A travelogue to West Sikkim – the untouched heaven on earth

Dear Mr. Hazra,

Hope your trip was nice ...do write back in details....i have booked a super deluxe room in ghonday at 1200 all inclsive, got a good bargain...original price 1650/-. Mr. Subba has confirmed verbally for our stay in uttarey ...r u sure pmt in adv is not reqd? Ravangla - i have done some email correspondence with babumoshai resort...they are allotting us 1 superior family room at 1150/- (all incl). Plz send in your comments....

@ Amit
I am looking forward to reading your wonderful travelogue on RavanglaPls post it very soon.

@ Sudeeptanusree

Will you please let me know how you actually bargain with the owners at Ghonday..by mail or via Phone?

by mail, by the way when r u visiting the place?

Dear Sudeeptanusree, Thanks for your reply.I shall also try to convince them over mail
As I have mentioned in the title of my post I am going to visit there during Puja, preferably from Dashami to Laxmipuja..Did you get any information regarding transport to Kaluk via Jorthang from NJP?

share jeeps are rarely available to kaluk...you will reach not before 5 in th eevning...that waste of energy & time...

we therefore changed our prog and going the other way round...first we are going to pelling then uttare and then to kaluk....

Do you expect to get shared jeeps to Pelling very easily?
What about the return journey from Kaluk to NJP?

@ tanusree

We just returned on monday (19th apr) from a very nice Ravangla trip. The weather was also very nice (must be due to the best wishes from you and all IM friends). I will definitely write the travelogue and post the photos (may be this weekend).... just need some time...

Regarding Ghonday, I think its the best resort in Kaluk... location wise it is also on the top among the three resorts....and since you booked the deluxe viewe room .... hopen itf wiill be real amazing experience....
Regarding Mr Subba, his verbal confirmation will do... don't worry he is a very nice man...I also did the same thing... he didn't ask for money in advance... even after that he suggests a price so less that we couldn't believe it.

Regarding Ravangla accomodations, you need not book any hotel in advance... there are plenty of hotels in various budgets... and you can bargain better on spot rather than by mail. we stayed in New Dzongri hotel nearby the small bazar area... with view room... and its really good.the price was DB 1200, but we could easily bargain it to 500 on spot.and that too in total without any service charge... Its just beside the Hotel Meanamla ...which has asked Rs 750 for a DB view room...
The problem with Babumoshai resort is it is quite far (4km)from the main Ravangla.... all the restaurants and the zeep stand is in the bazar area.and the market place is also very small, hence not crowded at all...If you need I will post you the contact details...

by the way, I just checked that you may have gone to Lepchajagat.... can you please give detail info ... we are planning for a 4 day trip to Darjeeling and Lepchajagat next month...leaving on 10th may returning on 14th night from NJP... (1 day staying in darjeeling and 2 day in Lepchajagat) Please help.....

We just returned on monday (19th apr) from a very nice Ravangla trip. The weather was also very nice (must be due to the best wishes from you and all IM friends). I will definitely write the travelogue and post the photos (may be this weekend).... just need some time...

by the way, I just checked that you have gone to Lepchajagat jan 2010.... can you please give detail info about the place... we are planning for a 4 day trip to Darjeeling and Lepchajagat next month...leaving on 10th may returning on 14th night from NJP... (1 day staying in darjeeling and then 2 day in Lepchajagat) Please help.....

I think you have to book a whole car either from NJP to Kaluk or the other way round from Kaluk to NJP. one thing you can do - you can break journey to Jorethang from Kaluk and then from Jorethang to Siliguri... In that case you can get the shared sevice zeeps...
Shared zeeps to Pelling from NJP or vice versa are easily available

Hi all,
amit, nice to read your post again....first let me give you the information u require for lepcha….in case you want on the dates mentioned by you, book the resort at an earliest...only accommodation available is the WBFDC resort...go to their website www.wbfdc.com-nature resorts- check availability --the good rooms are already booked--you have to visit their office somewhere in esplanade area(mentioned in their website)...

we managed to stay in the VIP room (1400/-) which gives an 180 deg view of the whole place. Generally this room is kept for VVIPs and not given to general public. We initially had booked a 1300/- delux room. However the manager was a very nice man and on our requests allotted us the VIP room. You can see the kanchanjunga lying down on the bed from this room.

Regarding trp we had hired an exclusive Sumo for 1400 rupees .

In case u want to know anything else let me know

Now regarding my trip we have changed our itinerary

we are going to pelling first, since share jeeps are notreadily available for kaluk...have never travelled in share jeep no idea what the experience will be like..some suggested that going to pelling will be easier since luxuary bus services are available...any idea? will make a day trip to yoksam which we have not visited earlier. from pelling wil move to uttare then to kaluk. Give me some idea about transportation in this sector and expected time required.
Have booked Aryan Regency in pelling , any idea regarding its quality?

Thanks tanusree for the infos,
Today I had already booked the Magnolia suite of WBFDC in lepchajagat @ Rs900 for 12th and 13th of may. i think it is in the ground floor. can you tell me how is the room?

We will be first staying in darjeeling for 1 day and then in Lepchajagat for 2 days.

