Sikkim · 10 Days
Sikkim In Depth
The unhurried, everything version — Gangtok with a Tsomgo day, the far-north valleys, a full South Sikkim day, and west Sikkim's monasteries and lakes.
Day by Day
10 Days, In Full
The slow, complete Sikkim trip, with a spare day built into each part. Three nights in Gangtok, including a permit day to Tsomgo Lake and the border road. A night each in Lachen and Lachung for Gurudongmar, Yumthang and Zero Point. A full day at Ravangla for the Buddha Park, Ralang and the Temi tea garden, plus the Namchi statues. Two nights in Pelling for Pemayangtse, the Rabdentse ruins, Khecheopalri Lake and the Kanchenjunga sunrise. It is the route for travellers who would rather go deep once than come back.
Gangtok
Arrive in Gangtok
The drive up from Bagdogra airport or the New Jalpaiguri railhead takes about four to five hours, climbing out of the Bengal tea plains and up the Teesta gorge into Sikkim. Foreign visitors have their Sikkim permit checked at Rangpo on the way in. You reach Gangtok in the afternoon. The evening is for MG Marg, the traffic-free central avenue, where the town comes out to walk and the cafes fill up.
Gangtok
Gangtok — the Monasteries, the Ropeway and MG Marg
A full day around the capital. Rumtek first, the largest monastery in Sikkim and the Karmapa's seat, on a hill facing the town. Then the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, with one of the best collections of Tibetan texts and art outside Tibet, and the nearby Do-drul chorten. The afternoon takes in the Enchey monastery above the town, the ropeway across the ridge, and time on MG Marg and in the Lal Bazar market.
Gangtok
Day Trip to Tsomgo Lake and the Border Road
An early start east on the old Silk Road, with the permit arranged the day before. Tsomgo Lake sits at three thousand seven hundred and eighty metres, a glacial lake ringed by bare mountains, with decorated yaks on the shore. Nearby is the Baba Mandir, a shrine the army keeps for a soldier said to still watch the border. Indian nationals can continue to the Nathu La pass itself. The day is at altitude and the weather turns fast, so it goes early and stays flexible.
Gangtok → Lachen
Gangtok to Lachen — Into North Sikkim
A long drive north, about six or seven hours, following the Teesta up a narrowing green gorge past waterfalls and the town of Mangan. The road is rough in places and the region is restricted, so a permit and a North Sikkim operator are required, and the vehicle changes to a shared arrangement here. You reach Lachen, a high village of wood-and-tin houses at two thousand seven hundred metres, by late afternoon, with an early night before the Gurudongmar start.
Lachen → Lachung
Gurudongmar Lake at Dawn, then Transfer to Lachung
The vehicle leaves Lachen around four in the morning, while the wind is still down, and climbs a rough road onto the plateau. Gurudongmar Lake sits at five thousand four hundred and thirty metres, one of the highest lakes in the world, held blue against snow mountains, with a part that is said never to freeze. The stop is short because of the altitude. Back to Lachen for breakfast, then a two-hour drive south to Lachung for the night.
Lachung
Yumthang Valley and Zero Point
An early drive up the valley from Lachung to Yumthang, the Valley of Flowers, at three thousand five hundred metres. In spring the rhododendron sanctuary on the slopes is in bloom; in other seasons it is a wide river meadow ringed by snow. A footbridge crosses to a hot spring. If the road and the weather allow, the trip continues to Zero Point at four thousand seven hundred metres, the snowbound end of the road. Back in Lachung by early afternoon.
Lachung → Gangtok
Lachung Back to Gangtok
The return south is a long day, six to seven hours, back down the Teesta gorge through Chungthang and Mangan. There are stops for the Naga and Bhim Nala waterfalls and for lunch. The green deepens as the road drops. You reach Gangtok in the late afternoon, with the evening free on MG Marg after two nights in the far north.
Gangtok → Ravangla
Gangtok to Ravangla, via the Namchi Statues
A drive south and west of about four hours, crossing the Teesta and climbing into South Sikkim. The stop on the way is Namchi: the forty-five-metre statue of Guru Padmasambhava on Samdruptse hill, and the Char Dham complex at Solophok, where the four corner temples of India are rebuilt at full size around a statue of Shiva. Both sit on hilltops with wide views. You reach Ravangla, on its ridge facing Kanchenjunga, by evening.
Ravangla
Ravangla — Buddha Park, Ralang and the Temi Tea Garden
A relaxed South Sikkim day. Buddha Park, above the town, is built around a forty-metre seated Buddha unveiled by the Dalai Lama in 2013, with gardens and a lawn facing the mountains. The old Ralang monastery is a short drive on. The afternoon is the Temi tea garden, the only one in Sikkim, on a hillside below Tendong: a walk through the rows and the small factory, then a tasting in the estate bungalow.
Pelling
Pelling — Pemayangtse, Rabdentse, Khecheopalri and the Skywalk
A full day in west Sikkim. Pemayangtse first, one of the oldest monasteries in the state, with a seven-tiered wooden model of a celestial palace on its top floor. A short walk downhill reaches the forest ruins of Rabdentse, the old royal capital. The afternoon is the sacred Khecheopalri Lake, still and leaf-free in its ring of trees, and the glass skywalk on the ridge, which runs out over the valley to a large statue of Chenrezig.
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per person, twin sharing — enquire for current pricing
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