Itinerary Help for Trip to Sikkim in DEC

Hi to all experts
I am a newbie here , so please help me about my itinerary to visit sikkim in dec 2012
me and my 2 frendz had decided to visit sikkim in dec
we had booked our ticket of Guwahati exp in dec
day 0 -> 8am train dept from Mumbai
day 1 -> in train
day 2-> in train
day 3-> arrivat at new Jalpaiguri station around 3.30 am in early morning
from Jalpaiguri to Gangtok by Share taxi
( how munch time and money it will take to reach Gangtok from here )
stay and relaxation at Gangtok hotel ( plz sugest good cheap hotel here for 3 boys )
day 4 -> now onwards I require your help
day 5 ->
day 6->
day 7->
day 8->
day 9->
day 10->
day 11->
day 12->
day 13->reach Jalpaiguri station to catch return train .
As you can see that we are in no hurry to complete our journey
so plz suggest places as we want to cover all sikkim
we specially want to Gurudongmar lake , Nathula pass , Zero point , gud Budist monestries ,
diff views of Mt Kanchenjunga & its biosphere reserve
in short we want to explore sikkim as much as possible !!!
We hav few question in mind
1-> is it possible to visit north sikkim in december?
2-> how to get permit to visit in indo china border at nathula bass ? Wat are requirements for it ?
3-> while sugestiting any city on a perticular day plz mention , places of intrest there , cheap accomodation over there for 3 boys .
4-> lastly all your sugestions are welcome .
Thanx in advance waiting for your reply ..

mod note: Please do not use abbreviated words such as 'u' in place of you. sms speak is not the accepted language on Indiamike.

Hi Doctor!!

As a newbie myself, here are my 2 cents worth:-

Excluding your arrival and departure days, you have 9 full days in hand. In that time frame, you may easily cover west, east and north sikkim. Now let me try and draft a plan for you:-

Day 1:- Reach NJP. Leave for Pelling.

Day 2:- Pelling local site seeing. Leave for Gangtok.

Day 3:- Gangtok local site seeing.

Day 4:- Gangtok-Tsomgo-Nathula-Gangtok.

Day 5:- Gangtok-Lachen.

Day 6:- Lachen-Gurudongmar-Lachung.

Day 7:- Lachung-Yumthang etc. O/n at Lachung.

Day 8:- Lachung-Gangtok.

Day 9:- Rest day at Gangtok.

Day 10:- Leave for NJP.


Now let me also try and answer your specific queries:-
1) North Sikkim is accessible in december.

2) Permits can be obtained through any local travel agents on production of photocopies of Address proof along with 3 PP size photographs each.

3) As for accommodation, there are a lot of options. I would advice you to explore it yourself after you get there, as December is not the peak season so most hotels will be happy to offer you good discounts.

4) For places of interests, you shall need to work a bit harder and visit other threads here. There is a lot of valuable information which you can gather from those threads.

For any further query, kindly feel free to reply here

Thank for reply
1-is it possible to visit peeling later ?
Cause we want to visit cholamu lake also , and in order to arrange for permit we mumst visit gangtoak first as it will require atleast 2 days
In a article about chola mu lake permit they have mention 'you need your own vehicle ' what does this mean ? Can't we take permit for hired vehicles ? Can a local travel agency operator include chola mu lake in our trip to lachen-gurudongmar-chola mu lake ?
2-will it be wise to carry laptop with us in sikkim tour ?
3-can we go peeling in last , and then from peeling can we go to New jalpaiguri station .

why you want to carry it?

Cause we have to travel for total six days in train , thay why I was just asking .

got you

PS: electricity available almost every where in Sikkim

I recommend you go with the advice of Style_guru and PKanti. I find their advice 'to the point' and useful and I am also going with their advice.