One-Day Travel guide for Gangtok

It was just a normal day at the office when I took a break to look at my phone. Now, what is the first app that you'd think I would open on my phone when I have a free minute?

SKY SCANNER

I was just casually checking some flight tickets and I stumbled upon return tickets to Delhi, FOR FOUR NINE THREE ZERO (₹4930). Did I mention RETURN?

Letting go of my deadline woes, in the next fifteen minutes I had a travel plan and an itinerary.

It was 16th of May and I couldn't WAIT for the 24th of July. It was one LOOOOOOOOOng haul

But fast forward to...

HERE WE ARE,

July the 23rd.

Our flight was at 1.20 am

Day 1:

This day was fully consumed by travelling and to be very honest, it really dint need to be. You can sense how excited I was when I saw such low prices so in a fit of excitement I just booked them. Not thinking about how to go further. Which brings me to

1. TO REACH BAGDOGRA

Ideal Transport:

>Flight: Direct flight to Bagdogra > Cab to Gangtok/Darjeeling

>Train: You can take the New Jalpaiguri Express or Mahananda Express to reach Siliguri > cab to Gangtok/Darjeeling

What I did:

1. Booked flight tickets to Delhi because they were hella cheap.

2. Realised in June that its a huge waste of time to go via local transport to Gangtok.

3. Booked flight tickets from Delhi to Bagdogra

4. Realised the two flights were 10 hours apart

*crickets*

Pro tip: Book all transports, such that you reach Bagdogra before 6pm. Intercity cab services don't function at standard rates after 6-6:30pm

MOVING ON

2. FROM BAGDOGRA TO GANGTOK

CABS:

Its a 6 hour journey to Gangtok via cab

>Option 1: If you’re a solo traveler, look for sharing cabs on WizzRide.com . They’re typically ₹700 for one seat. You can choose your seat and time slot as well. If you're with a group, Wizzrides can offer a 6 seater cab for ₹3500

>Option 2: There are local cabs too that may charge a little lesser after bargaining but at the sweet cost of comfort. They scrunch 12 humans in a 10-seater car.

We got a four-seater cab for the two of us (Off-season) for ₹2900

Protip: Stop at Rangpo on the way to eat momos at the stalls in the market area. Most of the places are vegetarian but they’re GOOD. We ate at Yellow Chilli which was soooo good.

3. ACCOMMODATION:

>AIRBNB: When you’re booking via Airbnb, make sure the homestays or hotels that you’re looking at in Gangtok are couple-friendly. Although, when we looked at other hotels in Gangtok, especially at Mall road, most of them seemed ok to have us.

I first booked a beautiful homestay in Gangtok. It was Lakpa Tshering’s homestay that was surrounded by paddy fields. I really wanted to stay here but since I was travelling with a boy, he was apologetically awkward to host us. But we sympathetically withdrew and he was kind enough to give us a full refund.

[Lakpa Tshering's Homestay:

https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/32748527?wl_source=list&wl_id=581207886&role=wishlist_owner&adults=1&children=0&infants=0&source_impression_id=p3_1575626433_OQ91sdjtg74OtW0J ]

Nonetheless, we stayed at Hotel Ninamma for ₹1400 a night for two.

(Hotel Ninamma:

https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/29579303?source_impression_id=p3_1575626337_gNv0YtayMPUjDkxy)

The hotel was super clean and had a breathtaking view. The rooms were clean the sheets were spotless.

4. WHERE TO GO

Come Day 2, we spent the entire afternoon at M.G. Marg amidst soft drizzle. Now, mall road is the central hub for convenience goods and some retail therapy.

High school love birds flock about hand in hand while old timers discuss daily news. This place is for locals and tourists alike. Food palletes range from street-side food carts to fine dine restaurants. M.G. Marg has Liquor shops as well as small lounges for a quick pint.

>CHORTEN MONASTERY, DEVRALI
In the evening, we headed to Devrali. The Tibetan institute of cultural studies and the beautiful Chorten Monastery sat side by side on the lap of a lush green hill. A steep climb took us to The Chorten Monastery. This hidden gem of Gangtok was devoid of anybody but the monks. The tranquility of the monastery was all left for us to absorb.

>Some other spots we missed were
-Nam Nam View Point
-Ban Jhakri Waterfall
-Gangtok waterfall
-Ganesh Tok
-Bak Thang Waterfall

How to get around:
We harboured a local share cab from Lal bazaar. [₹15 per seat].

5. WHAT TO EAT

Most of the restaurants in Sikkim and on Mall Road are vegetarian. One out of four restaurants serve non-veg food. since I was travelling with a JAIN, I explored quite some vegetarian options.

> Roll House, Mall Road: We started our day with momos and a cheese roll at Roll House. We also had their Aloo Saag which honestly I wasn't a big fan of. But the former two were delectable.

>After a little shopping here and there, we finally did some meaningful shopping,

WINE.

We got Sikkim’s homemade brew in Peach flavour. There are other flavours as well.

>Baker's Cafe : I honestly don't know what the hype is all about. We had a coffee and some waffles only to tick it off of our check list. Nothing that my taste buds would commemorate tho.

>OSM Resto and Lounge: A fairly fine diner, this place boasts of courteous treatment and quality food. I finally had some Chicken here. We called for Kung Pao Chicken and a Chef Recommendation, Green Vegetable Curry, which was not too bad. Even though it was the finest of dining options in Gangtok, our bill tallied upto to ₹1300 only.

>Some other recommendations I got from people that I couldn't try out were --*NIMTHO- A friend of mine likes to say, your Gangtok trip cannot be complete without eating the Sikkimese thali here. This place is popular for Nepali food and Thakali Thali is one of their specialties

Hamro Bansa Ghar, DJ's downtown Restro bar and Rooftop Cafe, The Dragon Wok and Sikkim Continental are special recommendations among others (If you have been to any of these restaurants, maybe you can tell me how they were in the comments)

Just a day in Gangtok can be so so eventful. Check it out. My own and personal take on Gangtok:

All of one day should be enough to explore Gangtok city. During peak season Months, ie. March to Mid-July, tour and travel companies will take you to for 2 days and one night excursions. For these, I would recommended you watch VLOGS from travel bloggers Tanya Khanijow and Kritika Goel. I took some really kickass recommendations from their channels.

Let's get Social?

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/globedigger

Instagram: www.instagram.com/globe_digger

Until then,

Keep it Wander-fulll!