Sikkim is often referred as one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in India. Of course, there's no denying to that. But when we talk about Sikkim, we usually talk about Gangtok and nearby places to visit like Pelling, Yumthang valley, Lachung etc. But a part of Sikkim which is least visited is the East Sikkim that includes Silk Route and Zuluk. Silk route is one of the most scenic road in India and its view from Thambi view point is breathtaking. Also, the complete range of Kanchenjungha(Sleeping Buddha) is clearly visible from Thambi view point. In the evening the Thambi view point turns into a paradise. The entire valley is covered in layers of clouds and looks like a ocean of clouds and sun sets behind the horizon.
Day 1 : On the start, we reached NJP station in the early morning and we had already booked a private transport. Our first day was a scheduled stay at Sillerygaon. Its a tourist spot(a little offbeat, basically a village) in West Bengal and is near to Sikkim. We started from NJP Railway station and reached Sillerygaon in 4 hrs. We checked-in into our homestay and offloaded our luggage. There are multiple homestays available in Sillerygaon with rooms around Rs. 1000 per person per night and includes breakfast and dinner, and it is always recommended to pre book the stays during the season. After having breakfast, we went for a short hike in the nearby forest. If the weather is clear, Kanchenjungha mountain range is clearly visible. It's a quiet place and we walked through the woods to explore more. There wasn't many things to visit so we came back. At night, we asked for a bonfire to be arranged and we had a nice time enjoying the bonfire and grilling chicken in it.
Day 2 : Next day we started for Zuluk. So on the way we planned to visit a few places before we head to Sikkim. First we went to Ashtavinayak Mandir which is a temple dedicated to Lord Ganesha. The structure of the temple was very pretty and well built. Next we visited Aritar lake and spent some time there. Next we headed to Rangoli Market where we had to hault to prepare our documents to enter in Sikkim. Since it is a border area, there were quite a few formalities needed to be done. Also, since it was post covid tour, we had to maintain all covid protocols. All the entry formalities were taken care by our driver. We started for Zuluk after our documents were ready and we halted at Que Khola waterfall for lunch. We had momos and noodles in there. It was quite a long way and we reached Zuluk at the sunset. Sunset was extremely pretty from there. As it was already dark, we headed towards our homestay and had rest.
Day 3 : We completed our breakfast early and started for our trip. Our way was via the Silk route, and was a complete zig-zag road and looked so pretty from the top. Silk route was used by the traders during the early times. Once we reached the top(Thambi view point), the view so gorgeous. On one side we could see the entire Zuluk village and the Silk Route, on the other side we could see the mighty Kanchenjunga. We took a few photos and headed towards elephant lake. We visited in December, so the lake was completely frozen. We halted at a few places on our way to witness the beauty. On some parts it was snow covered. Then we went to Baba ka Mandir. Its a very popular spot and dedicated to Baba Harbhajan Singh. We visited the temple and had "prasad" in there. Then we went for Chhangu Lake. Its also one of the scenic beauties of Sikkim. We took a ropeway to visit the highest point there and we were amazed at the view we had from there. All we could see was a valley covered with clouds. We had our lunch there and headed back towards our homestay in Zuluk. People usually visit Gangtok from there but we planned for another off-beat site for our trip. Just when we thought we had seen it all, we witnessed the most amazing view on the return. We halted on thambi view point, from where we could only see was clouds. A complete ocean of clouds. The sun was about to set and sky was orange. That was the prettiest sunset I have ever witnessed. That view was worth all the money I paid for the trip. We waited until the sun was completely behind the clouds. The sky was turning dark, and we headed back for our homestay.
Day 4 : Today, after having our breakfast, we started for our next destination Rishikhola. It is a secluded place, but an amazing get away, located by a river. We booked one of the homestays in there and was supposed to stay for a night in there. It was a long journey. We halted for our lunch in Rangoli market and started back and reached Rishikhola by late noon. After having some refreshments, we headed by foot towards the river stream which was flowing by the cottage. The view was purely asthetic. This place is an amazing weekend getaway to relax in the hills. We wandered for a while until the sun was down. Later in the evening we didn't have much to do, so we played some games among us.
Day 5 : Our trip was over and it was day of return. Our car was supposed to drop us at NJP station from there. We had our breakfast and started for Siliguri.It always feels bad when we head back from a trip, but thinking back of the times when we saw such amazing sceneries, it elevates the mood so much.
The budget of the trip was near about 36k for 4 persons. Lodging for each day costed us Rs 1000-1200 per person and this amount included breakfast and dinner. Overall transport between from NJP to NJP was Rs. 14000. We paid separately for lunch and had other miscellaneous expenses.