Journey to the Himalayan Kingdom

"I never believed I will be breathing the clouds". The words said by my friend on the trip to Sikkim illustrates the beauty and serenity of the place. Although it is very difficult to describe all the feelings and words in the blog yet I will try it to give you all the experience we all had during our trip to Sikkim and Darjeeling.

Phase 1: The Planning:

We were a group of 4 friends who visited Sikkim and Darjeeling during 27th Sept to 3rd October. Although our trip was a short one, yet I would say we touched upon all the important places. At this point I would specially like to thank Prabal for doing a very good online research about the place and making the right itinerary.

Phase 2: The Journey

So finally after a lot of research and planning, we started the journey. We boarded the Padatik Express from Sealdah Station at 10:55 p.m. and reached New Jalpaiguri (NJP) at around 10 in the morning. Near the station we talked to one of the tour planners (there are many travel agents, take your time and pick the one that you think is giving the best offer) who made arrangements for our accommodation and transport for local sight seeing both in Gangtok and Darjeeling. The per head cost was around Rs.2200 that included 2 nights stay both in Gangtok and Darjeeling, the cost of travelling on a shared basis from New Jalpaiguri to Gangtok, Gangtok to Darjeeling and Darjeeling to New Jalpaiguri as well as a reserved car for local sightseeing in Gangtok and Darjeeling.

So we started our journey from NJP to Gangtok in a shared Tavera (the per head cost is around Rs150. If you are going in large groups you can even reserve one). I must say though the condition of the road was not very good yet the scenic view will definitely leave you mesmerized. The Teesta river running parallely to the road and the lofty Mountains will make you feel you are in a different world. Special thanks to Rishabh and Prabhat for the beautiful clicks they did on the way.

On the way we stopped at Abhinay Hotel at 29th mile for some very awesome momos and nice view of Teesta running behind the hotel.

 (you can see Rishabh in full swing :P)

We reached Gangtok at around 5 o'clock in the evening, went to our hotel as fixed by the travel agent and freshened up. Then we went to MG road which is the local market area. I must say its a good market but the only concern is it gets closed at around 8:30 p.m. After roaming around the shops for sometime we had our dinner there and came back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

Day 2:

The second day was dedicated to the much awaited Nathula Pass, Baba Mandir and Tsomgo Lake. The only thing to be kept in mind is that civilians are allowed to go there only for a few selected days of the week and you have to get a permit beforehand. We had already contacted an agent who agreed to make the permits for us and also reserved a Sumo for the trip at a total cost of Rs. 4000. While we were waiting for our car to arrive, to our luck we could see the lofty snow covered Kanchenjunga mountain near our hotel. It was one of the best views one can have in his lifetime.

Then finally we started our journey to Nathula. Its around four hours journey from Gangtok. Again the scenic view is one of the best anyone can imagine. After reaching Nathula you get an inner peace, a feeling of security and a feeling of pride for the country. Its nice to see our Indian Soldiers living in such a tough condition and protecting the borders (The Oxygen content there is very less and so is the temperature, make sure you do not run or physically strain yourself). There is also a cafe there known as cafe 14000, which is one of the highest cafes in the world. We ordered a plate of Maggi each but the temperature is so low there that it cools very rapidly, but still its very nice to eat it.

Our next destination was Baba Harbhajan Mandir. Its a very sacred place and has a touching history which can be read here. You can also get certificates here that you visited Nathula for 50 bucks.

Our last destination for the day was Tsomgo lake. One can enjoy photography and ride with Yaks for around 50 bucks per head.

You can also see some nice waterfalls on the way

(Kyongnosla Waterfall in the background)

Day 3

The third day was dedicated to the local sight-seeing in Gangtok city which included places like Bakthang waterfall Tashi view point where one can get good breakfast of Puri Sabzi (Really Nice), Ganeshtok and Hanumantok

Bakthang Waterfall

Tashi View Point

(Restaurant near Tashi View Point, Do try Puri Sabzi there)

After the visits to the view points we went to see Enchey Monastry, where there are cute little lamas in traditional dresses

After the visit to the Monastery we went to see Flower Show where there were different varieties of Orchids and Roses.

                                     

Other attractions included the Ropeway (Rs. 70 per head) which provides an aerial view of the city  and Do-drul Chorten Monastery near the ropeway. (Prabhat would be remembering it for a lifetime as he had a great fall while running on the steep road towards the monastery thus sabotaging his jeans, mobile and goggles)

Then finally we boarded Sumo for Darjeeling and went to our hotel which was in the market of darjeeling so we went out for a little window shopping thereafter.

Day 4: Darjeeling Zoo and Toy Train

The first day in Darjeeling was dedicated for zoo visit and Toy train. The Darjeeling zoo is one of the specialized Zoo in the country and is internationally recognized for its conservation breeding programmes of Red Panda, Snow Leopards, Tibetan Wolf and other highly endangered animal species of Eastern Himalaya.

Next we visited the much awaited toy train for a ride to Ghoom and Batasia Loop. To sit and travel in the toy train is in itself a feat to achieve and to continue with the legacy that was created years ago and being a huge train fan myself, it could not have been any better. You can book your toy train tickets online through IRCTC website or railway ticket counter and if you are going in an off season you can directly book the ticket at the station itself. The only problem with the ride is the train continuously spits out small pieces of coal onto you so better not to take the window seat.

The Magnificent Batasia Loop

After returning from our afternoon joy ride we went for a little snacks and shopping. The Ladenla road in Darjeeling is really nice as it has nice shops, eateries and a Mall too. We watched a movie (Thanks Prabal and Rishabh for making me a Matt Damon fan)  in a theatre nearby to call it a day.

Final Day

The last day of the trip was dedicated to the local sight seeing of Darjeeling. We visited a tea garden and had nice sips of hot tea and even purchased tea from there. 

Then we visited the Himalayan mountaineering institute and the museum which has very interesting pieces of artifacts and gives lot of knowledge about trekking and history of trekkers of the world (Photography Prohibited inside museum... so no photos)

Then we visited the Japanese Peace pagoda which is a brilliant piece of architecture combined with religion. We also met a Japanese monk who was incharge of the whole temple.

Ava art gallery was the last stop for our sight seeing which concluded with lunch at a restaurant in the market post which we took Sumo and returned back to New Jalpaiguri to catch our train to Sealdah.

The journey was indeed a memorable one, far from the hustle and bustle of our busy lives, the place provides an environment of calmness and positive thinking and as we say very commonly in the lingo of IIT Kharagpur "Peace at its best".