2. How is the food in WBFDC guest house in Lepchajagat?

3. what are the places to see around lepchajagat? and how do we have to make such tour? I mean whether WBFDC will arrange the transport or we have to do it? then how?

4. Since we have only 1 day in darjeeling (11th may noon to 12 th may noon)what are the must seeplaces in Darjeeling that we can make it. we planned to go to the tiger hill for sunrise on 12th morning. please suggest the contact details of the drivers and the price.

5. suggest good hotels in Darjeeling but not too expensive (i mean below 800)

Shared zeeps for Pelling are available from NJP. In case your luck betrays , hire an auto for Rs 120 and go to SNT terminal, you will get there.... I will suggest one thing... you can book 1/2 extra seats so that you feel comfortable even you are sharing.... we booked the middle 4 seats in the savari zeep for 2 of us.but my opinion is don't travel by bus to pelling, it will take more time....

make the day trip to Yuksom as we did, but don't go to the points such as Chhangey falls and Sinshore bridge which were nearby to uttare... those places you will see on your journey to Uttare. and try to make the Pemiangtse and rabdantse on the day you reach pelling.....may be after lunch...

Contact ABINASH Subba a day in advance you will be going to Uttare, he can help for the transport to Uttare and from Uttare to Kaluk. pelling to Uttare is around 2 hrs drive with 2-3 stops. and Uttare to Kaluk is around 1 hr 15 mins drive.

No idea about Aryan Regency....is it in the helipad area?actually there is no need to book hotels in advance for pelling....you will repent later as I did by booking hotel Kabur....

Ground floor rooms are ok, we had stayed the first night in one of the ground floor rooms since first floor rooms were booked…. Rooms are quite big, and you will also be able to see the mountain peaks from your room, however the toilet was a bit shabby….and the room was not sunny….

Food was ok, however do order in advance….you do not have to worry much, they will give you non-spicy quality food at reasonable cost, and the staff very cooperative and helpful but not professional, you might have to give them several reminders….

There are a few sightseeing spots….you can go to sukhiapokhri, nearest market place , 10 mins drive from ledcha,. Yu can go to Jorepokhri where there is a beautiful resort maintained by DGHC. The view of kanchanjungha peak view from here is awesome. Since we had visited several times in Darjeeling this time we went for a day trip to Darjeeling after visiting Jorepokhri and few other spots (20 kms) from lepcha…..Else there is no night life in Lepcha, yu simply have to stay inside…..We were in lepcha during the Gurupurnima night , the view of kanchanjungha in the moonlight is a experience of a lifetime from that VIP room….Transportation is not a problem…you have to rely on the manager who will find some local driver in their panel, do negotiate and fix the rate

1 day in darjeeling is too short for covering the whole place….there are ample no of tour agencies, best is to go the market place and find a driver on your own after taking rates from 2-3 of them….tiger hill is ok…but very unpredictable-it all depends on the climate ….sunrise from lepcha is also very good ..if you can manage to get up at 4.30-5 (ask manager to knock you in the morn) go to the terrace and view sunrise…..you can avoid tiger hill in that case….
Do visit batasia loop & rock garden…..lasttime we only strolled the whole day in the mall…..darjeeling is full of life….u will love it…but why onle 1 day?

Regarding accommodation we once stayed in Hotel North Star…is a good hotel ---but no idea about the latest tariff – we stayed at 1500+10% some 3 years ago---do not worry about the accommodation-darjeeling is full of hotels of all ranges, however it will be wise to book of your room f\in advance if u r going you’re your family…..WBTDC has also renovated their lodge recently…and there are rooms ranging from 500-1500…go to their site and check, online booking is also possible. (http://www.westbengaltourism.gov.in/...istlodges.html)

Hi Tanusree,

Thanks a lot for your reply with all the details and sharing your first hand experience.

Please check my plan (below) and give suggestions as you always do....

We planned to visit the zoo, the mountaineering institute and monastry nearby lalkuthi that afternoon post-lunch after reaching Darjeeling. Then hopping around the mall in the evening. I have also heard that there is a conducted tour including the tiger hill, Batasia loop, Rock garden and a monastery. We planned to do this next morning. Please tell me that whether this plan is possible or not? Please suggest any other details (like the cost of the conducted tour etc.) as you have done in your earlier posts.

Then around 2-3 pm we planned to take the share zeep (from darjeeling towards sukhiapokhri) to lepchajagat and then relax in the afternoon.

Next morning we hope to see the sunrise from the roof top and the Ghoom rock (if God's grace is with us and of course best wishes from friends like you) and then after b/fast plan to go to mirik and Jorpokhri and Gurashey (near Sukhiapokhri) either by a whole car or by share. From where could we get the transport?
Is this plan ok? Please suugest in detail.

Regarding accomodation in Darjeeling when I was checking online booking for WBTDC lodge (as you have suggested) I found that there are still DB rooms available in the annex building @ Rs 600. I haven’t booked it yet, but my question is whether WBTDC lodge is nearby Mall or not? Since we have only 1 day in Darjeeling we would like to stay nearby mall, so that we could walk to the zoo and others. Do you have any idea how is WBTDC lodge, I mean whether I need to book that one in advance or I will get good hotels nearby mall in that price range. Please suggest.... Also can we book the WBTDC on spot?