Sikkim: Where Nature Smiles
If you are here for a simple Sikkim travel itinerary
Day 1 (15 Oct) - Landed in Bagdogra, then by road to Darjeeling via Mirik garden and Sumendu lake, Nepal border - checked into Hotel Mt. Lungta
Day 2 (16 Oct) - Darjeeling sightseeing- 4am to Tiger hills. War memorial garden, Ghoom monastery, Darjeeling tea garden - Leebong Cart road, New Mahakal / mall market.
Day 3 (17 Oct) - Drive to Pelling along Rangit river. Check into Divsai Retreat
Day 4 (18 Oct) - Kanchenjunga falls, Khecheopalri lake, Rimbi orange garden, Sanghak Choeling Monastery, Sky walk Pelling, Pemayangste monastery
Day 5 (19 Oct) - Rabdentse ruins and Tulku bird sanctuary, Buddha park Ra’b’angla, Gangtok Golden Crest Hotel
Day 6 (20 Oct) - Sightseeing to Chorten monastery, Tibetology museum, Gantonk ropeway ride, Ridge road flower garden, Ban jangri falls, MG marg and Lal market.
Day 7 (21 Oct) - Drive to Tsomgo lake, Nathula pass, Baba mandir, Thambi view point. Check into the snow lion homestay at Zuluk. Visit Cloud warrior café.
Day 8 (22 Oct) - Eco nature walk trail, drive to Siliguri, check into Delight Ashiana, shopping at Siliguri Hong Kong market
Day 9 (23 Oct) - Science city visit at Siliguri, flight back to Bangalore
Planning > Packing > Re-planning > Re-packing
3 families (mostly the better halves) started planning the trip to Sikkim (whose tag line is “where nature smiles”) & Darjeeling in July. Yes, Nature Smiles, and she did smile gently when discussions turned to sub-zero thermals, gloves, socks, trekking gear, Diamox, etc. etc.
The men got into the act and Darjeeling lost its place in favour of Lachen and Lachung in North Sikkim - Nature was now grinning widely. We zeroed in on the itinerary, shortlisted taxi agents, finalised both and then looked up hotels and resorts. Juggled reviews, stars, (constellations, galaxies), location, price (of course) - all while exchanging countless whatsapp messages, links, phone calls, beers and side dishes.
And when we thought it was all done, Sikkim dedicated to give a sardonic loud laugh, enough to cause a cloud burst, resulting in flash floods in Teesta river in Lachen valley - just 2 weeks before our departure date.
Back came Darjeeling, out went Gurudongmar Lake (just love the way this sounds - Guru, dong maar?), no offense to Guru Padmasambhava, who is credited with finding Tibetan Buddism after whom this lake is named.
And so it goes - we boarded the flight, packing the eagerness and excitement of the kids, and anticipation of a great 9 days in the north east.
Day 1: Bagdogra - Mirik - Darjeeling (16th Oct)
Agile Itinerary - Our latest sprint was while we were on the flight. An army officer on our flight, recommended that we drive to Darjeeling via Mirik. We negotiated that with our taxi drivers and we were off.
Mirik is a city nested in the hills, we were spoilt for choice - beautiful lake with boating, horse riding, flower garden, walk along the lakefront and across an arch bridge. We chose to head to the nearest ‘veg’ restaurant. Most of these food joints are run by husband-wife who double up to roll rotis dough, stir Maagi, boil water for chai, serve and do the vessels.
Except when you have 6 hungry kids waiting for the food and only 2 cooks, it would take forever.
Mirik was the first holiday lesson - Slow down (Maagi takes more than 2 minutes to cook!!)
We had high expectations from the Pasupatinagar market bordering Nepal. One has to cross the border checkpost on foot, after an ID check. Once in Nepal, a taxi takes you uphill to the market. There were good deals on cosmetics, which made the trans-national trip worth it ;)
Lesson 2 - It gets dark at 5PM in the hills
It was dark, cold and we were famished by the time we got to our Mt. Lungta Hotel, at the outskirts of Darjeeling at Ghoom. I went for a bit of a “ghoom” (meaning roam in Hindi), ran down 5k towards Darj and back. The run featured European styled cafes, tram tracks alongside the road, crisp and nippy night air. Got back to the warmth of the basement dining area of the hotel - to kichiri, to rotis and curry!
