Sikkim itinerary ideas?

ms.n

Hi,

four of us are planning to do Sikkim in decemeber - the task of planning seeems more daunting as i am totally at loss at the names and i still dont feel geographically oriented about the state yet.

So - this is gonna be the first rather second of may questions to come and i hope you people can help!

I came across this website on himalayan homestays and there is a homestay option in Dzongu in Sikkimm.

Has anyone over here experienced this? i have pasted the link over here. i here lot of people talking about lechung - cant find reference to this place. Would love any feedback.

http://www.himalayan-homestays.com/s...sikkimhome.htm

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ms.n

Hi all...

as u know i am planning a trip to sikkim with 3 other girls. we land in Bagdogra by 11:00 am in the morn on 22nd and our return is from bagdogra on 31st. so have the 8 days to kill.

I have been researching a lot, but cant seem to get an idea on how to plan this, as a lot of the places seem to be by jeep. and we dont want to spend the entire trip shuttling between places.

-so - is it possible to go to lechung or any other place as such and cover a few spots by hiking? or can some one suggest a trail whereby we could hike for 4-5 ours in a day and then camp at a village and then move to the next, next day? probably 2-3 days of hiking like this would be lovely.

-also wanted to know what is in yuksom? is it a nice place to base ourselves and hike to different places from there?

- what would be the must see thing in sikkim in december?

- also how muh time does it take to cover 40km , say? cos everywhere distances have been mentioned but not the time for travel.

- is there anything we can do within the kanchejunga biosphere reserve? or does one need special permits?

if anyone can suggest an itenarary, would love to hear from u!

thanks

robin312007

hi MSN,
Welcome to indiamike...

Read your statement....
If you are interested in 2-3 days hiking in kanchenjunga biosphere then 8 days is good enough to Experience Sandakphu Trek. You have to base in Darjeeling or Manebhanjyang. And December will be white Christmas there. its 12000 ft.there. and its a small village with 3 or 4 small hotels and some Trekker's Hut. You can contact DGHC(Darjeeling Gorkha hill council) for more information. 8 days hiking is ideal for Sandakphu. This trek route goes through Singallila national Sanctuary. From Sandakphu you can have a 180degree view of Mt.everest , Lohtse, Makalu, Mt.Kanchenjunga, Mt.Pandim....and many other peaks...!!

Well Yuksum is a beautiful place. Its the base point of Djongri Trek as well as Goechala Trek. But its 10 to 12 days trek. So there's no questiong of going out there. But this trek route is a bit tough and offcourse the Best one..! its heaven.... but you got less time for that.

Well talking about Lachung, its a beautiful small village at 9000ft. in North Sikkim. Its the base point to travel to Yumthang valley and Zero Point (Chinese border) by Jeep. But in Dec. Lachung will be Switzerland of East. Heavy snow will be there. Dont know about the road condition to north sikkim at this time. Get more info on road cond to north sikkim coz it snows heavly at this rime. Maybe a road block ahead.......!!!

anyway enjoy your trip to .............????

ms.n

hi robin,

thanks very much for the info.

We were considerign the Sandakphu trek, but that would mean we dont get to see any monastries or any other spots.

The 2-4 day request was for that purpose, so we can also see some monastries, maybe village life, hot springs as well.

The yuksom to dzongri trail is only 4 days according to some web sites. yoksum -Tshoka village - Dzongri - tshoka -yoksum , which was why i wanted some opinion on this.

Would taking this trip and missing out on Nathulla/ yumthang make sense? Or those places a must see?

We are not aprticularly fond of snow - and would prefer hiking and enjoying the forests vs. being sheperded in jeeps.

jyotirmoy

The time you have chosen is snow time in the higher ridges of Sikkim. There is nothing spectacular at Nathu La except heaps of snow & I am not too sure whether you will be able to visit it.

If you go to Darjeeling visit the famous monastry in Ghum. You can take a joy ride by the toy train & reach Ghum from Darjeeling.

There are some nice walks and hikes around Ravanagla & Temi in Sikkim.

ms.n

Hi,
I am planning a trip to sikkim in the last week of december and we want to go on a 2-4 day trek. how does one go about organising this?

Do we call the tours which have trekking packages or is there a can we just land in gangtok, look for guides and take of? if the secodn option is possible- where does one look for guides?

This is the first time we are trying to do a do-it-urself trek. any pointers would be very helpful.

Sradha Sharma

Hi!
“Dzongu” which is pronounced as “Zongu” secured zone for the native people from Sikkim, The Lepcha’s. Somestays are catching up big time in Sikkim and from whatever I have heard and seen so far it is pretty good as far as experience is concerned. I have visited Dzongu it’s a beautiful place still tarnished by modernization.

I believe you have to take the same road to North Sikkim but take a diversion before Chungthang.

Have a good time

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roy_supratim05

there are lots of places to spend 2-4 days in Sikkim. Ravangla-Menamla, Hilley-Barsey, Sandakphu are the places of moderate trek and wonderful scenic beauty. No need to contact with any tour operator, share jeeps are very common in Sikkim. Every place is well connected with these jeeps. Collect more info. and u can organize your tour by yourself. Best of luck.

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ms.n

hi roy - thanks for the info. So where does one go looking for guides? i was thinking of going to yuksom - bhakim. Or maybe in khedi alpine forests and the bamboo trail.

roy_supratim05

Yaksom-Bakhim??!! what is the interest?? if you don't go upto atleast Dzongri, u will miss a heavenly frame of Kanchenjunga range, but Dzongri in Dec. end!! I personally think no way.

Any way, Yaksom is the starting point of treks like Dzongri, Goechala, Kangla etc. So you should get guides and porters easily there.

ms.n

No way - is this because the trail will be snowed or in general the cold weather?

the whole idea of the trek is to just be a part of the nature instead of beign shuttled arnd in jeeps.

The Sandakphu trek is of too long a duration. will look into the other treks u mentioned - do they also offer wonderful views of the mountain ranges?

ms.n

Hi,

I have been trying to reach various landline numbers in sikkim - and i always get the messge that the number doesnt exist.

has anyone got recent contacts for the following?

1.Sikkim tourism developement corp
2.Sikkim foundation
3.kewzing tourism developement corp
4. Eastern tours and travels

Thanks in advance!

robin312007

hi,
dont have the cont. no's of those you mentioned. But i can give you the contact no. of Sikkim House in Kolkata,i.e.033-22815328, 033-22817905. I dont have the no. of Eastern tours.....but got the no. of Norling Tours & Travels.

Good luck

ms.n

hey, thanks Robin. i managed to get the rest.

ms.n

Hi,
Just wanted to tell you guys that the sikkim trip was fantastic. I also managed to do a homestay which was fantastic as well as safe. some details/pics have been posted in my blog, for those looking for info!

Cia,