Part of the Himalayas, the area has a dramatic landscape that includes India’s highest mountain, 8,586m Kangchenjunga. Sikkim is also home to glaciers, alpine meadows and thousands of varieties of wildflowers. It lies in the North eastern part of India and is still quite remote and under developed as a tourist location, thus making it more untouched and scnenic. The lack of infrastructure often would make one skip Sikkim and choose a more accessible destination like Himachal Pradesh or may be just skip North Sikkim and just visit Gangtok, Pelling and Darjeeling. But if you are someone who does not mind bit of an adventure, you should definitely not miss this beautiful gem.
It’s remoteness comes along with a major challenge of commuting across Sikkim. You have majorly two options – Private cabs and Shared Cabs. While shared cabs may be a great option for solo travellers, private cabs are better for families and also provide much more flexibility in planning of the itinerary. However, the downside of this being that you will have to spend a bomb in just getting from one place to another. While booking a vehicle, keep in mind that only SUVs and 4x4 vehicles are allowed in North Sikkim. You will also require permits to visit a lot of the remote tourist locations as they fall under the Indian Army surveillance. So make sure you speak to your driver/agent about the same.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
1. Winding roads and steep altitudes can cause motion sickness. If you are prone to getting sick when on road, it is advisable to carry your medication and pop it as precaution.
2. Vegetarian food is a little problem in some parts of the state.
3. Make sure you carry some passport size photos, that you may require for permits.
4. The oxygen tends to dip in a lot of areas in the North. So if you have been suffering from breathlessness or asthama, it is better to consult your doctor and carry any precautionary medication.
5. The activities and itineraries here are a lot dependent on the weather forecast. Make sure you check it before planning the trip and also during the trip.
6. Cabs are going to be expensive. So make sure to plan in away that no trip is just a commute. Like for example, instead of going to your hotel directly after leaving a destination, you could club in a few sightseeing spots on the way, you would be charged the same.
DAY 1
Bagdogra is the nearest airport to get to Sikkim. Book a morning flight, so that it is still sunny when you land in Bagdogra and also to account for any flight delays that usually occur here because of bad weather. Have a quick meal and if you are a vegetarian, it is better to carry some food along, as it was a task for us to find Vegetarian food till we reached Gangtok. It is better to not believe the maps for this trip, as no matter what time it shows, it would take about 5 hours to get to Gangtok owing to the winding roads, unpredictable weather and landslide road closures. It took us nearly 8 hours to get there after landing, due to road closure because of landslides.
Reach the Hotel and relax. Make sure the hotels you book, provide heaters in your rooms. We stayed at Kingsway Boutique Hotel. It is a good hotel overlooking the valley on one side and the road on the other. It is also one of the few hotels that have an elevator.
DAY 2
Starting early morning is going to be the key of this entire trip. The earlier you start, the better is your chance at skipping the road blocks. The roads are really narrow and a two way congestion can get you stuck for hours at times. Also, in winter, it tends to get dark as early as pm. So to make the most of your day, an itinerary starting at 6am is what we found the most ideal.
The next 12 days, you will be spending about 8 hours in your car everyday. So make sure you are stocked up with food and all other necessities.
You can visit the Nathula pass. It is one of the open Indo China trade posts. However, due to the recent tension between the two countries, it has been shut for business. Tourists do flock in in huge numbers to enjoy the scenic views. The pass is at an altitude of 14410 ft and the temperatures can drop to -15 degrees in the winter, so take note of the weather conditions before you plan your trip.
On your way back you can have some hot meal at the few Fast food centers there are. Visit the Baba Harbajan Singh Memorial Temple. It is typically crowded and there may be a long line to enter the temple, so you may want to skip that and just roam around the complex. Also, the army run canteen there, serves good warm snacks, which can be a refreshment given the cold that is going to be there. The Kyongnosla waterfall is a sight to behold and is worth spending a few minutes clicking photos. Though on our trip ahead, we saw a zillion waterfalls that were much bigger, this was the perfect opening to our trip.
Visit the Changu/Tsomgo lake. It is amazingly picturesque. However, when we reached, it was so foggy that we could barely see the lake. So along with all the preps you do, you also need to pray hard for the weather Gods to support your plans. Because a lot in the trip is going to be dependant on them!
On your way back to your hotel, check out the sunset views from Ganesh Tok. It isn’t that major a point on the list, but we found it worth spending the evening there, overlooking the whole of Gnagtok.
Come back to the warmth of your hotel room and the comfort of your cozy bed. Soak in all the rest, as the day after is going to be as crazy as it can get!
DAY 3
An early wake up call and a beautiful but long, long journey on really bad roads is what will get you to your first stop in North Sikkim – Lachen. It is going to be a long journey (8 hours, irrespective of what the google maps show), but you will be amazed by the number of unmissable waterfalls you will see on the way. Our personal favourites were the Amitabh falls and the Bhim Nala falls.
You would not have to worry about your meals as your cab driver will take you to the standard meal haults where you will be accompanied by so many other tourists on the same itinerary as yours!
Make sure you confirm the availability of heaters, hot water and inverters in your stays in North Sikkim. As common as they may sound, they are considered to be a luxury in these remote areas. Most of your bookings in North Sikkim will be inclusive of meals and the hotels are well aware of your itinerary, so hot meals will be ready at the time you are!
We stayed at the Lachung Paradise and really loved the place. It was on the main street and we could continuously hear the sound of a nearby stream!
DAY 4
It is going to be a super early morning. Pack up essentials, have the warm breakfast and leave for Zero point, which is where the roads literally end. The drive up to the point was beautiful and if you are lucky, you may also witness snow fall like we did! Visiting these places would require permits, which would have been taken care of by the cab driver himself. There is a high chance of road congestion, so make sure you are well dressed for snow as you may need to walk from midway.
You can enjoy piping hot maggi at the highest point and soak in all the amazing views that this place has to offer.
On your way down, get off at Yumthang Valley. The views are to die for, and the turquoise river flowing by the green meadows, surrounded by the snow clad black mountains seems like a sight from some fairytale. You can also shop for some local items at the various stalls there or can just relax in the afternoon sun along the banks of the river.
Leave for Lachen, which is another 5 hours drive away. Regain your strength by resting as much as you can while you are on the road, that is if the bumby roller coaster like roads let you.
We stayed at Lachen Paradise. It felt like it was in the middle of nowhere and we could constantly hear the sound of a huge waterfall nearby. Since we reached after sundown, waking up to that massive waterfall the next morning was one of the most awe inspiring things of our trip.
DAY 5
This was no doubt one of the longest and most hectic days on the trip. A wake up call as early as 4.30am and a long journey of about 4.5 hours will take you to an all together different paradise – Gurudongmar lake. The journey is long and the views are unreal. The roads are like all the other roads that you might have encountered in Sikkim, but only till the base point. The basepoint is about 1.5 hours away from the lake. It is under the Indian Army and you require permits to continue further. Also, that is where you will get to know if the roads are clear enough. Being one of the highest lakes in India, it sits at an altitude of 5430 m and because of its closeness to international borders, foreigners are not allowed to visit.
The base point is where you should stock up on food and water, because your ride ahead is going to be rugged and raw. The base point is also the home for the World’s Highest Dosa Point – a canteen facility run by the Indian Army. If you are someone who gets motion sick easily, make sure you take all the precautions, because the ride ahead is nothing close to what you may expect ( I cannot emphasize enough on this!)
The mesmerizing views ahead will make up for the crazy bumpy ride, we are sure. However, we would recommend to skip the lake if you have severe back problems.
Due to the low oxygen levels at such high altitudes, you can only stay here for 30mins. So make the most of it before you leave for Dzongu. That’s another 5 hour drive on Google maps, but about 7 hours in real life. We stayed at the Munlom Nature Resort, which was an amazing experience as it is a jungle themed resort and is developed as part of rural tourism.
Your driver may not take you to the resort, because of the whole offroad patch, but you can be picked up by the owner of the resort himself in his gypsy. It is a great place to be in. The rooms are made of wood and logs on trees and the home cooked warm meals is all that you would need after this long a day.
DAY 6
Dzongu can be skipped from the itinerary as there is not much around to see. We stayed a night there to take a break from the hectic schedule and also to enjoy a day of leisure. The resort arranges treks to nearby natural points and also meals along the river. This was the only day we started a little late in the evening. And this also started the second leg of our trip which was relatively less hectic.
We left for our little quaint stay at Rawlanga. On the way, we spent our evening at the Temi Tea Gardens. It is a popular tourist point and you can get a tour of the factory too. The factory closes at 4.30 pm, so make sure you go early to enjoy it to the most.