Day 2: Tiger hills, Darjeeling - Doorada betta nunnage
Kanchenjunga is the highest mountain peak in India, third highest in the world at 29,165 ft tall and is the pride of Sikkim. While it is one of the most difficult peaks to climb, it is visible from many parts of Sikkim (which we only found later).
The instruction for the next morning “at 4am, we leave for Tiger hill top, to view the sunrise”. There was no tiger on Tiger hill, nor did we go there to specifically see the sunrise, but we did go there at 4am, wearing all the warm clothes we had carried. We rented chairs for 50 a chair to sit and wait an hour for the Sun to rise, as the crowds swelled up on the observatory. Eventually when the Sun did come, it was to reveal a tiny Kanchenjunga peak, rest covered by clouds. I sneaked in a run in the Jalapahar cantt area before breakfast, taking the kids in tow.
We then went about checking off spots in Darjeeling - Batasia loop, Ghoom monastery, Mall road and Mahakal market. Enroute we stopped at the Darjeeling tea garden on Leebong Cart road) - we made a short trek of it - loved exploring the trails in the tea estate. Back in city centre, the Mall road has a Scotland-ish feel to it - local shops, cafes lining cobble street leading up to a courtyard. We ransacked half of Glennary bakery for lunch - pastries, pies, and the likes.
Lesson three - When on a vacay, all roads lead to shopping, even it is Maha Kal market
We finished the day with white mischief
Day 3 - Drive to Pelling
I ran up Tiger hills (300m climb) before we checked out of Darjeeling - it was a stark contrast to the previous “touristy” visit. The observatory returns to its calm post 6am, the taxis have taken the sleepy tourists back, leaving behind a paltry set of vendors. Many locals have either worked in cities like Bangalore or have some family / friend there. I met one who spoke good broken kannada as well.
The drive to Pelling was unremarkable - except for a long wait for the highway to be cleared of a landslide. The difference in scenery as we moved across the state border was evident - Sikkim is much more clener than WB. The drive offered stunning views of Rangit river, we reached our next hotel - Divsai Retreat, Upper Pelling.
Day 4 - Seeing Pelling
We woke up to great views of Kanchenjunga range from our balconies. I ran another 10k, but with a somewhat forgiving elevation, towards Dentam valley.
Next stop was Khecheopalri lake (pause here and read the name aloud) - we trekked up to the watch tower over the Khecheopalri hill - kids, adults all needing a lot of goading. If we weren’t already high enough, there was a small store on top selling peach wine and beet wine. Rimbi orange garden was up next. More 2 minutes for the kids, more wine for the adults - cherry wine, litchi wine, rhododendron wine, amla wine, green apple wine, kiwi wine - on the rocks (quite literally).
Most Peeling tourist lists talk about a “Skywalk” at the Choeling Monastery - our next destination - it was more of a “glass-floor-bridge-walk”. The monastery was perched on top of the highest point in the vicinity with great views of the surrounding vistas.
We visited one more monastery - the Pemayantse. It was hosting an annual conference of monks, the chants and sounds of Dungchen (the long horn), drums, trumpets and couch shells. We also visited the museum nested in the top floor of the monastery.
After a fairly long day, we hit the city center (a mix of cafes, restaurants and tea shops). The women felt adventurous to try the Tukpa, momos, wai wai. I would be careful of a hotel that sold idli “vara”, but not them.
When we got to Divsai, our retreat manager was stroking a small fire (the Sikkim rum in our hands may have kindled something). As the cold set in, our discussions led to “Tong-Ba” - the millet wine of the locals. Before we knew, we were sipping on Tong-Ba and dancing around a campfire to “Sali Mann Paryo” and other chart topping Nepali songs, in the foothills of Kanchenjunga. The manager, Parikshit, was the star of the evening - and let us carry some great memories from Pelling!
Day 5 - More driving, Gangtok
By now, I had established a morning run before the day start. Today, it was to the Choeling monastery (and beyond - along a road right up to the top of the Buddha) - 380m of ascent. The plan for the day was to get to the capital city, Gangtok. En route, we stopped by at Tulku bird sanctuary and Rabdentse ruins. The Aviary had a good collection of parakeets, macaws, doves and even emus!
