In the mist-covered hills of Pakyong district, east Sikkim, a quiet village is attempting something never seen before in the Himalayan state.

Far from the noise of urban work hubs, Yakten has opened its doors this month as the state’s first “digital nomad village".

A digital nomad village is an organised rural site for employees and entrepreneurs from where they can work remotely and have access to everything they need for a comfortable life and efficient work.

Unlike a common homestay, a resort, or a hotel, Yakten is a fully designed space for digital workers, freelancers, start-up builders, remote employees and creative people looking to live and work in a functional and peaceful environment.

With a magnificent view of the Mt Kanchenjunga, the village has already started drawing interest as a destination where productivity and calm co-exist, said a local resident.

The initiative, backed by state-level vision and grassroots participation, marks a shift in how tourism and livelihoods are being imagined in Sikkim in the post-Covid scenario.

Some places like the Pakyong district in the eastern region of the state have long remained outside the spotlight, compared to the tourist-heavy stretches of west and north Sikkim, and the state capital of Gangtok and its surroundings in the east.

These days, the state government is putting efforts to develop some of the lesser-known places in the eastern hills with newer and sustainable tourism models.

Yakten has emerged as the face of that shift.

“Built with minimal yet comfortable rooms, the village provides high-speed Internet, reliable power backup, co-working spaces set against mountain backdrops, and a carefully curated blend of traditional living and essential modern infrastructure,” said an official of the tourism and civil aviation department of Sikkim.

“It is not about luxury but functionality. It is not about the aesthetics of mountain holidays but the quiet dignity of rural work-life integration. Visitors will get homemade food, including ethnic cuisine of Sikkim, can join in butterfly trails, forest walks, and most importantly, time and space to think,” he official.

Samrat Sanyal, the general secretary of Himalayan Hospitality & Tourism Development Network (HHTDN), an apex body of tourism stakeholders in north Bengal and Sikkim, said the concept has been inspired by global trends.

“Over the past three years, especially after the pandemic normalised working from remote, many urban professionals have been seeking places where they can work without stress, surrounded by nature but with steady internet connectivity, and Yakten fits that brief,” said Sanyal.

“After Covid-19, many ideas emerged in the tourism world. This is one of the good ones. But the government needs to invest in infrastructure and be selective while scaling the model. With monsoon setting in, the state has also begun promoting Yakten as a monsoon destination of Sikkim,” he added.

The government, sources said, is hoping that the model will boost the local economy, encourage long-stay tourism and allow local communities to participate in newer livelihoods beyond agriculture and conventional tourism practices.

“This new concept shows that tourism need not be extractive. It can be collaborative, creative and long-term, if designed around people, not packages,” said an official.