Gangtok-Darjeeling 4N/5D Trip

Sindhu.hn

Hi all,

Me and my husband planning go for Sikkim tour for (4 Nights/5 Days). We will be reaching NJP station on 9th june at 8.00 AM and we will depart on 13th June,We have train from NJP at 8.30 PM.Our area of interests are Darjeeling, Nathula pass and Tsongo lake.


1.Is it good book a package tour or better organize over self ?
2.Is it possible to cover both Darjeeling and North Gangtok ?
3.Please provide any additional info that is required to make our trip successful

Thanks in advance
Sindhu

delhiwala

1. Although it'll be bit rushed, but you can do it.
2. Plan yourself, that'll be cheaper and will give you freedom.

__________________
Let there be light.

somnath biswas

You can try to contact Somnath 09903027568. Take my name and speak. He is tour operator of North Bengal,Sikkim. The rates are very reasonable and obviously a very helpful and honest person.

If you take my personal suggestion, I would suggest you to skip Darjeeling. Instead do Sikkim and Duars.

mani

Hello Sindhu,

We did a similar trip in may 2005.

Here is a possible plan based on our experience:

9 - NJP – Gangtok by share jeep – 4 -5 hrs – Get to Gangtok asap. This will help you as the permits to tsmogo take a day so as soon as you get to gangtok jeep/taxi stand get a agent ( we worked with a guy just next to the jeep stand – Chetri I think. He was good and reasonable) followed by local SS
10 – Tsmogo/ local SS ( depending on your permit)/ shopping relax
11 - Tsmogo/ local SS ( depending on your permit)/ shopping relax
12 – Gangtok – Darjeeling – 4-5hrs shared jeep. Leave early after breakfast - local Darjeeling SS
13 - Morning local Darjeeling SS – leave by 2-3 pm for NJP by shared jeep reach by 7 pm . get your train back.

In our experience shared jeeps work well and are cheap. Negotiate and get the front seats as they usually seat 2 in the front and then 4 + 4 so the back seats are the worst.

We stayed at the Dzong inn in gangtok. This is not the more famous Dzong hotel but a smaller place on the main road with reasonable rooms. But they are on the main road and the day starts early here so expect to be woken up early. There are many options in the budget category here ( we paid Rs 500/day for a double on the top floor )

In Darjeeling we stayed at the Apsara ( was booked by a family friend but we dint really like it so cant really recommend it but there are many options and you can decide once you get to darj)

Hope this is of help and enjoy your trip

Mani

somnath biswas

Mani,
2005 was really good for both the places. But in 2009 Darjeeling is facing with lot of agitation etc.

mani

yes I know that and feel really sad because we had a great time in sikkim. We found darjeeling really crowded and too touristy.
Gangtok, changu, baba mandir, yumthang were really highlights.

Raghu.Kumar

Hi Sindhu,

Welcome to India Mike.

You can do the trip by yourself. There are several discussion forums on this topic. Though I am unable to provide you the link, what I will do is to paste the messages / articles for your reference. Hope you have some patience to go through this.But I am sure it would be useful for you to make a decision.

Best Wishes and have a Great Holiday.


http://picasaweb.google.co.in/onlyta...ngNorthSikkim#

A Short Tour Plan for North Sikkim

Very recently I have visited North Sikkim with couple of my college friends and I would like to share my experience. Since we are working in different sectors it was hard to plan a long tour, so we came up with 5D/4N plan to visit both Gurudongmar Lake and Yumthang valley, the two most popular spots in North Sikkim. It was a bit hectic and is not recommended if you are planning to go there with your family, but it's a perfect plan for group of friends who can't afford a weeklong tour.

Day 1: Reach NJP Station around 8AM by Train from Kolkata. Move to Gangtok around 2PM (Hiring a car will cost Rs. 1200 or you can share with others for Rs. 140 each). After lunch you can go to MG Marg and book a 3D/2N North Sikkim package tour. You can book it from your hotel also (if they can). We booked the tour from a private tour operator just outside of the NJP station and it was Rs. 1700 per head (9 people in a MAX), fooding and lodging included.

Day 2: After breakfast reach the stand around 10AM, waited for our pass for 1 hour and started at 11. (You must have photo identity with you along with 2 passport size photos, otherwise you can't apply for the pass.) We had lunch at Managn and reach Lachen around 7.30PM. Lachen becomes very cold in night, so do keep warm clothes with you, local beers will be really helpful at night

Day 3: Start early morning, breakfast at thango, reach Gurudongmar Lake around 11.30AM, come back to Lachen around 3.30 PM, have lunch then move to Lachung via Chunthang, you'll reach Lachung around 8PM.

