India
Darjeeling and Sikkim
Tea gardens on steep ridges, a little steam railway, and views of Kanchenjunga, the third-highest mountain in the world. Next door, Sikkim is a small Himalayan state of monasteries and forests.
Darjeeling was the summer capital of British Bengal, and its tea estates still produce some of the most prized tea in the world. On a clear morning, Kanchenjunga fills the northern sky.
Sikkim, a Buddhist kingdom until 1975, has monasteries, rhododendron forests and some of the best mountain walking in India. It is a natural route into Bhutan, overland or by air from Bagdogra.
Written by the TravelZeg team in New Delhi.
In short
- Best for
- Mountain views, tea, Buddhist monasteries, gentle walking
- Less suited to
- The monsoon months, when cloud hides the mountains
- Best time
- October to December for clear views; March to May for rhododendrons.
- Ideal length
- 5 to 8 nights.
Where to go
Where to go
- Darjeeling
- Sunrise over Kanchenjunga from Tiger Hill, the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, and the toy train, a UNESCO World Heritage railway.
- The tea estates
- A night in a planter's bungalow, with a walk through the gardens and a tasting at the factory.
- Gangtok and Rumtek
- Sikkim's capital on its ridge, and Rumtek, one of the most important monasteries of Tibetan Buddhism outside Tibet.
- Pelling and western Sikkim
- The monasteries of Pemayangtse and Tashiding, and some of the closest views of Kanchenjunga.
- North Sikkim
- High valleys of rhododendrons and yaks at Lachung and Yumthang, for those with time.
Our view
What we rate, and what we would skip
What we rate
A tea bungalow rather than a town hotel
Quieter, with the gardens at the door.
The toy train, for a short stretch
The full journey takes most of a day; an hour is enough for most people.
Combining with Bhutan
Western Sikkim to Phuentsholing makes a beautiful overland entry.
What we would skip
Visiting in the monsoon
June to September is wet and cloudy, with landslides on the roads.
Too short a stay
Mountain views depend on the weather; give yourself a few mornings.
North Sikkim in one night
It needs at least two nights from Gangtok.
Practical
Getting there and around
- Getting there
- Fly to Bagdogra from Delhi or Kolkata, then about three hours by road. Foreign visitors need a permit for Sikkim, which we arrange.
- Combine with
- Bhutan; Kolkata; Nepal.
Plan my journey
Tell us roughly what you have in mind
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