Sikkim-Darjeeling family tour (Mar2017)
After a long span of almost ten months we planned for a family holiday and this time the destination was Sikkim and Darjeeling.
We boarded 12809 Mumbai-Howrah mail (via Nagpur) from Bilaspur station and set off for our tour to Sikkim and Darjeeling.The train was late and we reached Howrah station at around 11.00am. After a light lunch at Howrah railway station, we boarded a taxi to Kolkata's Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose air-port.We boarded the 13.30 flight to Bagdogra. We landed the Bagdogra air-port at around 14.45 Hrs and contacted our tour operator UDAAN. After the payment formalities and a brief introduction we started our road journey from Bagdogra to Gangtok. Our tour operator had provided us a Estilo car for complete Sikkim tour and our driver was Dewarsh, a young Sikkimese man from Pelling area.The driver quickly crossed the bustling town of Siliguri and soon we were on the picturesque highway to Gangtok.The road condition was fine but from Sevoke , it was a hilly road and sharp road-curves with uphill profile were quite frequent.From the car we could get a fascinating view of the mighty Teesta river.
 |
| Teesta River on the way from Bagdora to Gangtok |
Most of the area was a thick forest with tall Sal trees.After crossing Melli, we halted at Rangpo for a short tea-break.As we departed Rangpo it was already dark and temperature had dipped to about 15 deg C ( in Mar last week).We continued our journey through Singtam and by the time we reached Ranipool, it was raining.Lower temperatures accompanied with rains made us uncomfortable.Gangtok city begins from Ranipool and we were surprised and delighted to find out that Gangtok was quite a populous city bustling with modern shops,restaurants,Hotels , educational institutes and residential buildings.However the roads were quite narrow and overloaded with very high number of vehicles.Gangtok city is nestled on the hill slopes and the city roads have sharp uphills and downhills.Driving in Gangtok/Sikkim may be difficult for non-Sikkimese drivers.
We finally reached our hotel, Keepsa Residency at around 19.30 Hrs.It was a nice cosy hotel , very clean and well-maintained.Our third floor room was quite spacious , furnished with double bed,sofas,dressing table,toilet with bathtub and separate glass-cabin for shower, and the much needed room heater.
 |
| Hotel Keepsa Residency, Gangtok |
 |
| Third floor lobby at Hotel Keepsa Residency |
The temperature was quite low and we had to resort to warm clothing.After a short supper we quickly went to bed.It was a cold night and we would have loved to stay in the bed, till late in the morning.But our driver was supposed to come by 9 am and we had to get ready.The early morning view of the Kanchendzonga mountains from our glass window was fabulous.
 |
| A view of Gangtok city from our room window |
We quickly finished the buffet-breakfast at the in-house restaurant on the ground floor.Our driver was waiting for us .
 |
| Rumtek monastery , Near Gangtok |
 |
| Roadside flowers on way to Rumtek monastery |
The monastery is a serene place situated on a hill-top and with strong security by BSF (Border Security Force) personnel's. The beautifully decorated central temple is surrounded by hostels of the resident bhikshoo (students). Boys as young as 5 years and as old as 50 years were the students of this monastery.The monastery had a in house restaurant serving tea,coffee,Thupka,Noodles etc to the tourist.Outside the monastery campus, local restaurants served fresh and delicious momo's.
After having a heavy brunch of local Sikkimese food, we returned to Gangtok and visited the Do-Drul Chorten monastery.
 |
| Do-Drul Chorten monastery, Gangtok |
 |
| Do-Drul Chorten monastery , Gangtok |
By the time we reached the monastery , it was raining and we quickly visited the monastery. The dusk had set by 5 pm.Sikkim being on the eastern part of India the local time is always ahead of the IST (Indian Standard Time) and we experienced that darkness sets by around 5 pm.We called it a day and retired to our hotel.
The city was drenched by the evening rains and we decided to take a stroll along the city's mall road, the famous MG road(Mahatma Gandhi road).The road is full of shops for local souvenirs , branded showrooms, restaurants and local eateries etc.The street is crowded with tourists and the shops do a brisk business.MG road has restaurants serving South Indian,North Indian, Chinese and Bengali dishes.It was a chilled evening and warm clothes were very much required.We had our dinner at MG road and walked lazily to our hotel.The night was cold , but the room-heater at our hotel made it a cosy place.
