Comprehensive Information for a North Sikkim Trip!!!

[srij]

Dear All,

I am a complete travel freak and have visited a lot of places during the last 2 years of my work life. All thanks to my job as a marketing person with a leading automobile company.

A strategic planner by profession I do my complete due diligence before venturing out on any tour. Thorough planning has always been beneficial, it has helped me immensely to focus on enjoying the tour and not worry about peripheral issues such as hotels, tour operators, where to visit etc. I generally research through a lot of website and then arrive at my itenary. Thanks to a lot of input by helpful people who share their experience on the internet i have always been able to enjoy my tours without any bother

I have therefore decided to do my bit for those who love traveling but have a lot of questions in their mind with regards to the location, the hotel, travel agents etc. of a particular place

I intend to provide useful information which will help plan your tour in the best possible way so that you are not in for rude shocks when you actually visit the place!

This is my comprehensive post for tour to North Sikkim. I won’t be writing much about my experience there of the scenic beauty or what I did, that’s personal and each individual has his own way of experiencing the beauty. That is for you to see, feel and experience but I will guide you more on the peripheral issues. So here it goes.


The background:

Tour Date: 30th Oct – 4th Nov 2008
5 days – 4 nights
Location: North Sikkim
No. of People – 2

Our Itenary

29th Oct Night - Mumbai – Calcutta (Flight)
30th Mid morning - Calcutta – Bagdogra (Flight)
30th Afternoon - Bagdogra – Gangtok (Hired Vehicle)
30th Overnight at Gangtok
31st Oct - Gangtok – Lachen (6 hours), overnight lichen
1st Nov - Lachen – Gurudongmar Lake (3.5 hrs),
Lunch at Lachen
Proceed to Lachung
Overnight at Lachung

2nd Nov - Lachung – Yumthung Valley – Zero Point
Lunch at Lachung
Proceed to Gangtok
Overnight at Gangtok

3rd Nov - Gangtok – Bagdogra (Hired vehicle)
Bagdogra – Calcutta – Mumbai (Flight)


So you see it was a pretty short trip with lottsa traveling.
This kind of itenary is generally advised if you are young and not traveling with children or senior citizens

The important thing to remember in North Sikkim is that don’t be hurry to reach a particular place. REMEMBER THE JOURNEY IS THE DESTINATION. If you abide by this you will enjoy the trip.


Now more on specifics

Travel

From Bagdogra airport to Gangtok
• Is a 4 hours drive
• You can hire an exclusive vehicle Tata Sumo for 1800 or travel on a shared basis which will work out to be around Rs. 300
• I suggest that do not travel by shared taxis, you don’t enjoy the journey this way. Take an exclusive vehicle. If you are only 2/ 3, look out for some couple / solo traveler at the airport taxi prepaid stand and strike a deal. Hire the exclusive vehicle as one group. Ideally you should not be more than 5 people in one Sumo/Tavera.
• So that way you end up spending around 400 per person which should be good enough for an relaxing and enjoyable journey


At Gangtok

• If you are planning to stay for a long duration in Gangtok stay far away from the main market (M G Market) since you can always visit the market later on at leisure.
• However if you are spending less time at Gangtok try to stay closer to the main market as you can visit there whenever you have the time without spending too much time in traveling.
• I checked out many hotels. Here’s my shortlist – Budget was around Rs. 1000 – 1500 per night (no particular order)
o Sonam Palgey
o Golden Pagoda
o Oriental
o Badyul
• However my vote goes to a small beautiful hotel called Cherry Guest House. After doing thorough research on this hotel I booked my room there.
o The best part about the hotel is that it’s very close to the main market yet away from its noise. Very peaceful surrounding
o The rooms are neat and clean. Good food. Great service. They charge Rs. 1200 per night for a deluxe ( after negotiations)
o Ask for the room on the top floor (Valley facing). It’s really good.
• If budget is not a problem then you can stay at Royal Demzong. It’s supposed to be very good. It cost around 4-5K per night
• You can also get many decent rooms for Rs. 350-500 closer to the main market. This is recommended if you are traveling alone or friends. Not families

Places to Visit at Gangtok

There are plenty of threads in this website which talk about which places to visit at Gangtok so I will not be repeating them. But M G Marg is a great place to hang out and spend time visiting all the stores.

To eat there are quite a number of good places but most special is
1) Allen’s Kitchen – Best hotel for non-veg food at reasonable rate.
2) Little Italy is good too but a little expensive
Both places play some really good music

Do try the local beer HIT. It’s fantastic. Really hits you!

