Need Help - Sikkim

karthik_mitta

Hello, IMers.

I have been researching this site for long now and finally decided to post my question.

I am travelling to Sikkim for the first time and have planned an itinerary as below (just have this many days so cannot extend)

26-Mar: Arrive at Bagdogra at 8:00 AM (air deccan). Travel to Yangtse. Stay Yangtse.
27-Mar: Premyangtse, Yuksom sightseeing. Dubdi Trek. Stay Yangtse.
28-Mar: Travel to Gangtok, enroute sightseeing, Stay Gangtok.
29-Mar: Tsongo Lake, Baba Mandir and Nathula Pass. Stay Gangtok
30-Mar: Gangtok Sightseeing. Stay Gangtok
31-Mar: (well, its my wife's bday and thats the reason for the whole trip) Travel to Kalimpong. if possible, raft. Stay at Kalimpong
1-Apr: Kalimpong to Bagdogra (surface), Bagdogra to Kolkatta (air)
2-Apr: Kolkatta to Hyderabad (air)

I need help with the following:
1. Am I missing something that I should absolutely not?
2. Would love to see Yumthang Valley, but dont know how to fit it.
2. Any accomodation advice at these places?
3. Should I hire a cab from Bagdogra to Bagdogra or what are my options for internal travel?

I can extend my retun by maximum one day. I am open to any and ALL advice that I can get on this plan. Since its my first trip and a special one, want to make the most of it. Looking forward for all your replies. Thank you.

Karthik

jyotirmoy

Do not miss a trip to Yumthang Valley. This is the time when flowers & Orchids bloom. Rather skip Kalimpong.
From Bagdogra you will find share taxis for Gangtok, so dont hire a cab here. Hire a jeep at Gangtok & visit Yumthang. Pls refer my earlier post on Sikkim.

clawhammer

At this time of the year yumthang would be too good to miss.The valley will be ablaze with Rhododendrons.
yumthang will take 2 days and 1 night so plan ur trip accordingly but it is definitely better than Kalimpong if terms of scenic beauty.there are conducted tours available for yumthang whaich we found very convinient.Our hotel manager arranged it for us.Also if u wish to visit nathula inform the travel agency at least 2 days in advance for them to issue permits for u. As far as i can recall nathula is open to tourists on wednesday thursday and saturday.
Good luck for the trip

karthik_mitta

Thanks for the response.. Can I do night travel in Sikkim... so that I can save time when i travel from Gangtok to Lachung. Is that a possibility?

clawhammer

we were pretty late while returning from yumthang and it was dark-our driver told that it was ok for them to drive at night.
but then u will have to find others who are ready to travel by night.they usually take 9 to 12 ppl in a group for package tours.Better get in touch with ur hotel(if u have already booked one).they can make necessary arrangements.

somnath

Not recommended. Because:
1. Journey is the destination – so night travel will be the greatest mistake.
2. Safety – narrow mountain road and sudden fog / cloud brings down the visibility.

- Somnath.

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karthik_mitta

Thanks all.. i think i get an idea. I will post my final itinerary with accomodation details in a day or two.. and ofcourse a writeup when i am back!

dzibead

I second somnath's comment. The drive from Gangtok to Lachung is spectacular. And would be spectacularly dangerous in the dark!

I travelled from Gangtok to Mangan partly in the dark but not by choice. I was going to stay with a friend's family in Mangan on the way to Lachung and we got a late start from Gangtok. I regretted that I wasn't able to see all the scenery on the way.

Chintuthewhizkid

So how did it go Karthik? Ella ok?

karthik_mitta

Super! Its been a madhouse at office so will post details in a week.

Chintuthewhizkid

Waiting......

karthik_mitta

So, here is my response to Chintu's wait!!!

My 100th post should have been about my Sikkim trip.. its been long due. I was introduced to IM by a friend when I asked for help.. and I owe a response to my 1st post So here it is.. (wanted this to be the 100th, but being as absolutely absentminded as I am, missed it when I reached the milestone!!)

Now, like I always keep saying.. I am not a good writer (AMYTH, change this into a hilarious story or a parody, if you want to. I am sure you can ). So, I am going to be jotting some facts and figures ...

This is not a trekkers log.. this is more for people who want to go to Sikkim and just chill and visit places... I mean do the tourist thingy. Here are the details and I hope they help someone...


Who: Me and my wife

Why: My wife's bday

Where: Sikkim (Gangtok - Lachung - Gangtok)

When: 25th March - 2nd Apr 2006 (Hyderabad - Sikkim - Hyderabad)

How:

Itinerary and days details:

25th March (HYD - KOL):

- Arrive Kol from Hyd by air late evening
- Had snacks at the airport (INR 90)
- Cycle rickshaw to hotel near by airport was a cool experience (INR 30)
- Stayed over in KOL (bad idea, should have taken the overnight train to NJP)
- Lodge called Hotel Titan (an absolute dump yard) (INR 390 a night + INR 15 for a water bottle)
(had researched some hotel called Airport Plaza from Lonely Planet, gosh!! did not step in when i went there )

26th March (KOL - Gangtok)

