Need help for Sikkim in 1st 2 weeks of June

fang

Hi,
i hope to travel to sikkim in the first 2 weeks of June, is that a good time to travel in sikkim? i am flying to kolkata, have not found out how i should make my way to sikkim, but i have approximately 2 weeks or 15 days....
any good recommendations for itinerary? we are 2 gals travelling, is it easy to join local tours? or share jeep? I hope to be able to do short treks too of 4, 5 days.
pls advise. thanks a lot.

regards,
fang

jaekae

Hello Fang,
Yes the first half of June should be a good time to travel to Sikkim...it might be the fag end of the season, but that's good for you - one, you may just catch some off season rates on hotels, and secondly, the seasons (nature) themselves seem to be running a month late this year - I was there in early April when it should have been warm and full of flowers, but it was still quite cold and the flowers were just beginning to show up...so don't worry it should be nice when you are there!

Regarding what you can do - well that depends on what you WANT to do
If you want to go trekking, you should probably head to Pelling. There are lots of tour operators there who arrange treks according to your requirements. I can send you the number of the operator who arranged my local sight seeing there if you are interested - he arranges treks too.

Since you have two weeks, I would recommend a 3night 4 day trip to North Sikkim. You would be going to some great places and seeing fabulous sights...however be prepared to rough it out a bit if you are doing that...facilities are clean but fairly basic.
I'm sure you'll find a lot of information regarding that on the net. I went there through Yak & Yeti ( www.yaknyeti.com) and found their arrangements reasonably satsifactory.
Beyond that, you can spend time in Gangtok, and maybe touch Dargeeling and Kalimpong en route. You should have ample time to see the state in reasonable detail

One note before I end - you may want to pay some extra attention to the permits required - large parts of Sikkim are restricted territories, and foreigners are not allowed / allowed only with permits / only when part of a group.
So make sure you check on these before you freeze your plans!
Hope this helps,
- JK

amitmishr

Hi JK,
Just on the topic of sikkim being warm, I am going to Gangtok (2D), Nathula, Changu and North Sikkim (2D, 3N) over the next week. What kind of temparatures can i expect in order to pack the woolens?
Do i need to carry a heavy jacket or one thermal and a pullover would be ok

jaekae

Hi Amit,
Gangtok was quite warm, you won't need anything there.
Nathula, I can't advise, since I didn't go there. But I'm guessing it shouldn't be too bad. I guess thermal or pullover should more than suffice.
North Sikkim - was quite cold when I went there - I needed thermals AND a decent jacket. But the temperatures were apparently rising by the day, so it shoudl be much warmer now. I think you should be fine with thermals and a pullover. You can always layer yourself if it gets cold (wear 3-4 layers of clothes for insulation, instead of a heavy jacket) and peel off the layers as it warms up.
Hope this helps, have a great trip!
- JK