Located at a height of around 12400 ft. from the sea level, Changu Lake or Tsomgo Lake offers a panoramic sight of amazing scenery that few other places can parallel. The glacial ice melts into crystal clear water, forming the body of Lake Tsongmo, or Changu Lake. The lake is located 38 km from Gangtok in the state of Sikkim, in India, cradled by the Himalayan Mountain Range. Just few kilometres away from the India-China border, the lake is near one of the well-known passes in the Himalaya, Nathula Pass. ‘The source of the lake’ as the name ‘Tsomogo’ in Bhutia means, is indeed the source of unique natural beauty. Nestled amidst the green alpine forest, the serene beauty of the Changu Lake would leave you in awe.
Within some minutes of drive taking off, Gangtok is left behind and the mature beauty of a wet temperature forest takes over. Slopes laden with oaks, pines and ash begin. The wind gets colder. You get a stop at the tiny settlement of Kyongnosla for tea, a picture-postcard alpine village beside the Rongchu stream, where unprepared travellers can buy glove and woollen socks. Then mountains near the tree line start losing their greenery. Glacial frozen streams define solid, shining white trajectories down the mountains. The fog shines silver. Greenery gives way to red or brown thorny shrubs. Then, they all give way to snow.
It is the habitat of different species of birds and wildlife like Red Panda.