On 44 acres of mountain farmland in Rinchenpong, at over 6,000 feet above sea level, Thendup Tashi Bhutia runs a working organic farm that his family has tended for generations. He opened it to guests in 2006. The Kanchenjunga range is visible from the garden on clear mornings. Rocky the dog and Mik Mik the cat are available at all times. Thendup is usually at the table when breakfast is served.
The word yangsum in Sikkimese means a gathering place for people of good character. The name was given to this particular piece of land in the hills above Rinchenpong — in the Chingthang block of West Sikkim, where the mountains press close and the Kanchenjunga range is a constant presence on clear days — by the ancestors of the Bhutia family, who farmed it, built on it, and lived by it for generations before their descendant Thendup Tashi Bhutia decided, in 2006, to share it with the wider world.
The decision to open a heritage farmstay was not a casual commercial calculation. It was the expression of a conviction that what this family had built over generations — the land, the knowledge of it, the food it produces, the culture it holds — was too valuable to keep private. Thendup Tashi Bhutia is consistently described by guests as the heart of Yangsum Farm: a man who personally greets arriving guests, joins them at meals, arranges their treks and monastery visits with the knowledge of someone who has spent his entire life in this landscape, and sends people home feeling not like they stayed at a hotel but like they spent time with a relative.
The Farm and the Land
Yangsum Heritage Farm spreads across 44 acres of mountain farmland at over 6,000 feet, surrounded by forest, fruit orchards, bamboo groves, vegetable gardens, and the jungle trails that thread through the estate into the surrounding Rinchenpong landscape. It is one of the largest heritage homestays in West Sikkim and one of the most consistently celebrated: guests who stayed in 2010 and returned in 2024 describe finding the same qualities intact — the warmth, the food, the views, the animals, Thendup.
The farm is a working organic farm. Chickens, cows, and goats share the estate with the guests. The vegetable garden provides the kitchen with what it needs each day. Guavas, bananas, and oranges are picked fresh from the orchards and appear on the table as a matter of course. Guests are welcome to pick fruit from the trees as they walk the property — an experience that, after a lifetime of buying fruit in supermarkets, carries the particular shock of reconnecting with where food actually comes from.
The common area carries a fireplace for the cold mountain evenings — Sikkim winters are serious, and the fireplace is an essential rather than an atmospheric accessory — alongside a library, a dining room where meals are communal occasions rather than solitary room service, and a kitchen where guests can participate in meal preparation if they choose.
The Wooden Cottages
There are 8 rooms, all wooden cottages, each spacious and built with the traditional building intelligence of the Sikkimese hills: teak and mahogany tones, proper ventilation, room heaters for the cold months, clean modern bathrooms with geysers for hot water, and balconies with views of either the Kanchenjunga range or the flourishing farms below. Some rooms have little alcoves for additional sleepers — a practical and endearing touch in a property where families come together and children need their own corners.
The linens are sun-dried. The furnishings are placed with thought. The rooms are spotless. Guests who arrive expecting rusticity and find modernity within it are consistently struck by the combination: stepping off the balcony into a mountain morning feels like one era, and the hot shower that follows belongs to another. Yangsum handles this transition between the traditional and the contemporary without effort or apology.
The Food
Authentic Sikkimese cuisine is the food of a culture shaped by altitude, mountain agriculture, and the Buddhist traditions of a people who have always lived in close relationship with their land. At Yangsum Heritage Farm, it arrives at the table with the authority of someone who grew up eating it: dal, rice, locally grown vegetables, freshly made chutneys, and the seasonal specialities of the Sikkim kitchen that are simply unavailable anywhere else.
Thendup is present at meals — a detail that guests mention with the specific warmth of people who understand how unusual it is. He eats with guests, talks with guests, and uses the meal as a continuation of the hospitality that begins with the arrival greeting and ends with the departure farewell. The result is a dining experience that feels like a family meal rather than a restaurant service, and the food — described as excellent, delicious, and the highlight of the stay — arrives with the credibility of cooking that comes from the same land as the ingredients.
Vegetarian and non-vegetarian options are available, with fresh farm produce as the primary source. Requests and dietary preferences are accommodated without fuss. Endless cups of tea are available throughout the day on a basis that guests describe as gracious.
The Animals
Rocky, the farm’s grand old dog, has accumulated a specific and devoted following across years of guest reviews. Mik Mik the cat, who has been observed perching between Rocky’s front paws or on his furry back for warmth, extends the charm of the farmyard into something that children describe with the completeness of total contentment. The chickens, cows, and goats of the working farm are available for observation, interaction, and in the case of children, hours of happy engagement.
One guest spent hours photographing Rocky with Mik Mik on his back. Another’s child fed the cows every morning before breakfast. Another described Yangsum as an animal lover’s paradise in terms that suggested the description was barely adequate. The animals are not an amenity. They are residents, and the relationship between guest and animal at Yangsum is one of mutual discovery.
What to See and Experience
The jungle trails that thread through the estate’s 44 acres and into the surrounding Rinchenpong landscape are the foundational experience of a Yangsum stay: walking in Sikkimese forest at altitude, with the Kanchenjunga range in the distance and the farm below, guided by Thendup’s knowledge of the land or undertaken independently on the well-marked paths. Bird life in the surrounding forest is exceptional — the Rinchenpong area is one of the best birding destinations in West Sikkim, with a remarkable diversity of Himalayan species accessible from the property.
Monastery visits are a specific and highly recommended experience in this part of Sikkim. Rinchenpong is in Buddhist Sikkim — the monasteries that dot the hillsides are active places of worship, and Thendup arranges guided visits with the insider’s knowledge of which ones are worth the walk and what their particular histories contain. The Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary, a UNESCO-recognised ecosystem of extraordinary beauty, is accessible for day treks. Pelling, with its famous Kanchenjunga views and the ancient Pemayangtse Monastery, is within reach.
Thendup organises all transportation, sightseeing, and local experiences from the farm — a practical convenience that guests describe as taking the stress entirely out of travelling in West Sikkim, where roads and schedules can be unpredictable and local knowledge is the most valuable navigational tool available.
Why It Stays With You
One guest described Yangsum as a fairytale come true. Another called it a must-visit for people who prize the real and good things in life. A third said the star of the homestay was Thendup, who leaves nothing on the staff and makes you feel like his relative.
This last observation is the summary. Yangsum Heritage Farm is a 44-acre ancestral estate that Thendup Tashi Bhutia opened to guests in 2006 because he believed what his family had built deserved to be shared. The Kanchenjunga range visible from the garden. Rocky by the fire. Mik Mik between Rocky’s paws. The fresh guavas from the orchard. Thendup at the breakfast table.
The name means a gathering place for people of good character. The guests keep coming back.
Plan Your Visit
Address: Yangsum Chingthang Block, Rinchenpong, West Sikkim — 737111 Phone: Via TripAdvisor / OurGuest.in direct contact Booking: TripAdvisor · OurGuest.in · Booking.com · Direct contact Instagram / Social: Search Yangsum Heritage Farm
Owner: Thendup Tashi Bhutia Established: 2006 Property: 44 acres · Altitude 6,000+ feet · Working organic farm · Fruit orchards, vegetable gardens, bamboo groves, jungle trails · West Sikkim
Rooms: 8 wooden cottages — spacious, private bathrooms with geysers, room heaters, balconies (Kanchenjunga or farm views), alcoves for extra sleepers. Sun-dried linens throughout. Common areas: Fireplace lounge · Library · Communal dining room · Kitchen (guest participation welcome) Resident animals: Rocky (dog) · Mik Mik (cat) · Chickens · Cows · Goats Meals: Authentic Sikkimese home cooking · Organic farm produce · All meals included · Communal dining with host · Special requests and dietary preferences accommodated
Experiences: Farm walks and fruit picking · Jungle trails (on estate and surrounding forest) · Birdwatching · Monastery visits (arranged by Thendup) · Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary treks · Kanchenjunga viewpoints · Sikkimese cooking participation · Hands-on farm sessions (sowing, tilling, watering)
Getting There — New Jalpaiguri (NJP) Railway Station or Bagdogra Airport (IXB) are the main arrival points from the rest of India — both approximately 3.5 to 4 hours from Rinchenpong by road. — Siliguri: approximately 3 hours by road. — From Gangtok: approximately 3.5 hours by road via Jorethang or Ravangla. — From Pelling: approximately 1.5 hours by road. — The route from Bagdogra through Sikkim is scenic but the roads, particularly in Sikkim, require a steady pace. Shared taxis from Siliguri to Jorethang or Legship, then connecting to Rinchenpong, are available. — Thendup arranges private taxis and transport from NJP/Bagdogra — coordinate on booking. — Note: Foreign nationals require an Inner Line Permit (ILP) for Sikkim, obtainable at Rangpo check post or in advance online.
Nearby — Rinchenpong Bazar: adjacent · Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary: 20 km · Pelling: 30 km · Pemayangtse Monastery: 35 km · Yuksom: 40 km · Bagdogra Airport: 3.5–4 hours
Best Time to Visit: October to May for clear Kanchenjunga views — October and November post-monsoon for the most dramatic clarity · March to May for rhododendron season, when the Barsey sanctuary is in bloom and the forest is extraordinary · December to February for cold, clear mountain winters with the Kanchenjunga at its most vivid · June to September (monsoon): the farm is lush and beautiful but trekking can be limited and roads challenging
