Intinerary advice for Darjeeling, Gangtok, etc

BestYears

Hi,

Kindly advice me on a itenary which would fit our budget of 25-30thousand for 1 couple, during the last week of May.

We are based in Pune so here is my tentative proposed plan.
Take a flight to Kolkota, current price approximately 12,000 for return trip for 2 of us.
1)From there, should I take a train to siliguri and continue to Darjeeling?
2)Want to spend about 6/7 days in the area. Please suggest places we can visit around darjeeling- Gangtok, Mirik?
3) Can these be fit into our budget?
4)Is it possibelte to hire a 2 wheeler in the area, if not, what would be the most resonable form of transport?
5) would this be a good season to visit the area?

I have never been to that part of the country, would appreciate all your inputs very much!!

Cheers!

Raghu.Kumar

Hi,

Below are some of the experiences posted by our members. you can also go through the weblinks provided for reference.

You dont have to go to Siliguri from Calcutta, but need to take a train to New Jalpaiguri. its a over night journey from Calcutta. On arrviing in Jalpaiguri, you need to take a cab to Darjeeling. After having finished sightseeing in Darjeeling in a couple of days, you may again take a cab to Gangtok. Alternatively you can also check the bus options also if you wish.

Have a good holiday, Raghu

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.

Best Wishes Raghu

__________________
S.Raghu Kumar
sahana_kumar@yahoo.com

BestYears

Thank you very much Raghu! have got some excellent ideas from here.. will make a detailed iternary from this and post it here for refining

Travel Lover-AVI

Hi...
Since ur budget is around INR 18000/-(30,000-12000)... I will suggest you to opt for either of the 2 options
(a) go for Darjeeling Mirick...Tiger Hill...& local sight seeings OR
(b) go 4 Sikkim...both are on different hills!

To suggest u...in some of the places the roads are pretty steep...so Please don't even think of 2 wheelers...
Both the places are equally beautiful....
In these areas...mostly transports are costly...if u are NOT taking sharing basis...

I will give u a suggestion, based on my experience in these places....
If You want a Romantic Holiday...& relaxation, try out West/South Sikkim...instead of Darjeeling...These places are soooooo.... beautiful...You will regret while your holiday will end!
Try out...Pelling, Yuksom in west Sikkim & Borong in South Sikkim...
BORONG-I havent been there till date...but recently booked a holiday in first week of may...I heard its also good...I can write about it...once I am back...

my proposed itinerary to u...
day1...take a train to New Jalpaiguri(NJP)
day2...morn 8am you will reach NJP. Take a car and transfer to Pelling. Choose a standard quality hotels...in the range of 1200/1300 per night...Stay there.
day3...do for local sight seeing by a car...and enjoy the raw beauty of nature...night stay
day4...transfer to yuksom...its also a fantastic remote place...a lovers paradise night stay in the best resort "Tashi Ghang" there...which offers excellent view.
day 5...local sight seeing at yuksom...ngt sty
day 6...enjoy the nature...& relax...walk down the hills...ngt stay
day 7...after brkfast...transfer to NJP station...to take a train to Kolkata...and u may plan to take flgt back to Pune nxt day afternoon...

I think..this will a perfect romantic nature bounty trip...where u will feel the pleasure in the lap of nature to enjoy it at its best...
I know a guy who does hotel bookings. His name is Mr. Rahul & no. is 09748004777. He might help you to design ur tour.
Alternatively You can also tryout Mr S Roy (Manager of Holiday Makers) @09903311114. These guys generally does hotels & package bookings for me.

I WILL ALSO SUGGEST YOU TO CHECK THE THREAD "OFFBEAT DESTINATIONS IN SIKKIM" here..You can get a very good idea of the places and also can design your tour!!

Best of luck for ur tour...Hav a GR8 Tour... U can ask me for furthur suggestions...

BestYears

Thanks for your advice travel lover. Lovely suggestions! I will use the contacts you recommended

However, its our first visit to the region and we won't get a chance for a 2nd visit for several years due to certain circumstances, so keen not to miss out on darjeeling. Have always wanted to see the place!

We found excellent deals on our flight! its booked already, so now have 20k left for a 7 night stay in the region.

Right now my itenary for May looks like this:
18th: Fly to kolkata. Take train to new jalpaiguri.
19th: Transfer to Darjeeling by bus or shared cab. Rest and look around.
20th: A day for river rafting on testa river! found some websites which offer very resonable packages but most require a minimum number of 4 ppl . Any pointers for clubs to go through for river rafting??
21st: Sight see in darjeeling. Take a bus to sikkim in the evening.

22st-26th: In Sikkim

26th night: Train from new jalpaiguri to Kolkata.
27th: Flight back from kolkata.

Still to decide what to do in the 4nights/5 days in Sikkim. Not sure if we should skip Gangtok and go for yuksum and pelling. Or should we go for gangtok and pelling, 2 nights each?

Any regions where we can experience snow in May.. from another thread I read about Yumtang?

Would I be missing out on much by choosing to skip gangtok??

Travel Lover-AVI

bond007

I've also heard rave reviews of West Sikkim (thats why i'm going there in Apr-end )... Pelling is supposed to have great views of Kanchenjhunga (better than Tiger Hill)...
Gangtok and Darjeeling are quite crowded...

