Rabdentse, the ruined second capital of Sikkim

The best-known story from Rabdentse belongs to the third Chogyal, Chakdor Namgyal, born in 1686. He came to the throne in 1700 as a boy. His elder half-sister, Pende Ongmu, a daughter of Tensung by another wife, opposed his succession. According to Wikipedia's accounts, she called in help from Bhutan and drove him out.

The young king fled to Lhasa. There, Wikipedia records, he lived under the protection of the sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, who granted him estates at Shigatse and Yamdrok. He spent his exile in Buddhist study and married in Tibet. Bhutanese forces held parts of Sikkim until 1708, and Sikkim lost land east of the Teesta in this period. Chakdor came home and took back his throne.

His reign is remembered for building as much as for intrigue. Pemayangtse Monastery, which looks down on Rabdentse from the next hill, was enlarged under him in 1705, and Tashiding Monastery was extended in 1717 in his name. Pende Ongmu did not give up. Wikipedia says she contacted the Deb Raja of Bhutan to send a force to kill Chakdor, but the minister Yugthing Tishey uncovered the plot in time.

In 1716 Pende Ongmu tried again, and this time she succeeded. Wikipedia's account says she hired a Tibetan doctor to attend the king at Ralang, away from the capital. The doctor persuaded Chakdor that he needed bloodletting, then opened a main artery and let him bleed to death. Popular tellings in Sikkim place the killing at the hot spring near Ralang, where the king had gone to rest. The written accounts we checked say only that it happened at Ralang, on a royal holiday.

Lama Jigme Pawo found the dying king and later reported his death. Both the doctor and Pende Ongmu were executed. Wikipedia's Namchi article says she was caught and strangled at Namchi. Chakdor was about 30 years old. His son Gyurmed Namgyal, born during the Tibetan exile, became the fourth Chogyal.

Rabdentse's end came from the west. In the late 18th century the Gorkha kingdom of Nepal was expanding fast. In 1788, Wikipedia records, a Nepali Gorkha army invaded Sikkim, took the Limbu lands of Limbuana and stormed Rabdentse. The Chogyal, Tenzing Namgyal, fled to Tibet, the second time a Sikkimese king had gone into exile from this ridge.

His son Tshudpud Namgyal returned in 1793. He judged Rabdentse too close to the Nepal border and moved the capital east to Tumlong, in what is now North Sikkim. Later Tumlong gave its name to the 1861 Treaty of Tumlong with the British. Rabdentse was left to the forest, and over two centuries the trees, rain and earthquakes did the rest.

The map changed again within a generation. In the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814–16 Sikkim sided with the British East India Company, and the Treaty of Titalia in 1817 gave back to Sikkim much of the land Nepal had taken. By then the court was settled at Tumlong, and Rabdentse never became a capital again. That is why the ruins feel so complete in their emptiness: nothing was built over them.

Do not expect a palace. What survives are stone wall stubs, raised platforms and three chortens, cleared and kept tidy by the Archaeological Survey of India, which protects the site as a monument of national importance. Walk in with the plan in your head and the stones start to make sense.

The first structure you meet is the Taphap Chorten, the old entrance. Visitors to the palace dismounted here and took off their hats before going on, and many people still pause at it today. Further in is Namphogang, a stone seat made of three standing stones where judges sat to hear cases. Beyond that rise the walls of the palace itself. Wikipedia describes a northern wing where the royal family lived and a southern wing used for public audiences. Three chortens stand on a raised terrace; here the royal family offered incense to the deities.

The view is the real reward. On a clear day from October to December the whole Kangchenjunga range lines up above the ruins, and Pemayangtse's roofs sit on the hill just above you.

Rabdentse is about 3 km from Upper Pelling, on the road down towards Gyalshing. A decorated gate on the Pelling–Gyalshing road marks the start, close to the turning for Pemayangtse. From the gate a paved and stepped path runs through forest to the ruins. It takes about 15 minutes each way at an easy pace, with a few gentle ups and downs.

From Upper Pelling you can walk the whole way in about 45 minutes, mostly downhill on the road; the return is uphill. A shared jeep between Pelling and Gyalshing costs ₹50–80 a seat, indicative 2026, and can drop you at the gate. If you hire a car, Rabdentse fits into a half-day Pelling round with Pemayangtse and Sanga Choeling for ₹1,500–2,500 per car, indicative 2026. Plan 1–1.5 hours at the ruins themselves.

The order matters. We suggest Pemayangtse first at about 8 am, then the short walk down the road to the Rabdentse gate while the light is still clear. By 11 am cloud often rises from the Rangeet valley and the mountains go. Families with small children manage the path easily, and the open terraces at the ruins are a safe place for them to run about, though the edges of the ridge are unfenced in places. Photographers should bring a wide lens for the chortens with the range behind.

• Entry: ₹25–50 for Indian visitors and more for foreign nationals, indicative 2026; ASI fees change, so check current status before you travel.
• Hours: roughly daytime only, about 8 am to 5 pm; arrive early for the clearest mountain views.
• Combine with Pemayangtse, which sits on the hill directly above, and you need no extra transport.
• Wear shoes with grip; the forest path is slippery after rain and in the monsoon months.
• Do not climb on the walls or chortens, and walk around the chortens clockwise.
• There is no café at the site; carry water and keep all litter with you.