Sikkim in Dec 2009

dsvenkatesh

Hi All,
I am a newbee to the IndiaMike. I am planning to tour Sikkim(Gangtok and North Sikkim) with my family. I plan to reach Calcutta by flight on 19 Dec and then proceed to Gangtok. I want to do the trip in a relaxed manner. I am planning to visit Gangtok,Lachung,Lachen,Gurudon gmar lake,yumthang,Nathula Pass. I need the following details,
1) Good Hotels in Gangtok (500-2000 RS per night per couple)
2) Good hotel in North Sikkim

I plan to stay in Gangtok for 2 days and then cover North sikkim over 3-4 days.

Pls suggest if i can see snow in North Sikkim during christmas.Also suggest modifications to the itinery and numbers of good tour operators to make the necessary arrangements.

How to reach Gangtok from Calcutta airport? by bus or car which is a good option and what is the travel time between them?.

Thanx in Advance
Venky

jyotirmoy

Do not pre-book any tour. Check out tours offered by various operators after reaching Gangtok. Compare prices, services and bargain.
You have to travel with a recognised tour opearator if you want to visit north Sikkim & accomodation is a part of the deal. Do check out the accomodation offered by the opearator.
You need to find what areas are open to visitors in peak winter.

haringp

one has to reach bagdogra(by air) or New jalpaiguri(NJP) by rail from kolkata.
from bagdogra or NJP taxis are operating to reach Gangtok.
As regards the actual tour , dec is peak winter,
so lots of snow but also problem of lack of roads.
some destinations may be inaccessible, you could get .
lucky, it depends.

dsvenkatesh

Thanx folks.

Fan of India

I visited Sikkim in 2005. During that visit we travelled from Bagdogra to Gangtok by a Helicopter. The service was operated by Pawan Hans and cost us approx Rs. 1500 per person. It was well worth the amount for the time we saved. I remember it took us approx 45 minutes to do this trip. ...plus it was a very different experience.

I am not sure whether the service is operative now. But you may google around n check out!

ribhu95

Check out sonam palgey. We used their services a couple of years back and they had done a pretty good job.

cal to njp would be by train.

You can try a flight but you would still end up spending a day. you can rather use the day to see around kolkata.

and check out if north sikkim would be accessible in december. west sikkim would be accessible - not sure about north sikkim.

ribhu

roj,roy

You will see too much snows in North Sikkim and you may not go to all the places due to snow. Contact with reliable tour operator who would give you fair ideas. You may contact SLC at saflec@yahoo.com as I have a satisfactory tour with them