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Trip to North Sikkim

  • triishaasingh
  • Aug 19, 2019
  • 4 min read

We had a 4 day tour to North Sikkim mainly due to lack of holidays but 4 days are nothing when it comes to covering North Sikkim so at least plan a trip for a week. Important things to note before you visit the place :

  • Sikkim is a border state so Most places require permits to visit hence plan in advance and get the permits.

  • Avoid use of plastic bags and try to not bring any in the city as most of the places here have a ban on plastic.

  • There is a scarcity of water so most hotels have fixed time of water in washrooms and you will need to buy it at many places.

  • Electricity is also available for limited time only so don't expect lifts in any hotel.

  • Hot water will be available at some hotels at a fixed time.

  • Most mobile networks don't work around the hills so try to get a BSNL Sim.

So enjoy the natural beauty of the place and forget the city life for a while.


We contacted a local tour operator online who helped us get hotels and permits to visit Gurudongmar Lake and Yumthang Valley but couldn't get permission for Nathula pass as they give out very limited no. of daily permits. Any local tour operator can help with the permits. The tour agency gave us a Tata Sumo as Sumo or a Jeep is an ideal car to travel in such hilly and slippery areas. They allow only 7 or 8 people in one cab so lucky for us we were only 5 of us who were traveling.


Day 1 : Gangtok


We didn't have any direct flights to Gangtok so we landed in Bagdogra and took a cab to Gangtok which takes around 4 hours so the remaining day as spent exploring the Gangtok city. The surrounding hills and the weather makes the journey very pleasant. The must visits here are :

  • MG road : It is like a town center with most restaurants , cafe and shopping places to be visited.

  • Mayfair Casino: We didn't go here but it is the only inland casino you can visit in India so worth seeing.



Day 2 : Lachen


We had a nearly 7 hour cab ride to Lachen but this journey helped us understand why Sikkim is the land of waterfalls. They are huge at almost every nook and corner. We visited the place in October so it as turning a bit chilly and the water on road at some places had started turning into icicles. Hats off to our cab driver who rode very carefully through such terrains.


One of the best part of Sikkim is that even though there are narrow roads, the drivers are very disciplined and follow in line with no rash overtaking. Few of the many sightseeing spots are the Naga waterfalls, Tashi viewpoint and the confluence of two rivers - Lachen Chu and Lachung Chu. We kept stopping at these places, enjoying the cold but fun waterfalls and the knickknacks like corn cobs being sold at these places. Lachen hotel itself is situated among the hills so we took a walk around to take in all the picturesque view before it got dark




Day 3: Gurudongmar Lake and Lachung


After overnight stay in the Lachen, we started early morning for Gurudongmar lake as the maximum limit to stay at that lake is only 11 am after which very fast winds start in that area and its not very safe to be around. It took around 3 hours to reach there but the road crosses through the hills so the journey view is great. The lake is at around 18000 ft so there is pretty much no greenery up there leading to very low oxygen levels. I nearly fainted and had to survive on lots of garlic so carry a few camphor, garlic or altitude sickness medicine in case you face any breathing issues.


The lake is breathtaking but again the guide advised us to avoid a lot of physical activity and not stay out for more than half an hour or we would feel uncomfortable. There's also a temple nearby the lake so we visited that too along with the lake and left in under 30 mins. The next stop was Thangu valley and you can see several tributaries of Teesta river on the way but the water was icy cold with it being October and all. There are several valleys around like Chopta , Thangu wherein group treks can be planned but be prepared for really cold heavy winds. On the way we enjoyed lots of Maggi and veg Momos ( yes no chicken option on the hills)



The trip now goes to a new place - Lachung village. The common thing of all these road trips is lots and lots of waterfalls on the way which i missed the most on leaving Sikkim and coming back to a traffic full of city roads.


Day 4 : Yumthang Valley


From Lachung to Yumthang valley is around an hour's journey which again involved maggi and momos as our breakfast and tea to survive the cold. Its the valley of flower and even in October there were quite a few. The place itself is surrounded by snow-capped mountain and another 2 hour drive will take you to Zero-point. You can experience the nature at its best and then we started the drive back to Gangtok.




Day 5 : Leaving Sikkim but not without a visit to Gonjang monastery


Sikkim is a place of many famous monasteries and we visited Gonjang Gumpa which is hardly half an hour drive from Gangtok. Very beautiful and serene place where its quite easy to loose track of time. This marked the end of the trip and we moved on to our next destination - Darjeeling but that story is for another day.



Sikkim is known for the natural beauty and the picturesque hills but I miss the lovely hospitality and warmth of the people there the most specially their home cooked food.

 
 
 

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