Pelling Sightseeing

saikotic

Can anyone let us know about the sightseeing from pelling ? How much does they cost ? how long do they take ?

somnath

Pelling local tour :

Pemyangsy Monastery, Kanchendongha Falls, Rimbi falls, Chhange Falls, Khechiperi Lake, Sinsore Bridge among the common list and it will take one day (pre and post lunch) but, if possible, try to visit Yuksam – earlier capital of Sikkim and come back to Peling.

If you have 1.5 - 2 hrs time, Sangakcholing will be a good walk.

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Radjesh

Add Rabdentse ruins and Phamrong falls(the view from top of Phamrong is good), some of these waterfalls are added just for name sake, they can be skipped... I remember taking a full Sumo & paying around 1.5K

tacita

pemayangtse monastery is not to be missed. on the top floor is a magnificent, impossibly intricate, seven-tiered wooden sculpture that portrays guru rimpoche's heavenly palace, "santopalri" (spellings differ). it took five years for one artist to complete. photos were verboten, but it was absolutely stunning.

absolutely agree with somnath that yuksom is a worthy destination. the hike up to dubdi monastery at dawn is sublime, not to mention the compelling history embodied in the coronation throne. the adjacent school and students are charming, and the prayer-wheel room is among those i most enjoyed. it's bell had an an especially rich tone and the room was warm and inviting. (which is saying a lot considering how cold it was in february!)

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amateur

Hi, we were thinking of staying in Pelling for 2 days, after Day 1 in Gangtok.

Our thought was to drive to and from Yuksom in one of these 2 days. Is that a good option? Or would it be better for us to travel to Yuksom instead of Pelling on Day 2, stay the night there, and get to Pelling on Day 3?

Day 4 5am we head back to Bagdogra... which I presume is better done from Pelling than Yuksom...

tacita

i think this makes sense. for what it may be worth, i structured my trip: 3 nights gangtok, 1 night yuksom, 2 nights pelling, then onward to darjeeling.

weather prevented me from going to tsomgo lake, for which i'd allotted a full day, so i actually wound up not needing a third night in gangtok, but i also knew in advance that there was uncertainty about getting to tsomgo. nevertheless, i found much to keep me occupied in and around gangtok over two days, after having spent, as planned, almost the entirety of my first full day at rumtek for the losar chaams.

i arrived in gangtok with a list of things i wanted to see in western sikkim and en route from gangtok. when i got to gangtok, sat down with the owner of potala treks 'n' tours, with whom i'd already corresponded from the US, and one of their drivers. because they--the driver in particular--were so familiar with precise locations, driving times and road conditions, they were able to determine the best order in which to see things.

i left gangtok at dawn and made numerous stops along the way, arriving in yuksom that evening. the following morning, i hiked up to dubdi monastery, saw the great stupa, and the coronation throne. in the late morning, i departed towards pelling, with more sight-seeing stops along the way. on my first morning in pelling, i hiked up to sangha choeling, spent the rest of the day seeing things within driving distance, and then spent a second night there. on the morning after my second night, we departed for darjeeling.

i had a very full itinerary and, i must say, having someone with on-the-ground knowledge of the terrain to help me determine the order in which to see things made all the difference.

amateur

Thanks, Tacita.

May 19: Arrive at Gangtok after getting off an overnight bus from Kolkata to Siliguri. Reach there for lunch or thereabouts (4 hours?). Visit Rumtek, anything else that's possible in the half day. Overnight in Gangtok.

May 20: Leave Gangtok for Yuksom, seeing things en route. Can you give me some details around what you did during that day, please, Tacita? Stay overnight in Yuksom.

May 21: The following morning, hike up to dubdi monastery, see the great stupa and coronation throne. In the late morning, depart towards pelling, with more sight-seeing stops along the way. Please also let me know what sightseeing is possible on this leg. Just want to be sure I get the help I can from you, before I rely on local tour operators to refine things.

May 22: Hike up to sangha choeling, see what's possible during the day - perhaps Pyamgantse monastery and Khechiperi Lake. Stay overnight.

May 23: Leave at sunrise (5am) and make it to Bagdogra in time for check-in at 10.45am, flight leaving at 11.45am for onward trips.

Hope this makes sense... thanks for any input you can give me!

tacita

i don't have my precise itinerary in front of me--will post it tomorrow. meantime, you may want to consider stopping at rumtek on your way from siliguri to gangtok. unless memory fails, you have to drive right past the turn-off for it, and it will save you having to backtrack.

you've packed a lot into a short visit and will no doubt not have the best night's sleep on the bus from kolkata to siliguri. i hope you're energetic travelers! the drives between all of these destinations seems a very short distance and, as the crow flies, it is. but it's up and down and around hair-pin turns--your driver will be working hard. don't underestimate how arduous the travel up there can be on you, too, however, even as a passenger. i found the dirves more tiring than expected, though my excitement and the glorious scenery were mitigating factors!

amateur

Well, I'm not really sure of myself - the only gal - though the other three in our group of four are boys, and we're all in our late twenties. But as I understand it, if I can't go to one or the other place on one of the sightseeing trips, I skip it and move onto the next thing. Anyway the only constants are the hotels we're booking beforehand. Does that sound about right?

So far, I'm thinking the schedule would be like this:

May 19 Siliguri-Gangtok by shared jeep. Do Rumtek on the way if possible - getting off and back on shared jeeps.
Check into hotel in Gangtok - perhaps Cherry B&B.
Gangtok Locally - tibetology institute, drul chorten, enchey monastery, himalayan zoological park (skip what doesn't work given fatigue levels)

May 20 Gangtok-Yuksom, taking one's time
Hotel in Yuksom for the night - Tashi Gang seems the only option, and a good one.

May 21 Dubdi Monastery in Yuksom
Drive Yuksom-Pelling taking one's time
Hotel in Pelling - am confused about which one -Norbhu Gang resort you mention seems expensive.

May 22 Pelling Locally - Pyangamtse, Khechiperi Lake, tashiding monastery, enormous statue of samdruptse, temi tea plantation (skip what doesn't work given fatigue levels, except Pyangamtse/Khechiperi?)

May 23 Pelling-Bagdogra depart 5am.

tacita

yes, that's right. you can fine tune along the way, revise your priorities, refine your plan, which travel always requires anyway, right?

your plan is sensible but, like mine, packed, which is perfectly ok. i traveled alone; in some ways, that can make things more efficient, easier to cover ground apace. on the other hand, it can be exhausting. in any event, you'll have a great trip, of that much i'm sure.

shared jeep to gangtok sounds fine. if you get dropped off at rumtek, i don't know how easily you can get a ride the rest of the way. others here may know. and you'll have luggage, of course. ideally, you could get a single taxi from bagdogra for yourselves and tell the driver you want to stop at rumtek. the ride you get from bagdogra (or siliguri, in your case) up to gangtok need not be a jeep--i went in a small van. probably have my receipt--will check the price. just across the street from the entrance to rumtek is a small cafe that served wonderful thukpa. there's a momo stand there, too, but they were all out by the time i arrived--which became a theme for me in sikkim. everywhere i went, they seemed to have just sold their last momo. was getting to point that i was ready to rip them from my preceding customers' hands! the ever elusive momo! (i did have many, eventually--yum!)

i stayed at hotel tibet in gangtok, but met some people staying at cherry B&B (not sure of the name...something with "cherry" in it). i visited them there and it lovely--wish i'd stayed there. seemingly nicer and definitely less expensive.

good plan for local sightseeing in gangtok--you've identified the highlights. sorry, but i seem always to have at home what i need when i'm at the office, and have at the office what i need when i'm at home. there is a terrific local sightseeing/tourism guide you can get in sikkim and i'll pass along the name (naturally, because i'm at home, it's at my office!)

yuksom--yes, hotel tashi gang was excellent. i seemed to be the only guest in the whole place in february, though--felt like "the shining" at moments, half expected to see jack nicholson round a corner. i arrived after dark, but received a very warm welcome. everyone sprang to life and began a flurry of kitchen activity (i wandered in) and whipped up an incredible--and incredibly fast--hot meal, brought to my room.

in yuksom, the coronation throne is a short walk from the hotel, and the stupa is on the main corner. you can do the throne before or after dubdi. rise early, hike up to dubdi before breakfast, back down to breakfast at the hotel, then walk to the coronation throne. it's all compact and easily covered in a morning. (btw, i'm be curious to know whether a monk visiting from tibet is still in residence at dubdi.)

will check what i paid for norbu gang in pelling. might be cheaper with a group--i was a single in a double room.

pelling locally or en route from yuksom and gangtok: believe it or not, i need to check the date and time stamps on my photos--that's how quickly my memory has faded!

as i said, it'll be a busy few days, but also a very rewarding trip. i'm already looking forward to your trip report!

amateur

Thanks a heap for the insights, will await name of book and the sightseeing details once you're at the office. Answering from my desk at work, btw.

Yep, will definitely come back with posts and photos, the forum's been so helpful it's the least I can do to come back after my initiation.

tacita

the title of the book (actually, a pamphlet), is "sikkim: ultimate eco-tourism destination", and is by far the most helpful and comprehensive source of information i've come across on sikkim. it's published by the government of sikkim, under the auspices of its "sikkim tourism" program. it seemed ubiquitous, popping up in hotels and tourist/tourism offices everywhere i went.

the contact info on the pamphlet itself is:

sikkim tourism
government of sikkim
m.g. marg, gangtok
ph: 03592-221634, fax: 205647
www.sikkimtourism.org
www.sikkim.gov.in

if you plan to be in any of these locations before reaching gangtok, there are sikkim tourism offices in each:
new delhi; kolkata; siliguri; bagdogra airport; njp railway station

there are also offices in the following towns within sikkim:
gangtok; rangpo; melli; jorethang; namchi; pelling

Lugubert

One of my worst decisions in India was to follow the advice of a guy at the tourist office in Darjeeling. He strongly recommended the "full sleeper" bus from Siliguri to Kolkata.

I almost panicked when I found the bus. Not only was the bunk where I was supposed to sleep too small for me (I'm a rather tall Swede), but it was supposed to accomodate another person as well! Somehow, ticket holders were distributed so that I had this "two person" bunk to myself. Needless to say, I couldn't sleep at all during the night. I suppose I should have tried to find a Volvo bus with "just" reclining seats.

tacita

you've just defined my travel nightmare!

i often find even hotel beds too short. it's not so bad to have one's heels hanging off the end of a mattress (merely annoying), but when there's a footboard, i feel like i'm sleeping in a cradle! the darjeeling mail train berth from NJP to kolkata was plainly designed for someone much shorter--and i'm not even a tall swede! if i'd been in your shoes...er...berth, i'd have been positively claustrophobic.

OT: lugub[rious]ert? what do you mourn?

rajiveanand

Hi!

If you'd like to get a preview of what you're in store for in and around Pelling, check out my video:

WHEREVER I MAY ROAM - SIKKIM 2006

Have fun, and if you have any questions, you can contact or post them here.

R.

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