Sikkim travel

posted in: Asia, India, Itineraries, Sikkim | 6

From Jalpaiguri railway station or bagdogra Airport, you need to book a cab till Gangtok,Sikkim. You can take a cab at the station/airport or you could contact a travel agent at Sikkim who will arrange pick up and drop for you.

Here is the itinerary without trek. Most of the trekking takes place from Pelling. You may have to skip few places below if trekking is on your agenda. On the way to Gangtok from Darjeeling, river rafting happens in Teesta river. You can check that out too.

*If you wish to enjoy a cable car ride, you might have to stay back for another day at Gangtok. You can then visit Rumtek monastery too.

Day 1 : Suppose you land at Jalpaiguri/Bagdogra by 11 am or 12 noon. It would be evening by the time you reach Gangtok. You can explore MG marg on this day. Stay overnight at Gangtok.

Day 2 : Visit Nathula Pass, Tsomgo [Changu] Lake and return to Gangtok. Stay overnight at Gangtok.

Day 3 : Start towards Lachen. Visit Tashi point on the way. The drive is very beautiful and you get to see many waterfalls. Stay overnight at Lachen

Day 4 : Start early morning [4.30 am] towards Gurudongmar Lake. You get to see Thangu and Chopta Valley on the way. Return to Lachen and further drive towards Lachung post lunch. Overnight stay at Lachung.

Day 5 : Drive early from Lachung towards Yumthang Valley [it’s a rhododendron sanctuary], visit hot spring there. Further, get to Zero Point. Drive back to Lachung. Have lunch and drive back to Gangtok.

* You may skip one of the above, if you want to save a day.
** Check local hotel/travel agents if trek is allowed in march in this circuits

Day 6 : Drive to Pelling from Gangtok. You can visit Rabdentse ruins. It takes minimum 2 hours over here as you need to walk for about 25 minutes till you get to the ruins.

Day 7 : You can opt for one of the following
Trek Hilley/Soreng- Barsey- Dentam-Pemayangtse
OR
Trek Dentam-Tendong- Samdruptse – Namchi
OR
Visit Singshore Bridge and Kanchenjunga Falls

Since climate around early march would not be the ideal time (mid-march / april is when the peak season starts) , best would be to check with local hotel/travel agents on availability

Day 7: Drive back to Jalpaiguri.

Few things to be noted : 

1. Most of the places, need explicit visit permits. You can obtain them at Sikkim Tourism Centre at Gangtok (close to MG Marg)
2. Most of the Hotel guys (use tripadvisor for suitable accomodation) , would help in arranging permits/booking taxis
3. You might need a vehicle to travel to most of the places (only vehicles like sumo/maxx/xylo can operate in these terrains)
4. A random snowfall can disrupt some of your plans, account this while making your itinerary.
5. Calling and booking the hotels directly would be slightly cheaper (you can bargain both the hotel rates and travel around sikkim)
6. Cellular network is poor in parts of north Sikkim. BSNL works. If you want to stay connected, carry a spare bsnl sim card
7. Check if heaters are available at the place you stay or make sufficient arrangements
8. Food availability would be decent but nothing fancy.

Hope this helps ! Happy travelling and have fun!

Cheers,

Travelrope

6 Responses

  1. Chandrika

    Hey Travelrope, heading out to Sikkim tomorrow and couldn’t go ahead without your inputs! :) Thanks for the details and your blogs. Very helpful indeed.

  2. Neha

    Hi Surya, I heard about your Sikkim experience on a podcast on Saavn today and I loved the way you described those little experiences of your travel there, I have been there in May 2018, and our experiences were so similar that I could feel I was revisiting those places as I kept hearing you! It’s definitely one of the most beautiful destinations in India and yes very very clean! Liked that you pointed out the no plastic part, every single local there plays a role in keeping it clean by ensuring that tourists don’t carry plastic! We need more of that around the country!

Leave a Reply to Neha Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *