Sikkim what is the latest!!

luderick · Jul 31st, 2003, 07:45

Sikkim

I plan to spend about a week in sikkim towards the end of October.

I am looking for suggestions as to where to go, maybe a 4-5 day trek

Any comments would be great!!!

indiaguide · Sep 16th, 2003, 23:36

Lot of interesting places are there.You must visit Gangtok. In west sikkim you can visit Pelling. On the way to Pelling you can visit Rabangla.From Rabangla you may trek to Mainam .
Also from Pelling you may trek to Jongri.
But in Sikkim there is some restriction about foriegn tourists, specialy on Trekking.
But you can do some short trekking. Like Rabangla to Mainam
or Pelling to Bharse

vistet · Sep 17th, 2003, 00:11

Quote:

Originally posted by indiaguide

some restriction about foreign tourist..

You can apply for your (14 day , it was last year) Sikkim permit on your visa application.

Aug 6th, 2004, 14:35

Dear sir / mam,

you can visit sikkim in October as the tourism season then starts and the views will be great.

for visiting sikkim you will habe to obtain special permit, which you can access with the visa. you will get a permit of 15 days. you can apply again to extend it 15 days more. i.e; total 30 days allowed.

in sikkim you can visit Gangtok (the state capital), Rumtek (the popular monastery), Pelling (west sikkim), Rabongla. you can trek rabongla to maenam hill. it is not a hardcore trek.

if you wish to trek some hardcore routes them Dzongri, Goeche-la will be the the best route.

for more info on sikkim you can check www.DestinationNE.com.

you can mail me regarding hotel booking, car hire, package tours, guides, porter, trekking equipments and all kind of travel services.

Thanking you,

Tanmoy Goswami
DestinationNE.com
14-nazrul sarani, pakurtala more,
hakimpara, siliguri,
dt: darjeeling, west bengal
india - 734401
ph: +91-353-2537147
mail: info@destinationne.com
URL: http://DestinationNE.com

AdamBGMF · Sep 8th, 2004, 02:02

what airport should i fly into?

vistet · Sep 8th, 2004, 02:07

Bagdogra .

Polo · Oct 10th, 2004, 20:10

I was in sikkim mid-end of september this year and I can't say gangtok inspired me, its definatly a nice enough place but you don't need to see the local sights since everywhere else in sikkim has the same things only nicer (or so it seemed to me).

Rumtek is definatly worth seeing(the restaurant in the hotel down at the bottom has great food for a very low price) but for the rest I think heading west and south is the better option.
Too many nice places to mention... Its probably the most incredible piece of the world Ive ever visited.
East has the famous holy lake(you need an extra permit) but we did the less impressive but also very nice Catch-a-perry lake in the West.(phonetic spelling, don't remember how its written) There is some possibility to go north some valley-forgot the name-and do some wonderfull trekking or atleast our guides said that was one of the best places. Yuksom-trekking should also be very nice.

Btw if you want to see the area from the sky the cheapest and very practical helicopter ride is Gangtok-Bagdogra airport(around 11 AM) or ofcourse Bagdogra-Gangtok(around 2-3 PM)

Altitude Travels is by very very far the best travel agency we used in India or maybe the best we ever used. It's next to the Tourism of Sikkim office in Gangtok and has a very small office next to a fast food restaurant.
It offers well everything you want in sikkim. And they can fix extra permits and stuff in notime.
You get many many options wich are always flexible with your slightest whim. And the service is just great.

Ozric · Nov 9th, 2004, 22:45

I spent 2 months in Sikkim as I had friends who lived there.

OK, first the bad news... I hated Gangtok. Far too many huge buildings of hotels EVERYWHERE (and I mean everywhere), hardly any green spaces left. The person who designed those buildings should be lynched!!!

Try to avoid Gangtok if possible. My friends, who were born & brought up there, said it used to be SO nice even just 10 years ago, but it has been destroyed by the government greedy for the Bengali tourists Rupees. The shops are very modern and gone is the character which you see in the rest of India. In all my time travelling through the Himalayas (Himachal, Ladakh, Nepal) I have never seen anywhere so ruined by tourism than Gangtok! Katmandu is understandable, but Gangtok is only a place with 30000 people!

Sikkim is also expensive (about twice as much as the rest of India)
Pelling was bad as well.