We stayed at Hill Top Rabong for the night. Our stay was a beautiful place, with homely feels and right opposite the mighty Kanchanchunga. You could definitely stay here and have an amazing view of the mountain range while you sip your hot coffee! This location is again not on the tourist radar and is off beat. We stayed at
DAY 7
We woke up to the magnificent Kanchanchunga. It is advised to wake up at sunrise to witness it in full beauty, with the first sun rays turning the snow-clad peaks golden! What a sight! You could stay the day here or like us, explore the areas around before you leave for Pelling.
We visited the Rawlanga Monastery, which was a calm and serene experience, followed by Buddha Park. This park is very well designed and beautiful, but also lies on the tourist circuit. So you will come across a lot of people here, but it is worth a visit for sure.
We then left for Pelling, which is about a 3 hour drive away. Staying at the Hotel Summit Newa Regency, meant being able to see the snow clad peaks from the terrace.
DAY 8
You can start around 8 in the morning, with first visiting the Pemayangtse Monastery. It is a beautiful place to start the day, followed by Chenrezig statue and Skywalk. The skywalk is India’s first glass skywalk. Again, the road to get here is steep and hilly.
Next on the list is the Rimbi waterfalls. Right on the road, the falls are beautiful and you can click a photo or two before you head to the Orange gardens. We had a quick meal here, before walking down to the river bed through an orange garden. It is quite commercial and touristy, but you can find the place to yourself if you manage to reach a little earlier than noon.
The next location was the most hyped one. The Kanchanchunga falls were the most suggested by the locals as something one should definitely not miss. Even though its commercialized to an extent, it is really easy to mistake the overflow for the actual falls. Trek up about 70 steps to be astonished by the beauty.
DAY 9
We arrived at Baiguney, which was our last stop in Sikkim around noon. It will take you about 2 hours to get here. We stayed in a Luxury resort here, to relax and unwind! The river facing cottages were the highlight of the stay. We were put up at Club Mahindra, and we definitely do recommend the place!
We chose to spend the day lazying by the river, but you could go for a sight seeing tour to Namchi, offered by the resort itself.
DAY 10
Even though it isn’t in Sikkim, Darjeeling becomes an integral part of the circuit. We left early in the morning so as to make the most of this day. We first went to the famous Ropeway. Having sat on a number of ropeways across the world, we didn’t expect much. But we were pleasantly surprised! You can next spend some time in the middle of the tea estates and wonder where they would end!
We then headed to the Darjeeling zoo. We are not supporters of having animals locked up in cages and were glad to know that most of them were rescued and had almost similar to natural habitats set up. The Himalyan Mountaineering Institute lies within the zoo and is worth a visit.
You can check out the Ghoom Monastery. You could take a ride in the famous Toy train, but we found it little overly priced. Make sure you make reservations for that in advance. Instead we went to the Batasey loop. It is basically a garden, where the tracks of the train happen to make a loop. It is a nice place to relax, with a lot of restaurant options around and also to take some nice photographs with the steam engine in the background. The train follows a schedule for when it shows up in the garden, make sure to check it and adjust your itinerary accordingly.
We stayed at the Muscatel Himalyan Resort. It is near the market, which made it easier to explore stuff on foot the next day.
DAY 11
You can spend half of the day walking around on the market streets of Darjeeling. There are a lot of restaurant options also, however, only a few of them offer Pure vegetarian food. And of course, don’t miss on the tea tastings!
WHAT TO PACK
Taking this trip would definitely mean being prepared for the unexpected. So apart from the cold region must packs like what you would pack for Himachal or Kashmir (you can find them here), also remember, Sikkim is remote and not that tourist friendly yet. So it would be helpful to carry torches and hot water bags. It is highly recommended by a lot of locals there, to carry a thermos that can keep water hot for long and some sachets of coffee. Having black coffee at high altitudes helps with the uneasiness one might feel because of the low oxygen levels.
The roads are far from developed and are extremely steep and curvy, and so it becomes extremely necessary to carry preventive measures for motion sickness, vertigo and nausea.
THINGS TO SHOP
We planned this trip as a balance of adventure, touristy experiences and off beat locations. So shopping was not quite on our list. But you could check out the MG market in Gangtok for woollen and wooden articles. And also the market in Darjeeling for tea shopping and handlooms.
You will not only take home memories, but also mental photos of some views that you may not have ever come across!