Gangtok, Sikkim Sunrise & Sunset Times

Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, clings to a misty ridge at roughly 1,650 metres in the eastern Himalayas, with the towering mass of Kangchenjunga — the world's third-highest peak — dominating the horizon. The tiny state is a botanical paradise of orchids, rhododendrons, and cloud forests, and its Buddhist monasteries and prayer-flag-draped passes give it a distinctly Tibetan character. Cool temperatures and heavy monsoon rainfall define the climate.

Around the summer solstice, the sun rises at 04:40 and sets at 18:34, delivering 13 hours 54 minutes of daylight — lush, misty days when the hillsides are carpeted in wildflowers and clouds drift through the streets. During the winter solstice, sunrise shifts to 06:19 and sunset to 16:47, with about 10 hours 27 minutes of daylight. Sikkim's winters are dry and cold, with sparkling clear mornings that reveal Kangchenjunga's snow-covered summit in all its magnificence.

The seasonal swing in sunrise time is 99 minutes, a pronounced shift reflecting Sikkim's position in the far-northeast Himalayas. During the morning blue hour (04:14 – 04:40) and golden hour (04:40 – 05:40), the sun rises behind the eastern ridges and strikes Kangchenjunga's face, turning it from pale blue to blazing gold — a spectacle best witnessed from Tashi Viewpoint. In the evening golden hour (17:34 – 18:34) through blue hour (18:34 – 18:59), the sun sets behind the western valleys, painting the Rumtek Monastery and the terraced hillsides in warm amber while the great mountain fades through rose to violet — a Himalayan sunset of staggering scale and silence.