Sikkim · 5 Days
Sikkim Short Break
The short version — two nights in Gangtok, the Namchi statues on the transfer, and two nights in Pelling for the mountains.
Day by Day
5 Days, In Full
Sikkim in the time most people can spare for an add-on to Darjeeling or a long weekend from Kolkata. Two nights in Gangtok for Rumtek, the ropeway and MG Marg. A transfer day through Namchi, for the Guru statue and the Char Dham. Two nights in Pelling for Pemayangtse, Rabdentse and Kanchenjunga at sunrise. It leaves out North Sikkim, which needs its own permits and days. The seven and nine-day trips add that. This one is a clean first look at the two ends of the state.
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 → 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 → Pelling
Ravangla to Pelling
A drive of about three hours west along the ridges, through forest and small villages, with Kanchenjunga ahead most of the way on a clear day. There is time to stop at a viewpoint or a roadside monastery. You reach Pelling, in the far west of the state, by early afternoon, and check in with the mountains filling the windows. If the sky is clear, the sunset light on the snow from the hotel lawn is worth waiting for.
Pelling
Pelling Down to Bagdogra
The road down from Pelling to Bagdogra airport takes about five hours, losing height steadily through forest, then tea gardens, then the heat of the plains. There is a last long view back at the mountains from the higher bends. For a train instead, New Jalpaiguri is a little further. The drive is timed to the flight, so an afternoon or evening departure works best from the west of the state.
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Priced Packages On This Route
This route is already built into these packages — real inclusions and pricing on each one's own page.
luxury · 4 Nights
Gangtok & Pelling — Luxury
per person, twin sharing — enquire for current pricing
premium · 4 Nights
Gangtok & Pelling — Premium
per person, twin sharing — enquire for current pricing
luxury · 4 Nights
Sikkim Short Break — Luxury
per person, twin sharing — enquire for current pricing
premium · 4 Nights
Sikkim Short Break — Premium
per person, twin sharing — enquire for current pricing
Kashmir to Kanyakumari
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