Sikkim, Unlimited

Sikkim it was when we decided we wanted to go on a vacation to North East. Many asked, 'Why Sikkim?'. Well, we did not have any specific reason to quote; but after the trip we definitely have lots of them. The first thing anyone does these days when planning for a trip is to look-up the 'encyclopedias'. Without going into the logistics & all the uncertain, unsealed & unsettled situations we went by to 'make' the trip, I will directly chute into the thrills, exhilaration & serenity of the place.

Destination Gangtok: Located about 5500 ft high on the hills of the eastern Himalayan range, Gangtok is a small but the big capital city of Sikkim. The temperature was quite low or so we felt arriving from a not-supposed-to-be-so-hot Bangalore, we used a heater + 3 overblankets in the room. A very warm & welcoming dinner at Royal Demazong comforted us.

The immediate realizations in the place: Travels & Taxi drivers are very friendly, they will plan your tour around the place quickly, conveniently & at a little higher price. Of course you could bargain a bit & reduce couple of hundreds; traveling around seems pricey, but quite worth. No beggars! And so you start to dig, 'how come?'. Most of them get education & enough resources to manage a decent lifestyle. 'Ah, that's why the driver is well dressed & carries fancy phone!'. Not all, but most of them. Its full of military people & camps, with three nations' borders around.

The state is a menage of Buddhists and so a home for many monasteries. Just in & close around Gangtok there are a lot of them to visit - Stupas at Do drul Chorten, Enchey Monastery, Rumtek Monastery, Lingdum Monastery, Tibetology center. Kanchenjunga is visible from parts of the city; Tashi View Point gives the clear view of Kanchenjunga & the opposite hills.

Sikkim is a small state in terms of the area. Since its mountainous & much prone to landslides, the roads are tough, adventurous & the travel time consuming. A little over 100 kms distance to cover takes 5 hours. Given its area, we chose to visit the East, South & North parts of Sikkim, in 7 days. South takes 2 days, North 3 days & can spend 2 days in & around East. Given the climatic conditions during our visit & the days in hand, we have a spillage of little bit from South & full West for a next visit.

Places to visit in & around Gangtok:
Rumtek Monastery
Shanthi View point
Lingdum Monastery
Banjhakri waterfall & Energy Park
Tashi View Point
Gangtok Ropeway
Hanuman Tok
Ganesh Tok
Flower Exhibition center
Tibetology center
Do drul chorten
M G Road
Himalayan Zoological park
River Rafting in Teesta
Nathula Pass
Tsomgo Lake
Baba Mandir

One needs to get permit from the military to visit Nathula Pass, the border for India-China. Because of the heavy snow falls, even though there were permits issued, we could not make it to the destination. Travels/hotel(s) we stay in takes care of the permit for the tourists. Usually a trip to Baba Mandir & Tsomgo Lake are combined since they are enroute Nathula pass. The lake is an exquisite sight at 12000+ ft height, as delightful is the drive getting there. Yak ride fills in the rest of the adventure & delight sought.


The roads are better, so the drive up to Baba Mandir is smoother & the sight of snow-capped mountains, glorious. If you travel further up to Baba's Bunker, you would reach an altitude of 14000 ft. If the sky is clear, the view is incredible.


We only made it towards Namchi in South Sikkim. Tea is grown in few parts of the hills. There is a Chaar Dhaam under construction, nearing its completion with 108ft high idol of lord Shiva(one of the very few places with lord Shiva's idol portrayal, and not Shivling) and a 135 ft high idol of Padmasambhava in Samdruptse hill. Ravangla is another section of South Sikkim to visit.


North Sikkim: The far-famed places to visit are Lachung, Yumthang Valley, Zero Point & Gurudongmar lake. Just the visit to Lachung & Yumthang Valley takes 2 days & the rest of the distance covered in another day. There are many waterfalls to stop by while driving up North. It was below zero degrees in Lachung & very cold. The morning in Lachung was awesome; watching the sun rise from down the valley, the early rays strike the snow capped mountains & are scattered in angles; the tip of the mountains are ready to vapor.

Yumthang is an hour's drive from Lachung. Its a valley & known as the 'Valley of flowers'. For its name, they say that spring is the best time to visit Yumthang, as the entire valley is filled with the grand colors of Rhododendrons. The rhododendrons around are in 24 marvelous colors! One also needs permit from military to visit the Yumthang Valley.There are many things we look for in a holiday, the most important element is the feeling of relaxation, content & rebound the time spent in a place can bring. Sikkim has all of it, the beauty, serenity, warmth & the quietness sought in a vacation, & more to go back to.