Private journeys in seven lands · a planner replies within one working day
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Nine nights across Sikkim: Gangtok's monasteries and Tsomgo Lake from the Taj Guras Kutir, two nights in the Lachung valley for Yumthang, and three at the Elgin Mount Pandim in Pelling for Kanchenjunga at dawn, Pemayangtse and Yuksom. North Sikkim access is confirmed before you travel.
Sikkim is small, but its roads are slow and its valleys very different from one another. This journey gives each part room. In Gangtok you see Rumtek and the institutes of the royal ridge and drive to Tsomgo Lake near the Tibetan border. In the north, the Lachung valley leads to Yumthang, a high meadow of rhododendrons in spring and gold grass in autumn. In the west, Pelling looks straight at Kanchenjunga across the valleys.
We stay at Taj Guras Kutir in Gangtok and the Elgin Mount Pandim in Pelling, with the best lodge available in Lachung, where luxury does not yet exist. North Sikkim has been disrupted by floods and landslides since 2023, so we confirm road access shortly before travel and keep an alternative ready, usually extra nights in Gangtok and Ravangla. Check current status before you travel.
Highlights
Day by day
Your guide and driver meet you at Bagdogra airport for the drive up the Teesta valley. Foreign travellers obtain or show their Sikkim Restricted Area Permit at Rangpo, the state border. The road climbs through forest and small towns to Gangtok, on its ridge at about 1,650 m. Check in to Taj Guras Kutir, with time to rest and look across the hills.
A morning at Rumtek, the largest monastery in Sikkim and the seat of the Karma Kagyu school, rebuilt by the 16th Karmapa in the 1960s. After lunch, visit the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology and its museum, the Do Drul Chorten, and Enchey Monastery above the town. In the evening, walk MG Marg with a food guide for momos, thukpa and Sikkimese dishes.
An early start for Tsomgo Lake, about 38 km and 2.5 hours up a steep mountain road, with permits arranged the day before. At about 3,750 m, the sacred glacial lake is frozen in winter, ringed by rhododendrons in spring and clear in autumn. Indian citizens may continue to Nathu La on its open days. Return to Gangtok for lunch and a quiet afternoon at the resort.
Leave by 8 am for the long drive north with North Sikkim permits, in a locally registered vehicle. Stop at Phodong Monastery and the Singhik viewpoint, then follow the Teesta into its gorge, where waterfalls fall beside the road. At Chungthang, see where the 2023 floods struck, before the final climb to Lachung at about 2,700 m. Dinner at your lodge, with heated rooms.
Drive up the valley at dawn to Yumthang, at about 3,560 m within the Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary. In April and May the slopes flower in reds and pinks; in October and November the meadows are gold and the peaks clear. Walk by the river, visit the hot springs and return to Lachung for lunch. In the afternoon, walk the village and visit its monastery.
The return drive down the Teesta valley, with time to stop at waterfalls you passed on the way up. Arrive in Gangtok in the afternoon and check in to the Elgin Nor-Khill, the 1932 royal guest house, for a night in the centre of town. Walk to MG Marg for a final evening among Gangtok's cafes and bakeries.
Drive south and west through Singtam and up to Ravangla, with a stop at its Buddha Park and lunch nearby. Continue via Legship to Pelling and the Elgin Mount Pandim, a heritage hotel below Pemayangtse Monastery. If the evening is clear, the Kanchenjunga range is lit pink across the valley as you arrive.
Wake before dawn for tea on the lawn as the first light strikes Kanchenjunga and its neighbours. After breakfast, walk up to Pemayangtse, founded in 1705, to see its murals and the carved wooden model of Guru Rinpoche's celestial palace. Then follow the forest path to the ruins of Rabdentse, Sikkim's capital from 1670 until 1814.
A second chance at the dawn view, then a day in the old heart of Sikkim. Walk to the jetty at Khecheopalri, the sacred wishing lake, and continue to Yuksom, where the first Chogyal was crowned in 1642 on the stone throne at Norbugang. Fit walkers can climb through forest to Dubdi Monastery, founded in 1701. Return to Pelling for a final dinner.
A last look at the mountains at dawn, then the drive down through west Sikkim and the Teesta valley to Bagdogra airport for an afternoon or evening flight. We plan a lunch stop on the way and leave a comfortable margin for traffic around Siliguri.
Included
Not included
Where you sleep
A recent Taj resort and spa in the hills around Gangtok, named after the guras, Sikkim's rhododendron. It brings Taj service to Sikkim, with mountain-facing rooms, …
Gangtok's heritage hotel, built in 1932 as a guest house for the Chogyal, the former king of Sikkim, and now run by the Elgin group. Rooms …
A heritage hotel on the ridge below Pemayangtse Monastery near Pelling, run by Elgin Hotels, with a lawn and rooms that face the Kanchenjunga range. It …
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Questions travellers ask
April and May for rhododendrons in Yumthang, and October and November for clear mountain views and stable roads. March and December are also good, though colder in Lachung. We avoid June to September, when the monsoon brings landslides and closes North Sikkim.
Access has varied since the October 2023 Teesta flood and later landslides, with closures and phased reopenings. We confirm status shortly before you travel. If it is closed, we replace Lachung with extra nights in Gangtok and Ravangla. Check current status before you travel.
Foreigners need a Sikkim Restricted Area Permit, issued free at Rangpo, Bagdogra or online, and extra permits for Tsomgo Lake and North Sikkim. Indians need permits only for protected areas such as Tsomgo, Nathu La and North Sikkim. We arrange all permits.
At Taj Guras Kutir in Gangtok, the Elgin Nor-Khill for a night in central Gangtok, and the Elgin Mount Pandim in Pelling. In Lachung, where there are no luxury hotels, we book the best well-run lodge with heated rooms.
Very likely between October and December, when clear dawns are frequent, and possible in spring. We plan two dawns at Pelling, which faces the massif directly, and keep watch from Gangtok too. Cloud usually builds by mid-morning.
The highest points are Tsomgo Lake at about 3,750 m and Yumthang at about 3,560 m, both day visits. Lachung, where you sleep, is about 2,700 m. Move slowly at altitude and drink water. Zero Point at about 4,700 m is optional and weather-dependent.
From about ₹2,90,000 per person, twin sharing, including hotels, meals as listed, a private car and guide, permits and entry fees. Prices vary with season and room category. Flights to Bagdogra are extra.
Yes. Darjeeling is about 4 hours from Pelling or Gangtok. It is in West Bengal and outside our North East region, but we can add two nights on request, usually at the end before flying from Bagdogra.
Yes, for families comfortable with long mountain drives. Children enjoy Tsomgo's snow, the waterfalls on the North Sikkim road and the monasteries. We keep high-altitude visits short and avoid Zero Point with young children.
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