If you want to shake a leg you can head out to a pub called ESCAPE near Vajra. Its open from Thur- Sun. Entry fee was 200 per head on Sunday. Some say it’s a pick up joint. I was being wooed by a young girl. So I quickly ESCAPED!


Lachen and Lachung

I believe no trip to Sikkim would be complete without visiting Gurudongmar Lake at 17200 ft above sea level. It’s a magical journey something which you wont forget for a lifetime. Frankly for me all other places will pale in comparison to this experience.

However at the same time this place is a little risky for the terrain and the climate. If you are a family with children or old people, I will advice you against visiting this place. Its a must for the others It’s risky but still worth the shot.

Families can visit Lachung. And other areas of Sikkim (West Sikkim - Pelling etc)

Travel Agents for N. Sikkim

One needs permits to visit N. Sikkim. You cannot go alone there. There are packages available for 3 days-2 nights, 4 days – 3 nights etc. Now these packages have to be booked through a travel agent who will provide the entire fooding/lodging/visits / exclusive vehicle for these trips.

Lachen and Lachung are the two base camps for visiting various places in N. Sikkim.

Pls don’t travel at shared cost for such trips (until you are solo traveller). It’s not the same experience. We were 2 and we hired the exclusive vehicle. The obvious advantage is you can travel at leisure and enjoy the experience. Remember the journey is the destination

Now for the travel agents and the cost.

I spoke with various agents but short listed these 2 guys. Both are extremely reputed ion N Sikkim.

I will share with you the cost comparison what the two short listed agents gave me. Remember there are many others who can give cheaper rates but not worth trusting. But you can anyways do your own research

The rate for 3days – 2 nights to Lachung/Lachen
(Visit includes Yumthung + Gurudongmar Lake)
Exclusive Vehicle + Food + Lodging

Satish Bardewa - Yak and Yeti – Good but expensive - Rs. 15500
Prabir Sen of Fortuna Hotels (I don’t know his agency name but he owns the best hotels in Lachen and Lachung) - Rs. 13500

There is Marcopolo Tours too which are good but they are expensive - 16500

Now for me the criteria were the hotel quality in Lachung and Lachen. Now remember that it becomes dark by 5 pm in Lachen /Lachung so you end up spending lot of time in the hotel. Hence wanted to book in good hotels.

At the same time Lachung and Lachen have very basic facilities (if you get a neat and clean room + hot water) it’s deluxe ;), a TV would be luxury ;)
So don’t expect much. Lachen is even more basic

Three of the best hotels in Lachung
o Modern Residency
o Snow Lion Mountain Resort
o Fortuna Hotel

These hotels are tagged with travel operators. I went with Fortuna because it’s a brand new hotel. Great rooms. TV + Hot water and decent food. However only negative which I realized later on is that it has purely veg restaurant. So if that’s not much of a problem go with Fortuna (Prabir Sen)

They also have a hotel in Lachen, which was great for me as it was spacious and comfortable.

Hence basically on the basis of hotels I went with Prabir Sen as my agent. Luckily his cost too were low


Travel Vehicle

PLS INSIST FOR A MAHINDRA MAXX AND NOT TAVERA OR SUMO when you travel to Gurudongmar. I am saying this not because I work for a Mahindra but simply because I have witnessed that Mahindra is the only vehicle which can handle the difficult terrain of North. Sikkim comfortably. Not that others can’t but it’s a struggle. However it’s your choice! Also if you have a music system in your vehicle it makes the journey even more pleasant Listen to some Tibetan music its fantastic!.

Remember the driver is the most important person on your trip, so pls don’t fight with him, treat him as your friend and you will enjoy the journey the best


Gangtok – Lachen (Gurudongmar Lake)

Pls carry thermal clothes. The temperature in Gangtok is pleasant around Oct. However of you are planning to travel to North Sikkim carry enough warm clothes. Something to cover your ears, hand gloves, sweater etc.

The temperature at Lachen drops to zero degrees at night. And you might not get heater!

Since Gurudongmar is at 17200 ft. above sea level it is necessary to acclimates oneself to the climate hence they insist you to stay overnight at Lachen.

Now I had read a lot about altitude sickness, less oxygen problems that one usually encounters when traveling to Gurudongmar. I won’t be embarrassed to say that even I was worried about it the night before simply because you cant do anything if something happens to you at that height.

But there are certain things you can do to prepare yourself for the most beautiful experience you will ever encounter!


