India this August - Delhi - Ladakh - Nepal - Sikkim

chriscrofty

Hello,

This is my first post but I have been browsing for a few months, great site, very inspiring and useful!

Right, I will be travelling with my girlfriend to India on August 1st until the 31st. It will be the first time either of us has been to Asia. We are not super organised yet, but there is a little bit of time!

We have heard that the Ladakh region is pretty special at this time. But we have been invited to stay with some friends of friends in Sikkim for independence day, so bang in the middle of our trip. Also we have some friends who will be in Kathmandu after the 16th. So this is a lot to fit in and we are worried this is too much.

Because of the monsoon it would seem better to heard North from Delhi to Leh, but we need to be in Gangtok around the 13th. How do we get to Sikkim from Leh? I can only see flights from Leh to Delhi (and Pune). Another option is to miss Independence day with our friends and arrive in Sikkim on the 20th instead. Or we could skip Ladakh and head to Kathmandu from Delhi and then make our way to Sikim without flying to much (which we would prefer).

We are very open to suggestions and any input would be great. I dont think we should bite more than we can chew. We dont mind the idea of spending some time in Monsoon conditions but would like so spend some time without too much rain, thats what lead us to Ladakh first. But maybe we need to be more realistic and make our way more directly to Sikkim (rather than heading due North instead of due West!).

If i have forgotten something just say. We have a relatively small budget (both students) and understand we are a bit naive.

I noticed Mjdgard has a very similar route but he has 3 months and not 1, but interesting all the same.

Thank you,

Chris

piran_e

Chris,

Will try to give you my recommendations. First there is no need to fly to any of the places you mentioned, you can use bus/train to get to the all the places you want to go and also do it in a circuit.

Don't cancel on Ladakh as it is a beautiful place and most definitely worth visiting. From Delhi you can take a bus to Manali , maybe halt there for 2 days and then take a shared jeep to Leh. My advice would be to cancel or push your trip to Sikkim and spend more time in Ladakh itself. To reach Sikkim from Leh, you will have to come back to Delhi and from there take a train to New Jalpaiguri, from where you will get shred jeeps to Gantok. If you choose to go to Khatmandu then from Gantok you will have to come down to Silliguri ( which you have to do anyways) and take a bus for Kakarbitta, which is the border cross over to Nepal and from where you will get a bus to Khatmandu.

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Walking a Dream

kullukid

You are trying to fit too much in. May be wise to skip Leh, but that's the only place with no rain. It will be wet wet wet in Sikkim & Nepal. KK

chriscrofty

right, we ve decided not to go to Nepal, so here is the itinery:

1 - land in Delhi
2 - spend a couple of days in Delhi
3 - Delhi
4 - leave for Manali
5 - Manali
6 - Leave for Leh
7 - Arrive for Leh in the evening?
8 - Leh
9 - Leh
10 - Leh
11 - Leh
12 - Fly back to Delhi for Independence Day - was the plan but looks like we've left it to late and prices seem to expensive - £110 each 1 way, is that right or would it be cheaper booking in Leh
13 - Delhi for Independence Day
14 - Day trip to Agra
15 - Make our way to New Jalpaiguri via train
16 - arrive in NJP and head to Gangtok - can we get our Sikkim permits in Delhi when were there earlier or do we have to divert course to get them?
17 - Couple nights in Gangtok as we know someone whos owns hotel and will give us discount!
18 - Gangtok
19 - Head up to Mangan where we will stay with friends
20 - Mangan
21 - Mangan
22 - Mangan
23 - Mangan
24 - Leave for Calcutta - whats the best way to get there, maybe through Darjeeling to try and see something different than Gangtok, then train from Siliguri?
25 -
26 - Arrive Calcutta,
27 - Calcutta
28 - Calcutta
29 - Fly back to Delhi
30 - Delhi
31 - Fly home

We were thinkin of booking first delhi stay accomodation before we go, what else would be best to book before? (we should have booked flights from Leh a while back but oh well).

Also will travellers cheques be ok in those places? maybe not for Mangan?

thanks again.

riverair

You can get the Sikkim permits in Sikkim, which I did upon arrival. The process was quite easy. I did not take a Jeep to Gangtok, I flew from Delhi to Bagdogra and took the helicopter $50 per person each way, it took 30 minutes!

piran_e

Flight tickets for the Delhi-Leh sector are expensive so it would amount to the figure you mentioned. You can get your permits in Delhi or also on the West Bengal Sikkim border when you enter by jeep. There is not much to see in Mangan itself so it might be a nice idea to go to Lachen or Lachung valley. Both the valleys would be flower laden during this period and absolutely stunning. Alternatively you can also visit Dzongu which is a Lepcha reserve. For all these places you will require a permit, but since you have friends they should be able to arrange that for you from the DC (district collector') office.

You would be able to exchange your TC in Gantok but not in other smaller places in Sikkim.You don't need to book any places in Sikkim as you are going in of peak season, so the hotels would be empty and give you better bargaining power.