Sikkim snow, Dec? Changu Lake?

chris123

Hi.

I am new to his forum, I am from Bombay and wish to visit

Darjeeling and Sikkim this December. we would like to request the

viewers/readers of this post to kindly share your

experiences/advices/instructions towards the following queries so

that we are aware of certain facts and do not have to face

unnecessary problems while we are on the tour.

Destination : Darjeeling (From 11th to 15th December - 2007).

1.What would be the average climate of Darjeeling during our

visit in December?

2. We plan to lodge ourselves at Hotel Alice Villa in Darjeeling,

if anyone has any experiences staying at this hotel, please share

it with us.

3. We plan to explore Darjeeling on our own, to avoid any extra

expenses towards agents/touts, please advice on the

viewpoints/sightseeing places that can be covered on our own

during our stay in Darjeeling for approx four days.

4. We wish to visit Mirk (Pashupati border) to explore the

foreighn goods market, If anyone has any experiences about this,

please share it with us.

5. We would like to travel to Darjeeling from NJP via the toy

train in the first class compartment, if anyone has any

experiences about this as well as if anyone has any photos of

this compartment, please share it with us so that we know

something about this train in advance.

6. If you have any other related info regarding Darjeeling,

please do not hesitate to share..



Destination : Gangtok (From 16th to 18th December - 2007).

1. We would be lodged at Hotel dhotapu guest house in gangtok,(if anyone has any experiences staying at this hotel, please share

it with us.)

2. We would like to experience and play in snow so we planned to visit Lake Changu/Tshangu, (if anyone has visited this place in December, please advice on this visit .. we are worried if there would be any snow during the time of our visit in Lake Changu.

3. Please advice if there are any other destinations in Sikkim wherein we can experience some snow during our visit.

4. Please advice on the permit procedure to visit Lake Changu and Sikkim from Darjeeling.


Basically we are looking forward to have snow in Sikkim, so please advice on a specific location, cost to reach there etc..

If anyone have any other information regarding tours, travel expenses etc and any local instructions, please share them with us .

Hope to receive your feedback soon

Thank you in advance

Hope to hear from you soon, my email address is

john_sarcar@yahoo.com

clawhammer

changu may or may not be frozen at that time depending upon the weather .... but i guess u'll find snow at a slope beyond changu ... usually the driver will take u to that place as well.
for assured snow (and great views), u can visit Yumthang and zero point in north sikkim

__________________
.... Wanderer of Lonely shores....
http://www.subhojitchakz.blogspot.com/

JamesW

Here's a few photos of the first class carriage, and a picture of Lake Tsongo. The photo of Lake Tsongo was taken in April this year, so I would imagine that there would be plenty of snow around when you are going. Indeed, Darjeeling won't be warm at that time of year. Expect single digit temperatures. The train is worth travelling on, but it is very slow. It broke down when I went on it, which led to hours of delay. I hope you have better luck!

Things to do in Darjeeling: walk around - it's a nice place, go to the park at the top of the town, go to the himalayan institute, see the Gorka war memorial, go to a tea estate, watch the sunrise at Tiger Hill (the weather may be against you in December), try and catch a glimpse of Kanchenjunga through the clouds...

Part-time Gypsy

Hi! I am also planning a trip to Sikkim in December end. Just wondering if...
a) Tsomgo, Nathula, Baba Mandir & beyond would be accessible at that time. Are these places open round the year?
b) it would be too foggy then will I get a good view of Kanchenjunga?

What would be the best time to visit Sikkim (excepting the peak tourist season)?

Please suggest...
Thanks!!

loonypooh

hello chris, we have already booked our trip to darjeeling and gangtok in the last wk of december upto first wk of jan, wat about u? by the way I m from mumbai as well . will be travelling with my husband, wat abt u?

gooroong

about the weather yes it shall be cold but about the snow fall usually it does not snow in December . even here in France where i live it snows at the end of December but just little and usually in January so like wise in Sikkim too the same so in December you wont have snow fall else then in the high mountains . about the climate well thats something i would not speak about as its WWW wine , weather and work never can predict .