Naamchi is a small town in Sikkim situated about 80 Km from Gangtok.The roads winded through the ups and downs of the hilly terrain and we passed through green dense forests, small Sikkimese villages practicing organic farming, and breathtaking roadside view-points.We reached the Samdruptse monastery by around 1.30pm.
 |
| Entrance to Samdruptse , Naamchi |
 |
| Guru Padmasambhave , Naamchi |
The place has huge 45m tall statue of Guru Padmasambhave (Guru Rinpoche) a saint from Sikkim.It is situated on a hill top from where one can get a beautiful panorama of the surrounding mountains and forests.It has accommodation facilities for the tourists at reasonable rates and has a restaurant complex at its entrance.
 |
| Inside Guru Padmasambhave temple |
 |
| Guru Padmasambhave temple , Naamchi |
A ropeway from this place descends down to the Rock garden where one can relax for a while.
 |
| Ropeway , Naamchi |
 |
| Rock garden , Naamchi |
 |
| Rock garden , Naamchi |
We moved ahead , crossed the picturesque Naamchi town and reached the Chaardhaam Mandir complex.It is a huge tourist complex situated atop a hill with a sprawling garden with marble floors, numerous temples , tourist accommodation facilities,restaurants and shops.We relaxed here for about one hour and started our return journey.
 |
| Chaardham mandir complex , Naamchi |
 |
| Chaardham mandir complex , Naamchi |
Due to omnipresent mountain roads , my 4-yearsold younger son was feeling giddy and we stopped at a chemist shop at Naamchi to get some medicines. Naamchi is a nice little tourist place , less crowded than Gangtok and highly recommended for tourists searching for off-beat tracks.
We returned to our hotel by 8 pm .
The next morning we packed our bags and after a heavy breakfast we headed for our next destination to Pelling. On the way we halted at a local hotel at Sangmo for a delicious lunch of Thupka and momo's.
 |
| A roadside restaurant at Sangmo, on way to Pelling |
We reached Pelling at about 4.00 pm. Our tour operator had booked Hotel Himalayan Retreat at Pelling. We relaxed at our hotel room for the rest of the day.
 |
| Hotel Himalayan Retreat , Pelling |
Pelling was colder with a day temperature of about 12 degC and the night was 5 deg C or less.
The next day we went for Pelling sight seeing and our first destination was the Kanchendzonga waterfalls which was about 30 Km from Pelling. Being a majestic waterfall amid lush green valley it is a very popular tourist destination.Here we enjoyed the adventure sport of valley crossing and brunched on local snacks like bhutta(corn) , momo's and chowmein served at the roadside hotels.
 |
| Kanchendzonga waterfalls , Pelling |
 |
| Such beautiful flowers are seen everywhere in Sikkim |
 |
| Kanchendzonga waterfalls , Pelling |
 |
| Valley crossing at Kanchendzonga waterfalls |
After spending about 1.5 hours at this place we headed next to the Khechuperi lake which was about 16 Km from the Kanchendzonga falls.It is a lake surrounded by mountains and forests and the water is crystal clear . It is considered as a holy lake by the local residents and a Buddhist temple is nearby.
 |
| Near Khechuperi lake |
 |
| The walkway to Khechuperi lake |
 |
| Khechuperi lake is considered as a holy-lake by the local people |
 |
| The mesmerising atmosphere at Khechuperi lake |
 |
| Local houses near Khechuperi lake |
 |
| Khechuperi lake viewed from nearby hilltop |
A narrow pathway along the woody slopes , lead to the top of a hill from where one can get a fascinating view of the of the Khechupuri lake.The mountain mist, the cool atmosphere,the thick woods , the fluttering of the numerous mantra-flags on long strings and high poles, all leads to an entire new world of ecstasy. It was hard to leave the place but we moved ahead to see the Pemayangtse monastery and finally headed to Darjeeling.
 |
| Pemayangtse monastery , Pelling |
 |
| Pemayangtse monastery , Pelling |
The road journey from Pelling to Darjeeling was a long and exhaustive one.The hilly road with its twists and turns and ups and downs was dangerous as well as scenic.After Legship town the road was only a mud patch.which ran almost parallel to the Rangeet river till Jorethang. On the way we halted at a restaurant at Mabong for a belated lunch.
