A dream trip to Dzongu – the unexplored land of the Lepchas in North Sikkim

hello, indiamikers!i am an old follower of this great site, and have registered recently. We are planning a trip to N sikkim including Dzongu in Oct 12.I called and emailed Mr. OT Lepcha(got every detail from indiamike only). He replied last night.
I am copying his mail here....


Greetings from Tholung Eco-tourism Cooperative Society Ltd.



Happy to see your mail. You are most welcome. It would be our pleasure to serve you at our Himalayan Home Stay in Dzongu, North Sikkim. And of course, I can arrange your entire trip to North Sikkim. Madam, what we do is we take our guests first to Lachung, Lachen and to Dzongu. It makes you sense of acclimatization here in high altitude. Since, you were 6 (Six) you most required 3 (Three) rooms right? And October is the right time to visit Sikkim. And need to carry a pair of warm cloths which includes shocks, gloves, hat and muffler etc. Well, from NJP to Dzongu 7hrs and from Dzongu to Lachen 5hrs maximum appx.

Dzongu is the home land of an aboriginal and indigenous Lepcha community in the world. And this area fall under Restricted Area in the North West part of Sikkim with its Nepal and Tibet border. Lachen/Lachung falls under Protected Areas. You need to produce a special permit to visit those areas with Protected Area Permit (PAP)/Restricted Area Permit (RAP) from the concern authority here. For that I need all of your name in details with address and any documents for proof of Identifications like Pass port, Voter I.D, Ration Card, Driving License etc with one Pass port size photo.

Here what I suggest to your possible itinerary and I have included some visiting places to you as follows:



Oct 23rd: NJP to Lachung. (Heavy lunch at Mangan)



Oct 24th: Visit Yumthang, Shingbha Rhododendron Sanctuary, Hot Spring, Baba Mandir and Yumesemdong-zero point. Night stay at Lachen.



Oct 25th: Early morning trip to Gurudongmar Lake, Chopta Valley. Night stay at Dzongu.



Oct 26th: Visit Hot spring at Lingdem, Rukshyot Water Fall and Tingvong village.



Oct 27th: Back to NJP.



And the rates are as follows: -

1. Dzongu 2 (Two) Nights with 3 double bedded.

Rs. 1,570 x 3 x 2 = Rs. 9,420/-



2. Lachen/Lachung 2 (Two) Nights with 3 double bedded.

Rs. 1,800 x 6 x 2 = Rs. 21,600/-

Transportations: Rs. 6,000 x 4 = 24,000/- (Mangan to Lachen/Lachung and Dzongu)



3. NJP to Mangan Rs. 5,000/-

4. Dzongu to NJP Rs. 6,500/-

5. Permit expenses: 250 x 6 = Rs. 1,500/-

6. Guide: 400 x 4 = Rs. 1,600/-

Say, your total cost for the North Sikkim trip including Dzongu come Rs. 69,620/- (Sixty Nine Thousand Six Hundred Twenty only)



Are the accommodation and car rates OK?I find the expenses a bit too much....Please suggest....

Your itinerary as suggested by OT lepcha is ok, but a bit hectic.considering the North sikkim part, its better to make it 3N 4D... I mean its better to stay 2N in Lachung...Also since you are coming directly from Gurudongmar to dzongu, it will be wiser to stay 3N there....
Regarding the charges, Dzongu accomodation and fooding rate is ok....but The transportation charges is a bit too much.NJP to Mangan and Dzongu to NJP charge is also on the higher end.from Mangan to Siliguri you can easily come by booking the entire service zeep. the price will be half. Permit expenses for Dzongu and guide should be free.....you need to Bargain....Also talk with other homestay owners (you can get the details from my travelogue and other IM friends)....and for the North sikkim trip can talk with Marco Polo tours and Travels....since you are 6 member group it won't be much..ask them to drop you at mangan....or pick you up from Mangan if you want to avoid Gangtok....

Good luck

thanks a lot for your reply!!! I have already mailed my concerns to Mr OT Lepcha...he hasn't replied yet.
Meanwhile I should explore other options as well...

Actually we really want to avoid gangtok(at least one way) and dzongu appears to be an amazing place!
Does Marcopolo arrange for customized tours as well?or maybe I have to follow their itinerary only..

Will post the latest developments...

thank you again...

