The tourism and civil aviation department of Sikkim on Wednesday announced two special trekking programmes for school and college students to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Himalayan kingdom's merger with India.

T.T. Bhutia, the Sikkim minister for tourism and civil aviation, announced the treks in the western parts of the mountain state.

“The treks have been introduced as a part of the 50 years celebration of Sikkim’s statehood, with the tagline ‘Sikkim Where Nature Smiles.’ The treks will be organised by the department exclusively for school and college students,” said a source.

According to the plan, the Yuksom-Dzongri trek will be introduced for college students, while senior secondary school students will be encouraged to join the Soreng-Barsey trek. Both trekking trails are in the west Sikkim.

Some prominent trekkers of the region said the Yuksom-Dzongri trek in the Gyalshing district was a short and high-altitude trek and was part of the Goechala trek.

“It is a five-day trek during which trekkers can enjoy the idyllic Himalayan landscape and some of the spectacular peaks like Mt Kanchenjunga, Mt Kabru south, Mt Kabru north, Mt Pandim and Mt Rathong,” said one of them.

The department will conduct the trek in two phases for college students and in one phase for senior secondary students. Around 100 students from colleges and 60 students from senior secondary schools will join the treks.

The Soreng-Barsey trek, which will be conducted through the Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary in the Soreng district, will be for three days.

The special trek for college students will commence on March 29, while the school students will join their trek on April 7, said sources.