Day 4: Start around 6AM for Katao, its a place fully covered with snow, really enjoyable and a must see. Katao was outside our package, so we paid the driver Rs. 200 each (total 9 people in the car). Come back to Lachung, have breakfast then go to Yumthang Valley. Again come back to Lachen, have lunch and start journey back to Gangtok. Reach gangtok around 8PM, stay at hotel.

Day 5: Do some marketing in the morning, then move to NJP after lunch.

Lachen and Lachung are very remote villages, so don't expect to get ATM, good mobile network, restaurant or luxury hotels there. Lunch and Dinner will be purely veg. In spite of these, you'll be thrilled to visit this place and will not forget the experience in your whole life. Please do visit my Picasa album to get a taste of North Sikkim:

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/onlyta...ingNorthSikkim


Sikkim Tour plan

Hi
Me and some frenz (6 guys in total) have planned for Sikkim in mid April. i made a plan, see if its OK and pls make some recommendations.

Day 01: Reach Siliguri @ 8 AM. Drive to Gangtok & reach @ 2 PM. Remaining day @ Gangtok (Lake Tsomgo & Nathula pass)

Day 02: Spend morning in Gangtok(Rumtek Monastery), leave Gangtok @ 4.00 PM & reach Lachung @ 9.00 PM

Day 03: Places in & around Lachung(Yumthang & Chungthang)

Day 04: Places in & around Lachung(Chopta valley, Lachen, Gurudongmar & Tsho-lamu lake)

Day 05: Spend morning in Lachung. Leave Lachung @ 2.00 PM & reach Gangtok @ 7.00 PM. Spend night @ Gangtok

Day 06: Leave Gangtok for Pelling early morning & reach there @ around 12 PM, Spend rest of the day @ Pelling(Pemayangtse Monastery & Khechepalri Lake)

Day 07: Sightseeing in & around Pelling(Yuksom, Bakhim, Tashiding & Versay)

Day 08: Leave Pelling for Siliguri


hi radjesh,
i've just returned from sikkim. for what it may be worth, i'll be posting a full trip report in the coming days. for now, a few preliminary thoughts on your proposed itinerary.

first, congratulations on having chosen sikkim, a special and surreal destination still relatively unspoiled by tourism.

second, your day one plan is not possible. tsomgo lake and natha-lu pass are a full-day excursion. if you reach gangtok around 2 (and it could even be later), you'll have time only for some local sightseeing.

i didn't visit lachung, so will leave that part to others.

as for the drive to pelling on day 6, it's long and arduous. the way i organized my itinerary, i sort of "meandered" through west sikkim by private jeep hire. with a group of your size, this would be eminently affordable. for example, after leaving gangtok early (7 a.m.), you can (and should!) visited the temi tea garden and other sights en route. no need to drive directly there, especially since there's really nothing to see in pelling itself, with the exception of a hike up to sangha choeling from the path behind norbu gang resort. (highly recommended accommodation, btw!)

that afternoon time you've allocated for pelling would be better spent visiting some sights in which you are interested along the way. order a GOOD, DETAILED map of sikkim on the internet if you can - this will help your planning and is fun to follow as you are driving. a topo map is best - you will nopt believe the up-and-down-and-around of these routes until you've been over them!

reading guidebooks and threads in this forum, i developed a "wish list" of places i wanted to see. my general plan was gangtok (3 nights), yuksom (1 night), pelling (2 nights), darjeeling (3 nights), then on to siliguri via the toy train and the darjeeling mail train overnight to kolkata.

i made general arrangements with a local tour operator in gantok (potala) for a jeep hire. upon my arrival there, i sat down with them and went over my "wish list" for gangtok-yuksom-pelling-DJ. with the driver's participation and knowledge of the routes, we mapped out a four-day plan. it was brilliant! some days were quite long, and the drive is tiring, but i saw everything at my own pace and wouldn't have traded a single moment or sight.

include a visit to yuksom if you can. i found the 45-minute hike up to dubdi monastery at dawn for magnificent views, the coronation throne, and another adjacent monastery well worth the trip, with a 12-foot-high prayer wheel of which i took quite emotionally moving video. the guidebooks don't do these sites justice, and they can be covered in a few hours total, all within walking distance from the tashiding hotel or other, cheaper hotels "in town." (in fact, the village is TINY!)


