Food · Zero Point (Yumesamdong)
Tea at the last stall on the road
In the open season a few stalls at Zero Point sell hot tea, coffee and instant noodles to visitors at the road's end. A warm drink here is a small ritual, and the stall keepers know the road better than anyone.
Photo: Dgmsaikat · CC0, Wikimedia Commons
Seasonal stalls set up near the turning point when the road is open, selling tea, coffee, instant noodles, biscuits and snacks. Prices are higher than in Lachung, which is fair: everything comes up by road, and the people running them work long, cold days at 4,660 m.
A hot drink helps warm your hands and keeps you sipping fluid, which matters at altitude. Avoid alcohol, which some stalls sell: it dehydrates you and worsens altitude symptoms. Sit inside or in the lee of the stall out of the wind for ten minutes, then head back to the vehicle.
Stall keepers are a good source of road news: how far the snow has been cleared, whether the army has closed the area, how the weather looks. Pay in cash, keep your rubbish and carry it back to Lachung.
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Questions travellers ask
Before you book
Is there food at Zero Point?
In the open season, a few seasonal stalls sell tea, coffee, instant noodles and snacks. They may be closed in deep winter or early spring. Carry snacks and water from Lachung in case nothing is open.
Should we drink alcohol at Zero Point?
No. Alcohol dehydrates you and makes altitude sickness more likely and worse, and Zero Point is about 4,660 m. Save any celebration for Gangtok. Stick to tea, coffee, soup and water at altitude.
Are there toilets at Zero Point?
Facilities are very basic or absent and change from season to season. Use the toilets in Lachung and at Yumthang before continuing, and carry tissue and a small bag for waste. Do not leave anything behind on the plateau.
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