about pashupati naga r today i don't think you shall be in need to go to buy goods there and have useless problem with the border police on both sides . you usually get most of the things in Darjeeling itself try bargaining that i don't need to tell as thats the system in India . mirik is a beautiful place and beautiful lake you would love it .

instead of having 4 to 5 days in darjeeling as claw hammer suggested why not have more time in sikkim and head toward lachung yumtang tour that way your wish for snow too shall be fulfilled .

about the guest houses i have no idea if they are good or bad . sorry for that but I hope they wont be bad too . usually the hotels are fine just the restaurant some are worst .

the tiger hill in darjeeling is said to be the focal point of tourist but considering the weather and early wake up of 3 o'clock in the morning sometimes turns useless lol!!! so i dont know if i should say thats worth or not . if the weather is good its worth or else .....
there are many places to visit in darjeeling , you could check for places of visits in darjeeling at any tours and trek websites . dont worry you can do all these by yourself .

have a great trip and hope you make a snow man for xmas in sikkim .

mantru

hey....you'll surely find snow in december...i went to changu in the last week on november last year the hills around the lake were full of snow so dec is a month later...it will be cold and snow will be there.....about nathula contact the travel agency as they issue pass only on some days i guess on tuesday...not so sure.

mantru

I am from darjeeling but i like sikkim its untouched go to gurudongmar its better than yungtham ,i recommend yungtham in spring...i justt went there this october...you can see the pics for the lake...you can chk things to do in darjeeling

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/e59ab/5e9/

Sradha Sharma

Hi There,
Nice to know that you are visiting Sikkim and Darjeeling. I’am sure you’ll enjoy it. To answer some of your questions-

Darjeeling
• It is def going to be cold out there so go prepared & go prepared for the snow. U can also shop for woolens & jackets at Darj itself i.e if u survive for that long 
• No idea abt the hotel.
• Exploring darj on ur own is a good idea. Walk a lot…. Tea gardens, shopping, maybe tigerhill. But 4 days … maybe you would like to trim it down a little.
• To go to pashupati u’ll have to come towards Siliguri so maybe you would want to do that on your way out.
• Toy train takes a lot of time. It’s a nice ride but its your choice time is important too.
Sikkim
• Don’t have any idea about Hotel dhotapu guest house but I hear that the The hidden forest resort is good… though it is a little out of town.
• You’ll def find snow in dec… visiting tshangu will completely depend on the weather.
• North Sikkim is a wonderful place to visit but I doubt if the weather will permit you to do that …. But it is worth it.
• If you are going just till tshongu the cab driver you hire will be able to arrange for the permit. Just ensure that u get the cab in advance & have the details sorted out.

My advice to you would be see if you can trim down Darj trip a little and spend 2 days in Pelling instead… it will be a 4 hrs drive from darj via Jorethang.

Have a nice trip.

__________________
Nature Bug
http://naturexperience.blogspot.com/

chris123

Hi, Loonypooh,

Thanks for your advices and intimation regarding Sikkim Tour in December, I am sorry I have changed my tour destinations from Sikkim to Tawang.. this place is in A.P and not that infested by tourist.... nice place indeed, we will be traveling via sela pass at 14,000ft altitude.. I am from Bombay and traveling with my wife newly wedded Maharashtrain wife...

robin312007

HI, Mantru,

Can I have ur Email ID plz ?
I am robin from Kolkata.
I would like to keep in touch with u in future for trek in sikkim. I would be visiting Goechala in near future. and ofcourse I love sikkim. its like second home to me.
Well I read ur article on north sikkim. It was great......
But u should post some great pics of north sikkim. I already have downloaded some of them from other sites. I am actually a photography student doing my second year and still one more year to go to complete my Diploma. And I would love to go for Freelancing Photography very soon. And ofcourse it should be Mountains and Nature obviously. I will start with my Favourite Place in the whole world i.e. Sikkim.

Mod note: Email id deleted for your privacy.

backpakker

Hi Chris

Tawang is an awesome place and we went there for new years ..its very cold though ..let me know if you need any help and all the details are in my blog .

Have a great trip

www.backpakker.blogspot.com

backpakker

Hi Chris

Tawang is a great place to go..but it can get extremely cold. let me know if you need any information ..I was there last new years ..

Have a great trip

www.backpakker.blogspot.com