bear in mind that it is next to impossible for someone unfamiliar with the terrain to predict how long it takes to get from place to place. the guidebooks are very rough estimates at best, suggesting too often, IMHO, that one just hops from place to place. in fact, the driving is incredibly difficult and slow in places. four wheel drive is the minimum requirement. a highly skilled river is an absolute neccessity.

there were places along the way where i got out and walked across a section of road because i wasn't sure the jeep would make it without plunging into a ravine. at another point, a huge traffic back-up developed, causing a several hour delay because a truck had gone over the cliff. i had great difficulty imagining the actual terrain there before i left. having now seen it, i have enormous respect for the drivers that ply those routes and their skills.

yes, taxis can be aranged once you get there, but with your group, i suggest a private hire in advance, negotiating with diffcerent tour companies. the jeeps are large and the drivers want to pack as many people into them as possible, up to 10 people. you have to wait for the jeep to fill, pack up everyone's baggage, etc. much better to have full control over your timetable and when and where to stop.

the rate i paid per day for my jeep and river was 2600 rupees. that included the driver's accommodations, as i had him for four full days. other IMers will advise you not to pay for lodging for the drivers. i regarded it as a package rate. how it was allocated was unimportant to me. had i negotiated, i could arguably have done better, but i didn't want the hassle and this amount was so cheap by US standards i did what was easiest for me. i was also motivated by the fact that potala's owner spoke excellent english, which a lot of other people with whom i dealt did not.

i'll give you more detail on my along-the-way sights as i sort through my papers and pictures and can reconstruct the exact order. you may be interested in some, all or none of my wish list.

hope this helps for now.


Hi ,

I went through your itinerary for the Sikkim trip I had a few suggestion hope you will find it helpful.

I have to totally agree with Janice your day 1 plan can not be achieved, the reason being a>the army don’t allow the cars to pass through after 2pm. b> A special permit is needed from the Army for Nathula; Tsomgo lake permit the cab drivers can arrange. This is what I suggest that you reach Gangtok and make travel arrangement for Tsomgo lake for the next day also enquire about the Nathula pass permit (though I doubt you’ll get it in such short notice). You can visit Rumtek monastery instead its about one and a half hr from Gtk.

Day 2 you’ll be back from your Tsomgo trip by around 2-3pm so I suggest that you spend some time checking the Gtk market and other surrounding places. Its not wise to travel during the night because the road is tricky and really dark, even weather can change anytime. Leave for Lachung early next day.

Day3 leave for lachung early (by 6 am), by lunch time you should be there. You can visit Yumthang and proceed to Lachen for the night. Chunthang falls on the way and anyways its just a small town like Lachen. One more reason to stay at Lachen is because to go to Gurudongmar you have to acclimatize because of the altitude. Hence one night stay at either Lachen or Thangu is recommended.

Day4 leave for Gurudongmar and Tsho-lamu lake early you can also do Chopta valley because it falls on the way. Just recheck about Tsho-Lamu lake maybe you need a permit to visit that place (at least that’s what I heard last). You can spend the night at Lachung.

Day 5 if you want to spend one more day in West Sikkim I would suggest that you leave early morning from Lachung for Rabangla (West Sikkim), yes it will almost be a 10 hr drive but you need not go to Gtk, there is a road that avoids Gtk and moves directly to Singtam. By evening you should be in Rabangla, this town is about 2 hrs from Pelling .

Day 6 you can go to Tashiding monastery early in the morning, it is close to Rabangla. I hope you know that to reach this monastery you’ll have to walk for about 2 hrs. In the afternoon you could leave for Pelling. It will take you around 2 hrs. You could visit Pemayangtse Monastery, Rapdenchy Ruins in Pelling before calling it a night.

Day7 Don’t forget to get up early for the Kanchanjunga view from Pelling and then proceed to Khechepalri Lake you can do Yoksom and try to do Bakhim. Halt at Yuksom.

Day 8 proceed to Siliguri from Yuksom.

Phew!!! Dude its goanna be pretty hectic… To the best of my ability I really can not squeeze in Varsay for you anywhere coz its nowhere near pelling and again it is a hike…. Maybe you should extend your holiday a little longer and enjoy the Sikkim experience… with this schedule you are going to be so exhausted after your holiday

Anyways I hope it helps. Have fun and let me know if I can help you with anything more.

