Mountains, Forest, Lakes and Waterfall; Sikkim has it all!! Gangtok, the capital city of Sikkim holds home to numerous temples and monasteries.
It took us about 4 hours to reach Gangtok in a shared taxi from my hometown Kurseong (a town in Darjeeling). Unluckily we were travelling in July so we couldn’t stop the rainfall 🙁 However we did try to grasp as much as we could.
Places to Visit
MG Road
MG Road is the heart of Gangtok and it’s the most happening place. It has various shops, restaurants and hotel lined up on both sides. You can say it’s an open mall where a tourist can leisurely stroll or just sit in the benches and admire the warmth that the place provides. The 1 km stretch is free of litter and vehicular traffic; hence vehicles are not allowed. The road I must say is spic and span!! The place is also famous for innumerable restaurants around and you can enjoy the finger licking food of your choice.
Ropeway
We took a ropeway from Deorali market. The ropeway I guess is about 1km long and it provides a spectacular view of the Gangtok market.
Ban Jhakri Falls
Spread over an area of 2 acres of land, Banjhakri Falls is situated at a distance of about 10-12km from main Gangtok town. The waterfall which falls from a height of about 40 feet is the main attraction of the place. There is a nice park built around the water fall and it also has a cafeteria. You will have innumerable places to click some beautiful pics.
Tsomgo Lake
At a height of 12,000 feet above the sea level Tsomgo Lake is definitely a scenic beauty. As I mentioned earlier we were travelling in the month of July, hence the weather was not very supportive. In our entire way the driver was continuously narrating stories of landslide followed by death and that did scare the hell out of us. There was a time when he was looking up on the road and crossing, I guess just to make sure that there was no stone falling. That was quite an experience I must say. However, as we reached and I saw the lake all the fear vanished and excitement took over. The lake is extremely beautiful and is a MUST VISIT. You can also take a ride in the YAK and click a picture. I have no words to express the beauty of the lake; you can walk towards the back of the lake and sit in the benches provided, get yourself drenched in the beauty of the surrounding. People usually visit Nathulla Pass when they visit Tsomgo Lake but we couldn’t as it was closed that time due to the weather.
Baba Mandir
This shrine was built by the army in the honour of Sepoy Harbhajan Singh and is situated on the road while passing to Nathula Pass. If weather permits and the entry is open you can visit Tsomgo Lake, Baba Mandir and Nathula Pass on the same day. I felt it’s an average place but when you club it with Tsomgo Lake it’s doable. The view of the valley from around the mandir is spectacular.
And that’s how our two days of Gangtok visit ended.
Hope you enjoyed reading.
Cheers!!