Gangtok (Sikkim) weather by month
The best time to visit Gangtok (Sikkim) is April, November and December — 82/100 in November, 18°C and 18 rainy days. The best season is autumn, September to November (71/100 on average).
The worst month is July at 55/100 — warm, soaked, clean air. See July →
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
Planning the wider trip? Best time to visit India →
Best season: September to November (71/100 on average) · worst July (55/100)
- Days
- 18°C
- Nights
- 11°C
- Wet days
- 18
- Sun
- 9 h
- Humidity
- 80%
- Daylight
- 11 h

Gangtok, month by month
Comfort score out of 100 for the kind of trip Gangtok is best for, the average high, rainy days and hours of sun a day from the climate normals, and how busy it tends to be.
What's on in Gangtok through the year
Festivals, natural spectacles, holidays and the seasons to watch out for — curated and sourced. The month pages carry the detail.
- January
- Permits for the high roads1 Jan – 31 DecRule
- February
- Losar1 Feb – 10 Mar (usually)Festival
- April
- Rhododendron bloom1 Apr – 15 May (usually)Nature
- June
- Landslides on NH-1015 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)Closure
- August
- Pang Lhabsol25 Aug – 20 Sep (usually)Festival
- December
- Losoong and Kagyad1–31 Dec (usually)Festival
Crowds in Gangtok in November
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
Busyone of its best months for weather(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Good to know before you go to Gangtok
Real experiences from travellers' own write-ups, quoted with a link to the original.
Visas & entry
We took the Deorali ropeway right at evening as recommended and got a genuinely stunning sunset view over the town with Kanchenjunga catching the last light in the distance. Rather than rushing straight up to the higher passes, we gave ourselves three days in Gangtok itself, which was the right call since the city rewards slow wandering, especially around Lal Bazaar and MG Road. For getting around on a budget we used shared taxis instead of private cars, which turned out to be cheaper and put us next to locals who gave us better food recommendations than any guidebook. Momos and thukpa from a small stall near the market beat every restaurant version we tried.
Traveller notes on Gangtok
What people who have been say about the place — the year-round notes first, then month by month.
Forum posters describe May in Gangtok as neither too hot nor too cold, genuinely pleasant, with typical temperatures around 15-22C, somewhat cooler in nearby Darjeeling and North Sikkim. Posters note occasional evening or overnight rain showers are common but rarely last long, recommending an umbrella or light rain jacket on hand regardless. Posters are direct that a trip up toward North Sikkim or Nathula still calls for heavy woolens given the altitude, and that snow remains visible at higher points like Yumesedong/Katao and Zero Point even in May, though not at Nathula itself this time of year. Posters consistently rate late May as one of the best, safest windows for the region, clear of the landslide risk that monsoon season brings later on. Posters generally rate May as pleasant and one of the peak, most reliable months to visit Gangtok.
Forum posters call November a great time to visit, with the monsoon fully over and clear skies dominating - by month's end especially, rain is described as rare. Daytime is genuinely pleasant, but nights turn properly cold once the sun sets, with lows commonly down around 3-5C and winter conditions setting in for good by mid-month given the region's high elevation. Posters note real snow at nearby high-altitude points (Zero Point in North Sikkim, Nathula) becomes a realistic possibility from mid-November onward, though whether a specific visit actually sees snowfall is described as pure luck rather than something to count on. Heavy warm clothing is treated as essential for evenings and any higher-altitude day trip regardless of how mild Gangtok itself feels during the day.
Add your own note from Gangtok's card on the map.