Hello..after a little bargaining the NJP to NJP trip price including food has come down to 60000 for 6 people.it seems relatively ok now..the transportation cost has come down to 5000/day.we are taking our parents with us.so i think it is better to have everything booked beforehand.otherwise if we hired shared vehicles after reaching NJP,the cost would have been less.
However,didn't confirm OT Lepcha yet.
Tried to contact Dupden and Sherap Lepcha on phone..but its constantly unreachable.mailed them too..no reply.Can anybody give me their contact details?
Tried ro contact marcopolo as well.no reply from them too..

What to do?Please suggest.

Also,i think a few indiamikers visited dzongu last year..how was the experience?Can anybody give some review about OT Lepcha's homestay?

hello Amitda and all the sikkim crazy people in this forum...

After a bit bargaining, OT Lepcha has quoted Rs. 55,0000/6 people : NJP to NJP.
Tour schedule is the same as I have mentioned earlier..maybe a bit hectic..but doable i guess

Also talked with Marcopolo. They are quoting about 45,0000/ 6 people: NJP to NJP.But the route is the conventional one(gangtok to gangtok).
Now, what to do????!!!
Go with the cheaper fare and a good travel agent and miss dzongu, or should we go with Mr. OT Lepcha?Isn't it worth to spend 10K extra to visit a new place like dzongu?

I am more inclined to go with Mr. Lepcha...but I am afraid what if the accommodations are not standard enough, or the trip is not managed professionally...(we do not want any luxurious thing...only basic accommodations with a good toilet, a friendly driver..that's all.)

Please suggest...and you people have been there..you are the best ones to suggest...

Please help

Just wondering if it's possible to do NJP to Lachung bypassing overnight stay in Gangtok??? Even if you can make it, I am sure it's gonna be tiresome.

well...I was apprehensive as well.... but according to HolidayIQ,
NJP to Lachung is 140 Kms and Gangtok to Lachung is 115 Kms...

Not as much difference as I expected..probably doable... but obviously will be more tiring.
Can't spend more days...it would have been better if we had 1/2 leisure days as well..

Has anyone on IM done NJP/Bagdogra to Lachung?

Visited Dzongu on 3-4 June 2012. It was not a good experience in Dzongu. Roads are completely damaged & at some places there are no roads at all.
We (4 adults, 3 children) stayed with Mr. Dupden Lepcha, his rates didn't match to their service.
Rates :
Adult: Rs. 1,200 per person
Children : Rs. 600 per child (above 5 years)
Local sight-seeing : Rs.1,200 & above for different points. Even they charge very high for local sight-seeing without vehicle in the name of guides etc.
Permit charges - Rs.500
Specially Food quality is extremely bad. Its like food given to prisoners in Jail.
And most importantly, there is nothing very special to see in Dzongu. I regret my decision (which was based on Indiamiker's experience) to visit Dzongu.

The moral is, if you visit Dzongu, you will waste your time & money.

Well, well ????!!!!

don't know....anyway I have already made up my mind about the dzongu trip.we are using dzongu as a stop gap in our N Sikkim trip before reaching NJP instead of gangtok....dzongu should atleast be more calm and serene than gangtok i hope!!will share my experiences once I come back...

Oh boy! What's going on?

Hi IMers

We (me and my husband) are planning a trip for 7 days (7th-13th Oct). after reading the rich sikkim forum, i have come up with the following plan

Part 1- (easy sikkim silk route)
Day 1 – NJP > Sillery train reaches at 11:45am on 7th Oct, 2012
Day 2 – Sillery> Zuluk
Day 3 – Zuluk > Nathang > Kupup > Gangtok.

Part 2 (north sikkim)
Day 4 – Gangtok > Dzongu
Day 5 evening– Dzongu> lachen
Day 6- Lachen> Lake Gurudogmara> dzongu
Day 7- Dzongu> NJP train at 1:30 pm for Delhi on oct 13th, 2012

We are planning to stay in homestays at Sillery, Zuluk and dzongu.
please let me know if this itinerary is doable and worth it. I have read very different views on the above mentioned places especially Zuluk and Dzongu
Also, should i book accomodation separately and transportation separately. what would be the approx cost for 2 people
are the roads very bad, as I have a back problem due to which I can not travel on rough rocky roads

please help
Regards
Mahi

Great detailed info here in the travelogue. Much appreciated.

It is a really nice travellogue .Thanks Amit