The Buddha Park at Ra’b’angla is a recent monastery and is truly spectacular. Our taxi driver spoke to us about the Buddhist way of life & preachings - which was also depicted in the mural painting adorning the walls of the monastery. The Buddha park created by destroying natural forests left a bit of an incongruous after taste. Talking of taste - we were able to add to our culinary lexicon, yet again. This time we tried Sal roti (traditional bread cum aloo dum), Bamboo pickle and Khu-ri (traditional roll filled with leafy veggies and herbs) at a family run restaurant. En-route, driving along the river Teesta, we witnessed the carcass of shops, cars, and the destruction that the recent flash floods had left behind. We got to Golden Crest Hotel by evening to more Kichiri for dinner.
Day 6 - Gang up in Gangtok
The map showed a route to Enchey monastery, via Tsuglagkhang monastery & Ridge road - about 5k away and I set out uphill. In what turned out to be 460m climb (over 6km), I was able to appreciate the footpaths, footover bridges, short cutting steps to traverse the steep climbs.
Later during the day, we visited these sites in the taxi - Chorten monastery (the kids were amused at the offerings to The Buddha - biscuits, Kurkure and colas) and the Tibetology museum and library nearby. The Ropeway ride uphill to the Sectretariat, is a part of the public transport, run by the government and is very inexpensive. It offered panoramic views of the hillside and planted rooftops of locals.
The flower garden on Ridge road, excited none, except my better half to no end. Chrysanthemums displayed there were actually “imported” from namma Bengaluru. We “exported” some tulip bulbs!
Ban Jankri falls (sounds like Banshankri), our next stop, would not hold a candle to Kanchenjunga falls - regardless, we made our way to the steps and soaked our feet in the cold waters. It was perfect ruse for some chilled Enjoy Beer (any ruse works).
Our last stop for the day was MG Marg & Lal market. MG marg is all pedestrian shopping street, with a median filled with flowering plants. The cobblestreet brimming with Nepali, Bonglas, tourists gave it a very European vibe. I took up baby sitting (literally, sitting on a park bench) duties, but I believe Lal market was worth the bargains, esp. on fleece!! Fleece shopping, anyone?
Day 7 - Nathula
Hangover from the previous evening walk, the run had to cover MG marg. It was a different street devoid of all the revellers.
We checked out of a forgettable Golden Crest and headed towards Nathula pass. Would this be the day the kids would finally see snow and us unpack all our jackets?
Quick stop to pay respects to a local war hero after whom the army has erected a Baba temple. Then the meandering roads, hairpins welcomed us to Silk route. At Thambi (meaning brother in Tamil) viewpoint we could grasp the beauty in its entirety - down the valley the roads curved!
Till we reached Zuluk, a quiet hamlet, Cloud Warrior army camp, a wine shop and army canteen. All this accompanying a homestay, Snow Lion, overlooking the hills far beyond. We got our chai, rotis and aloo sabzi at the mess and puris for breakfast!!
Enough time to sample the “magic moments” vodka, Samosa and Jilebi from the Cloud Warrior army cafe!
Day 8 - Look around Zuluk
I ran up towards Kupup on the old silk route to be greeted by surprised looks by soldiers doing their morning walks. The sharpest reaction came from an officer “I cannot understand you”. It is difficult to come to terms with a singlet wearing civilian running nowhere in near zero deg temperatures.
We checked out from Snow Lion at 10, not before more Jilebis and chai from CW cafe. We soon stopped at the Eco nature walk trail (which could have been any of the hundreds of trails in the mountains) spending most time deciding if we should head to Siliguri or Gangtok. Someone mentioned Siliguri shopping and the scales tilted. Our impulse hotel booking was at Delight Ashiana. The only delight was that the inside of the hotel was many times better than the filthy city, one could say you were in West Bengal. The shopping party returned with an empty cart (on a tuk-tuk) and my search for some famed Bengali sweet turned sour.
Day 9 - Bagdogra (Bang-bandra?)
We just had time to squeeze in a visit to the Science City in Siliguri, which made it worth the detour to Siliguri. The place was packed with DIY science experiments, a mirror maze, tropical park and other galleries. It was a fun few hours for the kids. The tuk-tuk ride also felt like a ride into history!
Final words: Pay heed to Mr. PM's 5th sutra - First see your own country - travel in India!!
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