For Gurudongmar Lake you need to leave Lachen around 6 in the morning. It’s a 3.5 hours drive with a stopover for breakfast at Thangu. It’s the most beautiful drive. Lachen is at 9000 ft. In 3.5 hours you move from 9000 ft to 17,200 ft. Sheer bliss!!

Some tips

o Don't overeat the night before
o Although my agent told me not to drink alcohol, I couldn’t resist the temptation since it was too cold. However just requisite drinks for keeping you warm, not to enjoy.
o Also don’t mix liquids (if you are having alcohol, don’t have any other liquid food, no dal etc)

o In the mornings, again don’t over eat. You will have a stop over at Thangu so just basic food. At Thangu you can have maggi or bread butter

o Don’t stress yourself too much during the journey, don’t talk loudly or sing or run around when there is a stopover. Just conserve your energy. Breathe slowly and just relax. Enjoy the beauty as you move higher and higher.

When you start seeing the snow that’s when the best part of the journey begins. There are no roads one of the most difficult terrains I have ever seen. You will witness lot of army check posts. The roads are covered with ice. Vehicle breaks don’t work!!! Its here that having a Mahindra Maxx jeep really helps. Its rock solid and stable.

You will be surprised to find that there are no roads here. In fact the army vehicles which pass through create the roads!

There are some tips to avoid altitude sickness which I learnt along the trip
o Eat Chocolates on the way (this one really helped as I started feeling a little uncomfortable at 15000 ft. But after having chocolates I was fine.
o Have corn – Not tried this but locals say its very effective
o There is a tablet called Dymox which one should have an hour before reaching the lake. It’s supposed to avoid any problems ahead. Although I had purchased the tablet, I did not consume it since my driver assured me that I need not take it and everything would be fine.

When it snows the so called roads get blocked and it becomes increasingly difficult to reach the top. We could manage to reach around 16,200 ft. as after that it was all covered with snow. Another group who was in a vehicle behind us was forcing the driver to go ahead. It’s my sincere request. Let the driver decide how far he can travel. If he is not confident pls. do not push him.

It’s nice to see all the drivers helping each other in that difficult terrain. Let them do that. Pls don’t feel irritated. Just enjoy the beauty around.

Even though we could't reach the lake, the journey till 16000 ft. was heavenly. We always worry about a destination as we have some expectations about it. But the point is sometimes the journey is even better. This is one classical example.

The snow cover keeps on increasing post November, so one won’t be able to visit any further to the lake. It will now be accessible only in April.

Stop at many places, play with the snow and click snaps. I have uploaded my snaps on picasa will share the link soon. Pls carry a great camera. Normal cameras don’t work because of the freezing climate. Also carry enough batteries at least 3 pairs extra. You don’t want to be stranded there for the lack of batteries!!

The journey experience was stunning for us. It took hours for the feeling to sink in. Even today a week after I visited there moments are relived as soon as I close my eyes. An experience not to be missed.

After lunch we proceeded for Lachung. The distance was only 30 km – 2 hours drive. Beautiful roads. Great Waterfalls.

We traveled to Yumthung Valley next morning. The best place to visit this place is in April when the whole area is covered with flowers. However even now that area had a scenic beauty which was unparalleled

If you have the time you can proceed to Zero Point which is the dead end of the road around 40 kms from Yumthung. It’s supposed to be very beautiful and snow is visible in this area. Also if one is interested in seeing snow you can visit a place called Katao.

However I was still enamored with the experience of Gurudongmar Lake. Nothing matched the experience. I know I shouldn’t have compared but I am only human! We preferred to reach Gangtok early so did not visit Zero Point or Katao.

We came back that evening to Gangtok and spent some quality time there lazing around the city streets.

Next morning we returned for Bagdogra in an exclusive vehicle which you can catch from Deorali stand. You get the taxi for Rs. 1200. Here a Sumo or Tavera would also do.

And that was how the beautiful journey ended!

The total cost of the journey for 2 people

Mumbai – Calcutta ( Return) – Rs 20000
Calcutta – Bagdogra ( Return) – Rs. 12000
2 nights in Gangtok Hotel – Cherry Guest House - Rs. 1200 / Hotel Mandala – Rs 400
Lachen Lachung Trip – Rs 13500
Other miscellaneous – Rs 1500
Total Cost: Rs. 48000
Per Person Cost – Rs 24000


Pause

I hope I have covered most of the important information which are required to firm up a tour plan for North Sikkim. If there are any more questions pls. do share I will try my best to answer them. Also I will start posting my other experiences very soon.

You can contact me on contact me on Stevan.noronha@gmail.com

Bon Voyage!





















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