usual alternative.

How many nights to give the loops

The loops are one stretch of road, but seeing them well takes time, because the light and the cloud decide everything. If you drive up from Rongli and over Thambi in one afternoon, you will probably see the bends in flat midday light or in cloud. We plan Silk Route trips so that you sleep at Zuluk or Lungthung and reach Thambi in the early morning, which gives you the classic view with low sun and the best chance of a clear horizon.

Two nights between Zuluk and Nathang give you two mornings, which doubles your chances in the cloudy months. Photographers who want both the loops and the Nathang plateau at first light should allow three nights above Rongli. In winter, keep one more night spare in case snow closes the road. A rushed trip that crosses the loops once, in cloud, at noon, is the most common Silk Route regret we hear about, and it is easy to avoid with one extra night.

Tips for the drive and the photograph

The road is the experience, so a few small choices make a big difference.

• Reach Thambi or Lungthung before 8 am. Cloud builds from late morning in most months.
• Sit on the left going up from Zuluk for the better view of the slope below; ask your driver which side suits the light that day.
• Carry ginger sweets or motion-sickness tablets if anyone in your group gets carsick. The bends come fast.
• Keep a warm layer and a cap handy even in May; Thambi is windy and several degrees colder than Zuluk.
• Do not photograph Army vehicles or camps on the loops. Landscapes are fine.
• Ask your driver to stop only at proper pull-offs. The road is narrow and trucks need the space.