- Cycle rickshaw back to airport, not as exciting this time after hardly sleeping in the dumpster (INR 30)
- Booked on early morning Air Deccan flight to Bagdogra. As usual AD was late and they managed to screw up like always.
- Arrived Bagdogra late noon
- Took a dedicated taxi to Gangtok, a Maruthi Omni van with a nice driver named Amosh (INR 1200 + INR 100 tip for driver)
- Lunch at a Dhaba on the way (INR 100)
- Tea at Milee bazaar (INR 15) oh! what fun this was... loved it.
- Looked at different hotels to stay in Gangtok and here is my rating of them
White Mountain (Avg)
Tashi Delek (nonsense... no value for money)
Golden Pagoda (Avg - crammed rooms)
Hotel Bayul, on MG Marg (liked this the best, stayed here all through. Ask for the room 304 or 305 which gives you the terrace space)
Shildon Residency (great hotel, away from MG marg. Hence did not stay)
- Halt at Hotel Bayul (INR 920 per day)
- Dinner at the restaurant in the Golden Pagoda. All veg restaurant, superb food. French onion soup, Tikki Chat, momos (took an hour to make!!!) and Jamoons!!! (INR 165)

27th March (Gangtok - Lachung)

- Breakfast at Shildon (INR 90)
- Booked Gangtok - Lachung - Yumthang - Gangtok return trip from Modren Treks and Travels, MG marg. Contact person Wangil. Great service and very good organizer. Number : 9832034787 (INR 12500)
- On road, just my wife, me and the driver (Nima) in a 11 seater vehicle. Nima decides to pick up couple of sweet looking sikkim girls on the way and god!! they talked talked and talked all the while...
- Got stuck in a mad slush in which we lost about 2 hours to cross 20 feet! But, it was a worthwhile experience
- Lovely drive and amazing landscape
- Stopped at Singhik view point, beautiful and dont miss this for nothing.
- Crossed multiple beautiful water falls on the way
- Halt at Modren Residency. Very authentic looking place. Loved it.. cosy, nice and superb views.

28th March (Lachung - Yumthang - Zero Point)

- Breakfast at Modren residency (superb aloo paratha and pickle!!! Yummmmm)
- We even asked them to pack paratha and pickle for us.. and it turned out to be a super cool idea
- Started at 8:00 AM to Yumthang
- Best drive.. absolutely brilliant... loved every bit of it
- Driver asked for (INR 1000) extra money to take us to zero point.. which I was absolutely ok with
- It was a great decision to get to Zero point.. walked in the snow over the mountain for about an hour or so
- Halted, ate the parathas, spent time taking in the scenery and loved each minute of it
- Back at Modren Residency for Lunch..
- Spent time and started back to Gangtok (original booking was for tonight too, just did not feel like staying)
However, we missed Lachen, Katau, Gurudamogar Lake, Lachen Monestry and Lachen village
- Reached Gangtok by 6:30 PM
- Roamed around on MG marg, shopped.. had dinner at Buzz (a retro set up, nice ambience but bad food)

29th March (Gangtok 7 point tour)

- Breakfast at Dzomlee, restaurant at Bayul. Bad food! (INR 75)
- Zoo, Ropeway, Sikkim tourisim kiosk (extremely informative and helpful on MG Marg), Hanuman Tok, Rumtek (old and new) monastery
- Lunch at Roll House.. DONT MISS THIS AT ALL. Roll house is on MG Marg and serves one of the best MOMOS I have ever had (INR 45)
- Roamed around, rested
- Dinner at Pagoda again.. and we had french onion soup

30th March (Gangtok - Nathulla - Changu Lake - Baba Mandir - Gangtok)

- Booked from Modren Treks and travels again (INR 3000) dedicated cab just for the two of us
- Started at 8:00 and it was a great idea to be one of the firsts to reach Nathulla
- Nathulla, wow.. no words can explain how I felt being there amongst people who protect us.. everyday
- Changu, serene and beautiful.. but i dislike the yak rides there.. looked sad
- Had Maggi and momos for Lunch at Changu lake. Average food (INR 70)
- Stopped by BABA mandir and headed straight to Gangtok.. and what did we do.. rushed to Roll House for more Momos
- Ordered for a cake for my wife's bday tomorrow from Lolita's at the end of MG Marg
- Dinner at Pagoda

31st March (Gangtok)

- My wife's bday and there was a cricket match on TV
- Stayed at the hotel, for a quite day... books, cricket and nothingness
- Lunch at roll house.. and we ate momos momos and momos (INR45)
- Relaxed all day long
- Dinner at Oriental on MG Marg, extremely surprised to get awesome Veg Augratin here out of all places (INR 210)

1st April (Gangtok - Bagdogra - KOL - Bangalore)

- Air deccan called me in the morning to announce cancellation of thier flight
- Got tickets on IA from a travel agent on MG Marg
- Taxi to BAG from Gangtok (INR 1200)
- IA -> KF and landed in Hyderabad!

It was a superb trip and we enjoyed it thoroughly.

So highlights of trip ...
Yumthang and Zero point
Nothingness at Gangtok... walks on MG marg in the evening.. relaxed and nice
Nathulla, a hair raising experience
The early walk up the hill at Lachung
Ongdi Bhutia at the Zoo, who was a super guy
Momos at roll house
French onion soup at golden pagoda

And the time we got just for us.. no phone, no paper.. no mails.. heaven!

__________________
KM

In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds - Martin Luther King Jr.

karthik_mitta

Been trying to upload some pics.. bad connection.. will do it as soon as I can get hold of a good connection!

Amyth

It took you one year and three months to regurgitate the experience and you did it day by day without forgetting the momos... whats your RAM?!! ...Very informative and succinct tavelogue!! Thanks for posting it!

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karthik_mitta

4GB DDR-2 (Dual channel)

well, i made some notes.. which helped