Hi Rajeev,
After a lot of discussion & brainstorming v came up with this

Day 01: Reach Siliguri @ 8 AM, drive to Gangtok. Remaining day @ Gangtok, nite @ Hotel Nirvana(contact Mr.Prabir Sen 94340 24070)

Day 02: Leave for Lachen, do some sightseing en route & reach in the evening, nite @ Lachen

Day 03: Cover Thangu, Chopta valley & Gurudongmar. Leave for Lachung, nite @ Lachung

Day 04: Cover Yumthang valley & other places around there. Leave Lachung after lunch & reach Gangtok, nite @ Gangtok

Day 02,03,04 is as package(2 nights North Sikkim, Gangtok -Gangtok), 3000/head budget plan(includes food, accomodation & Sumo). Prabir Sen arranged this

Day 05: Leave Gangtok for Pelling early morning. Cover Pemayangtse Monastery & Rabdenstse ruins, Sumo 650 bucks

Day 06: Full day @ Varsey, Sumo + lunch 2500

Day 07: Cover Rimbi falls, Khanchenzonga falls, Khecheoparly lake, Yuksom valley, Phamrong falls, Sumo 1950

Stay for days 05,06,07 is @ Rabdentse residency, Pelling (contact Suman Muhkerjee 98302 92163)

Day 08: Depart for Siliguri

Since u r with ur parents & kids, i think u may skip Varsey as its a 4km trek one way to reach there, instead u can spend a day sightseeing @ Gangtok & then reach Pelling

Hope this helps

Radjesh

Hi Bengal Tiger,

So far my personal experience goes, Sikkim is a nice place and I’ll try to arrange my Darjeeling / Sikkim tour like this:

Day 01:
Bagdogra(flight) / NJP(train) to Gantok hundreds of hotels are there.

Day 02:
Gantok Local tour (must see = Institute of Tibetology, Orchid Exhibition, Rumtek Monastery, Tashi view Point, Enchey Monastery, Ganesh Top, Hanuman Top etc.)
Arrange for a travel agent to visit “Nathu la”, “Baba Mandir” and “Tsomgo lake”.

Day 03:
“Nathu la”, “Baba Mandir” and “Tsomgo lake”.


Day 04:
Gantok – Peling. (Hotel Pandim is the best hotel at Peling for viewing and other facilities). After lunch go for a 20 min trek to Sangakcholing Monastry.
(do not forget that u r not visiting Yumthang, u r going to miss a lot in Sikkim).

Day 04:
Pelling local tour . Pemyangsy Monastery, Kanchendongha Falls, Rimbi falls, Chhange Falls, Khechiperi Lake, Sinsore Bridge among the common list but, if possible, try to visit Yuksam – earlier capital of Sikkim and come back to Peling.

Day 05:
Peling to Darjeeling. Take a share jeep to Jorthang and another share jeep for Darjeeling. I prefer to stay at ‘Darjeeling tourist lodge’ (a Govt. of West Bengal hotel, phone no. 0354 2254411 / 2254413) for an exotic view of Kanchendzongha from over-crowded Darjeeling and the best quality of tea. If you’ve no booking at Darjeeling, I’ll suggest you to stay there for the first night and find another hotel of your choice.

Day 06 & 07:
Darjeeling Local tour
Must see – sunrise from tiger hill, Darjeeling zoo, Ghoom Monastry, joy ride on Toy train, etc. (there are package tours called some - seven point or like that.). Another monastery is there in Darjeeling - Bhutiya Basti which is neglected but I found it very beautiful. Walkable distance, to be there u have to ask local people, but just for ur refrnc. a step like path beside the Tibetan Refugee Centre which leads to that monastery.

Day 08:
Darjeeling to Shiliguri-NJP / Bagdogra

Hope you will enjoy the tour.

__________________
S.Raghu Kumar
sahana_kumar@yahoo.com

mani

Dear Sindhu,

as pointed by Somnath, based on the possible problem with darjeeling here is an alternative plan based on sikkim.

9 - NJP – Gangtok by share jeep – 4 -5 hrs – Get to Gangtok asap. This will help you as the permits to tsmogo take a day so as soon as you get to gangtok jeep/taxi stand get a agent ( we worked with a guy just next to the jeep stand – Chetri I think. He was good and reasonable) followed by local SS
12 – Leave for yumthang lachung tour if you can get the permit
11 – day 2 of yumthang lachung tour if you can get the permit arrive back to gangtok in the evening.
12 – Tsmogo /shopping relax
13 – leave after early lunch but by 2 pm for NJP by shared jeep reach by 7 pm . get your train back

this is similar to our trip then.

regards
mani

Sindhu.hn

Thanks to all for the information. It was a very useful information provided by u people. Thanks once again