There are plenty of shared jeeps in Sikkim... You'll have to stretch your budget to hire your own jeep to many places...

BestYears

thank you so much abhishek!! going to follow ur advice and ditch Gangtok for this trip.

i'm so excited! i love this new borong idea u threw in.. i called up the place and the accomodation is just 1200 per night which is amazing for the kind of privacy it offers! do you know how much it costs to hire a cab to see near by tourist spots in borong? my partner has an ankle problem which would prevent us from indulging in any treaks, so can only fit in short walks.

i think we will spend 2 nights here ! looooove the sound of this place!

im thinking pelling for the remaining 2 nights as it seems to have more things to do than Yuksum. remember we cant do any treks! so what do you think?

Travel Lover-AVI

Firstly, the rate of the resort in Borong is INR 1200/- + 10% service charge...that is 1320/- net per night!
We have booked the same @ INR 1100/- only from my travel agent!

Secondly, Pelling is a lil crowded place, its excellent if you plan your stay at NorbuGhang resort in Pelling, It costs around 4000/- per night with breakfast & Dinner! BUT if u think its costly...OR if you don't get booking there....my suggestion is to stay at Yuksom...Its beautiful...isolated....you can have short evening walks...surrounded my mountains... The hotel in yuksom is having a beautiful lawn...where you can sit & have breakfast....even you can have camp fire in the night! In my honeymoon, while we went to Yuksom, our travel agent had specially designed a Candle Light Dinner for us! It was fantastic! You may also plan out the same way...if you want

As per doing things is concerned...like shopping...or visiting places... Pelling till now is not having good markets...so you cant even shop in Pelling.. Whatever lil u will find in Pelling...they are costly! For shopping I will suggest you to visit "Hong Kong Market" in Siliguri. While returning, on the way to Bagdogra...you can halt for sometime at the market...Its a market where you bargain a lot & you will get lots of foreign goods...ladies bags...electronics...etc! Very cheap...if you can bargain!!

About visiting places...Yuksom is only 35 kms off from Pelling...& all sight seeings are almost in the middle of Pelling & Yuksom...that is the sight seeings are common and equidistant from these two places. Now u decide what u want!

ABHISHEK

BestYears

Hi abhishek.. not at all intrested in shopping, except mayb just look aroudn if we come across some quaint looking markets. I was talking more about places to see..

well Yuksum sounds nicer than Pelling, my only problem is will we find local taxis to take us around in either pelling/yuksum?? Sounds like Borong we will have to hire a cab for entire day, and from what i hear its going to cost upto 2200-2400.

Hiring a cab all 4 days in sikkim is defenetly not within our budget

Travel Lover-AVI

Hi I suggest you...
Here are the estimated travel costs of private transfer

Darjeeling to Yuksom : INR2600(approx)...sharing will not be available

Yuksom sightseeing : INR1200(approx) for full day

Yuksum to Borong : INR 2200/- I dont think sharing will be available

Borong Sight seeing :INR1200/-(approx) full day
Borong to Bagdogra : 2600/-
Total Cost:8100/- approx

Hotel costs : Yuksom 2 nights : 3000/-
.............Borong 2 nights : 2400/-

Total cost is approx...13500 PLUS darjeeling...I think it is very well in your budget....

But I would suggest you to complete the booking FAST...OTHERWISE YOU WILL DEFINITELY not find these resorts empty....Since there are only 1/2 resorts at these places...They are having huge demand even in the overseas market and are very attractive to the foreigners !

ABHISHEK
: namaste:

BestYears

wow thanks apprecaite all the help!
yup.. will get those bookings done soon!

Travel Lover-AVI

Hi BestYears...

I forgot to tell you one IMPORTANT thing...
While we have booked our tour package from my travel agent "Holiday Makers", we have got a COMPLIMENTARY package of 2N/3D in 3 star hotels...which I can use in next 9 months anytime at my convenience and BOOKING is guaranteed even in the PEAK seasons.
The process is fantastic. I need to choose one destination from 22 destinations across INDIA and 6 outside India like Bangkok, Pattaya, Nepal, etc. and will enjoy my holiday ABSOLUTELY FREE!

Basically They are running a Summer Special offer that any person, doing any package booking BY ANY REFERENCE is entitled to the Complimentary package BUT WHILE BOOKING YOU HAVE TO SAY THAT YOU HAVE GOT THEIR CONTACT FROM ONE OF YOUR FRIEND!(SAY ANY NAME FROM ANY PLACE ACROSS INDIA. THEY HAVE LOT OF CLIENTS ACROSS INDIA. SO THEY CANT TRACE).
YOU WILL GET THAT EXTRA!!
A TREAT IS DUE! JUS KIDDING!

CHEERS!!

ABHISHEK

BestYears

niceee... though I doubt it would help me as Im getting into a hectic 2 year study program and won't have any holidays till the next summer! maybe someone else reading this forum can benefit.

hmm i was planning to do all the hotel booking myself actually, as I have pretty much figured out which hotels I want to stay in and stuff. (India Mike has been very very helpful!!) i figured will cost lesser that way!

And I also have an offer from Cleartrip right now, so darjeeling hotel booking through that

Travel Lover-AVI