 |
| The Rangeet river parallel to Pelling Darjeeling road |
 |
| Traffic jam on Pelling Darjeeling road |
 |
| A roadside restaurant at Mabong , Pelling-Darjeeling road |
At Jorethang we crossed the Sikkim-West Bengal border and entered West Bengal.From here the road was worst . It was only a muddy road with loose stones lying on the road at many places.We reached Darjeeling late in the evening by 7 pm. Just like Sikkim, Darjeeling was cold in the evenings.Our tour operator had booked Hotel Chas Sanderling at Darjeeling.We reached the hotel at about 7.30 pm and after a quick supper, we called it a day.
 |
| Hotel Chas Sanderling , Darjeeling |
Here we left our Sikkim driver, Dewarsh who accompanied us for the last three days.The next day a new driver was Kundan , from Darjeeling and his Travera vehicle was allotted to us.The next day tour was to start at 4.00 am and the driver was supposed to take us to sun-rise point and the Ghoom monastery.But alas ! the next day early morning witnessed heavy rains and we could not visit the sun-rise point and the Ghoom monastery.We advised the driver to be ready by 9 am and after a sumptous breakfast at our hotel restaurant we started our sight seeing tour of Darjeeling.Our first destination was Padmaja Naidu zoological park and Himalayan mountaineering institute, both in the same campus.
 |
| Zoological park & Himalayan mountaineering institute , Darjeeling |
 |
| Sherpa Tenzing Norgay , Himalayan Mountaineering institute |
 |
| Himalayan mountaineering institute , Darjeeling |
 |
| Himalayan mountaineering institute , Darjeeling |
 |
| Asiatic bear , Zoological park , Darjeeling |
 |
| Red Panda , Zoological park , Darjeeling |
The zoo had animals like the Royal Bengal tiger, Asiatic black bear, snow leaopards, Red panda and many other Himalayan forest mammals.The zoo also had a collection of exotic Himalayan birds.It was very entertaining for children.
The Himalayan mountaineering institute and its museum was highly informative on various trekking expeditions to the Himalayas and especially the mount Everest.A wide variety of vintage trekking gears were kept for display.After spending about three hours in this campus we relished the bhutta's (corn ) and waited for our driver.Darjeeling is very crowded with tourists and its narrow roads are insufficient to cater the massive vehicular traffic and heavy tourist population.We next headed to Tenzing rock followed by Tea-gardens.
 |
| Tenzing rock , Darjeeling |
 |
| Tea gardens , Darjeeling |
 |
| Tea gardens , Darjeeling |
Our next destination was Japanese temple and Peace-pagoda which was at a diagonally opposite corner of Darjeeling.We crossed the main town and its bustling bazars and local traffic along the narrow roads and bylanes was quite interesting for a first time tourist in Darjeeling.The Japanese temple and the the Peace pagoda are nearby and worth a visit.
 |
| Japanese temple , Darjeeling |
 |
| Japanese temple , Darjeeling |
 |
| Peace pagoda , Darjeeling |
 |
| Japanese temple |
 |
| Peace pagoda |
We took a drop in the main market area and left our vehicle for the day.We strolled through the markets which was quite developed and offered the most modern goods at very competitive prices.The market is especially good for winter wear and travelling gears, also a wide variety of high end souvenirs and snack restaurants were available.After some shopping we had dinner at a restaurant and returned to our hotel.
 |
| Darjeeling railway station |
 |
| Darjeeling railway station |
The next morning we rolled in our beds till late in the morning and after the breakfast we packed our bags and started our return journey to Bagdogra airport.
 |
| The road from Darjeeling to Bagdogra |
By 12.30pm we reached Siliguri town and had a sumptuous lunch at a highway restaurant.We reached Bagdogra airport by 1.30pm . Our 2.40pm flight to Kolkata was delayed due to heavy traffic congestion at the airport.
Finally we reached Kolkata air port at 4.30pm. We relaxed for a while at the airport and hired a taxi to Howrah railway station.It was a Sunday evening and the MG road market with its fancy showrooms and the bustling street markets made us shopping sick.But we had to catch the 8.40 pm Howrah Mumbai mail and we rushed to Howrah railway station.We had a quick dinner at the railway restaurant and boarded our train.