They make money off all the Bengali tourists who don't seem to care that the place is getting destroyed for their luxurious hotels (on the inside) yet I tell you the buildings are unbelievably ugly on the outside. They just build the cheapest they can and grab the profit. It would be nice if it was the local people making the profits, but most of these monstrous hotels are owned by businessmen from Calcutta.

But

I LOVED Tashiding & Khechiperi Lake (excuse spelling). But sadly they were building the first major hotel at Khechiperi lake which will ruin what is one of the most amazing Lakes I've ever seen. It's probably not finished yet though

Yuksom was fine also, though far more developed than Tashiding. In Tashiding it's a fine walk down to the glorious river

I would have travelled in North Sikkim but it was the wrong time of year. Don't let Gangtok & Pelling put you off what is a beautiful state...

Padma · Nov 10th, 2004, 03:37

I lived in Pelling for 2 months as a teacher, the hotels are ugly but the thing to remember about Sikkim is that it's the people that are special, not the buildings (this is probably true of most places come to think of it).

Gantok is ugly too. In Siikim if you're only in a place for a brief time and wanting to see nice 'things', stay out of the towns and head for the hills but if you hang around long enough, even in the ugly places, the people will show you what there is worth seeing.

Having said all that Ozric is right about something very sad. Sikkim is being swamped by businesspeople from the plains. The majority of Sikkimese are very poor farmers and little of the tourist dollar is helping them at all. If you can find restaurants and hotels owned by locals, support them. Its a source of considerable worry to the locals but sadly, during the last election their efforts to bring about change came to naught. But then that happened here in oz too. One can only hope for better things in the future.

Enjoy Sikkim, its a wonderful place.

Ozric · Nov 10th, 2004, 19:56

Padma, I heard about two women working in a school in Pelling (that was quite recent), was that you then? I thought about teaching in a town called Linke, but it was too much hassle with permits & all.

Padma · Nov 23rd, 2004, 04:39

Hey Ozric,
Probably not me as I was on my own. I was there in Feb-March and there were lots of people (11 at one stage which seemed excessive) but there are frequently people teaching in Sikkim. Mostly gap-year people from the UK. Made me giggle as some of their students were the same age as them, also made me feel like a bit of an old fart.

Where is Linke? I haven't heard of it before.

Jul 31st, 2003, 07:45	#1
luderick Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: australia Posts: 10	Sikkim what is the latest!! Sikkim I plan to spend about a week in sikkim towards the end of October. I am looking for suggestions as to where to go, maybe a 4-5 day trek Any comments would be great!!!

Sep 16th, 2003, 23:36	#2
indiaguide Account Closed Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Calcutta(Kolkata) Posts: 331	Lot of interesting places are there.You must visit Gangtok. In west sikkim you can visit Pelling. On the way to Pelling you can visit Rabangla.From Rabangla you may trek to Mainam . Also from Pelling you may trek to Jongri. But in Sikkim there is some restriction about foriegn tourists, specialy on Trekking. But you can do some short trekking. Like Rabangla to Mainam or Pelling to Bharse Last edited by indiaguide : Sep 17th, 2003 at 00:19.

Aug 6th, 2004, 14:35	#4
DestinationNE.com Posts: n/a	Sikkim travel & trek info :: DestinationNE.com Dear sir / mam, you can visit sikkim in October as the tourism season then starts and the views will be great. for visiting sikkim you will habe to obtain special permit, which you can access with the visa. you will get a permit of 15 days. you can apply again to extend it 15 days more. i.e; total 30 days allowed. in sikkim you can visit Gangtok (the state capital), Rumtek (the popular monastery), Pelling (west sikkim), Rabongla. you can trek rabongla to maenam hill. it is not a hardcore trek. if you wish to trek some hardcore routes them Dzongri, Goeche-la will be the the best route. for more info on sikkim you can check www.DestinationNE.com. you can mail me regarding hotel booking, car hire, package tours, guides, porter, trekking equipments and all kind of travel services. Thanking you, Tanmoy Goswami DestinationNE.com 14-nazrul sarani, pakurtala more, hakimpara, siliguri, dt: darjeeling, west bengal india - 734401 ph: +91-353-2537147 mail: info@destinationne.com URL: http://DestinationNE.com

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Sep 8th, 2004, 02:02	#5
AdamBGMF Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: London Posts: 6	what airport should i fly into?

Sep 8th, 2004, 02:07	#6
vistet Maha Guru Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Umeå , Sweden Posts: 1,734	Bagdogra .

Oct 10th, 2004, 20:10	#7
Polo Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 28	I was in sikkim mid-end of september this year and I can't say gangtok inspired me, its definatly a nice enough place but you don't need to see the local sights since everywhere else in sikkim has the same things only nicer (or so it seemed to me). Rumtek is definatly worth seeing(the restaurant in the hotel down at the bottom has great food for a very low price) but for the rest I think heading west and south is the better option. Too many nice places to mention... Its probably the most incredible piece of the world Ive ever visited. East has the famous holy lake(you need an extra permit) but we did the less impressive but also very nice Catch-a-perry lake in the West.(phonetic spelling, don't remember how its written) There is some possibility to go north some valley-forgot the name-and do some wonderfull trekking or atleast our guides said that was one of the best places. Yuksom-trekking should also be very nice. Btw if you want to see the area from the sky the cheapest and very practical helicopter ride is Gangtok-Bagdogra airport(around 11 AM) or ofcourse Bagdogra-Gangtok(around 2-3 PM) Altitude Travels is by very very far the best travel agency we used in India or maybe the best we ever used. It's next to the Tourism of Sikkim office in Gangtok and has a very small office next to a fast food restaurant. It offers well everything you want in sikkim. And they can fix extra permits and stuff in notime. You get many many options wich are always flexible with your slightest whim. And the service is just great.

Nov 9th, 2004, 22:45	#8
Ozric Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Scotland Posts: 23	I spent 2 months in Sikkim as I had friends who lived there. OK, first the bad news... I hated Gangtok. Far too many huge buildings of hotels EVERYWHERE (and I mean everywhere), hardly any green spaces left. The person who designed those buildings should be lynched!!! Try to avoid Gangtok if possible. My friends, who were born & brought up there, said it used to be SO nice even just 10 years ago, but it has been destroyed by the government greedy for the Bengali tourists Rupees. The shops are very modern and gone is the character which you see in the rest of India. In all my time travelling through the Himalayas (Himachal, Ladakh, Nepal) I have never seen anywhere so ruined by tourism than Gangtok! Katmandu is understandable, but Gangtok is only a place with 30000 people! Sikkim is also expensive (about twice as much as the rest of India) Pelling was bad as well. They make money off all the Bengali tourists who don't seem to care that the place is getting destroyed for their luxurious hotels (on the inside) yet I tell you the buildings are unbelievably ugly on the outside. They just build the cheapest they can and grab the profit. It would be nice if it was the local people making the profits, but most of these monstrous hotels are owned by businessmen from Calcutta. But I LOVED Tashiding & Khechiperi Lake (excuse spelling). But sadly they were building the first major hotel at Khechiperi lake which will ruin what is one of the most amazing Lakes I've ever seen. It's probably not finished yet though Yuksom was fine also, though far more developed than Tashiding. In Tashiding it's a fine walk down to the glorious river I would have travelled in North Sikkim but it was the wrong time of year. Don't let Gangtok & Pelling put you off what is a beautiful state...

Nov 10th, 2004, 03:37	#9
Padma Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Australia Posts: 77	I lived in Pelling for 2 months as a teacher, the hotels are ugly but the thing to remember about Sikkim is that it's the people that are special, not the buildings (this is probably true of most places come to think of it). Gantok is ugly too. In Siikim if you're only in a place for a brief time and wanting to see nice 'things', stay out of the towns and head for the hills but if you hang around long enough, even in the ugly places, the people will show you what there is worth seeing. Having said all that Ozric is right about something very sad. Sikkim is being swamped by businesspeople from the plains. The majority of Sikkimese are very poor farmers and little of the tourist dollar is helping them at all. If you can find restaurants and hotels owned by locals, support them. Its a source of considerable worry to the locals but sadly, during the last election their efforts to bring about change came to naught. But then that happened here in oz too. One can only hope for better things in the future. Enjoy Sikkim, its a wonderful place.

Nov 10th, 2004, 19:56	#10
Ozric Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Scotland Posts: 23	Padma, I heard about two women working in a school in Pelling (that was quite recent), was that you then? I thought about teaching in a town called Linke, but it was too much hassle with permits & all.

Nov 23rd, 2004, 04:39	#11
Padma Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Australia Posts: 77	Hey Ozric, Probably not me as I was on my own. I was there in Feb-March and there were lots of people (11 at one stage which seemed excessive) but there are frequently people teaching in Sikkim. Mostly gap-year people from the UK. Made me giggle as some of their students were the same age as them, also made me feel like a bit of an old fart. Where is Linke? I haven't heard of it before.

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