Nine days and the whole state, from Gurudongmar to Pemayangtse
8 Nights / 9 Days2N Gangtok · 2N Lachung · 1N Lachen · 1N Gangtok · 2N PellingBest: April to May, and October to NovemberBagdogra (IXB) or New Jalpaiguri (NJP)
About this trip
Sikkim is small enough to cross in a day and varied enough that people spend a career photographing it. This is the itinerary for travellers who do not want to come back for the bits they missed.
It runs the North Sikkim circuit in full, comes back down through Gangtok, and then crosses west to Pelling for the Kanchenjunga views and the old royal capital at Rabdentse. That western leg is the half that most trips drop, and it is the half with the history.
Nine days sounds long until you look at the map. The distances are short and the hours are not, and this pace is the one that lets you stop when the light is good.
Trip highlights
Gurudongmar Lake at 5,430 m and Yumthang Valley
Tsomgo Lake and Baba Mandir
Kanchenjunga from the Pelling balconies at sunrise
Pemayangtse Monastery, 1705, and the Rabdentse ruins
Khecheopalri, the wishing lake
Rumtek and the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology
Day by day
This is the plan as we would run it. Days can be swapped, dropped or added — say what you want changed and we will rebuild it before you pay anything.
1
Day 1
Arrive and transfer to Gangtok
Met at Bagdogra or NJP, up the Teesta into Sikkim, about four and a half hours. Permit check at Rangpo. Evening free on MG Marg. Drink water; you are starting an altitude trip.
Teesta valley driveMG Marg
Stay: GangtokMeals: Dinner
2
Day 2
Tsomgo Lake and Baba Mandir
Up to 3,780 m and back down to sleep, which is exactly what your body wants two days before Gurudongmar. Glacial lake, prayer flags, yaks, and the shrine to Baba Harbhajan Singh beyond it.
Tsomgo LakeBaba Mandir
Stay: GangtokMeals: Breakfast, dinner
3
Day 3
North to Lachung
Six to seven hours up the Teesta gorge past the Seven Sisters and Naga waterfalls, through Chungthang, into the apple valley at Lachung.
The Teesta gorgeArrive Lachung at 2,750 m
Stay: LachungMeals: Breakfast, dinner
4
Day 4
Yumthang Valley and Zero Point
Early to Yumthang at 3,575 m, rhododendron everywhere in April and May, hot spring across the footbridge. Zero Point at 4,700 m is the optional extra beyond it.
Yumthang ValleyZero Point, optional
Stay: LachungMeals: Breakfast, dinner
5
Day 5
Across to Lachen
Back down to Chungthang and up the other fork. Short day by design, because tomorrow starts at 4 am. Lachen Monastery above the village if there is light.
Chungthang river forkLachen village
Stay: LachenMeals: Breakfast, dinner
6
Day 6
Gurudongmar, then down to Gangtok
Out at 4 am onto the plateau. The lake at 5,430 m, twenty minutes there, then the long descent: breakfast at Lachen and on to Gangtok by evening.
Gurudongmar Lake at 5,430 m
Stay: GangtokMeals: Breakfast, dinner
Gurudongmar is open to Indian nationals only. Foreign nationals go to Chopta Valley instead.
7
Day 7
Gangtok to Pelling, the long way round
West across the state, roughly five hours, past the Ravangla Buddha Park and the Namchi Char Dham if the timing suits. Pelling sits at 2,150 m facing the range. Ask for an upper-floor room and open the curtains before you sleep.
Ravangla Buddha ParkArrive Pelling
Stay: PellingMeals: Breakfast, dinner
8
Day 8
West Sikkim: Pemayangtse, Rabdentse and Khecheopalri
Kanchenjunga at breakfast if the sky is with you. Then Pemayangtse Monastery, founded 1705, and a short walk through forest to the Rabdentse ruins, the second capital of the Sikkimese kingdom, standing on a spur with the range behind. Afternoon to Khecheopalri lake, Kanchenjunga Falls and Rimbi, and the Pelling Skywalk.
Down through Jorethang and out to the plains, about five hours. Flights after 1 pm.
Transfer to IXB or NJP
Stay: Departure dayMeals: Breakfast
Where you stay
Hotels are named on your written itinerary before you pay. The properties below are the ones we normally use in this band; if one is full on your dates we substitute a hotel of the same standard and tell you which, rather than leaving you to find out at check-in.
Gangtok3 nightsStandard to deluxe, near MG MargTypically: Summit Newa Regency · Denzong Regency · or similar
Lachung2 nightsMountain resort standardTypically: Sinclairs Retreat Lachung · Yarlam Resort · or similar
Lachen1 nightMountain lodge standardTypically: Apple Orchard Resort · or similar
Pelling2 nightsDeluxe, upper Pelling, mountain-facingTypically: Summit Newa Regency Pelling · The Elgin Mount Pandim · or similar
Getting around
Private vehicle throughout except north of Chungthang, where a permitted local jeep is mandatory and is included.
Up to 4 travellers normally ride in a Wagon R, Swift Dzire or similar; 5 to 7 in an Innova, Xylo or Scorpio; 8 and above in a Tempo Traveller or a second vehicle. On the North Sikkim and Silk Route legs the vehicle is always a Bolero, Sumo or Scorpio, because that is what those roads take.
What is and is not included
Included in the price
Accommodation on twin sharing in the hotel category booked, with all applicable taxes
Daily breakfast and dinner at the hotel, unless stated otherwise for a particular night
All transfers and sightseeing by private non-air-conditioned hill vehicle, exclusively for your group
Driver allowance, fuel, tolls, parking and inter-state road taxes
All permits and inner-line documentation required by the itinerary
Pick-up and drop at Bagdogra airport (IXB) or New Jalpaiguri station (NJP)
A named trip coordinator reachable by phone for the length of the trip
All Sikkim permits: inner line, North Sikkim protected area and Tsomgo
Shared local jeep for the Yumthang and Gurudongmar excursions
Not included
Air and rail fare to and from the start point
Lunch, and any meal not listed as included
Entry tickets and camera fees at monuments, parks and viewpoints, unless a line above includes them
Any ride, activity or excursion marked optional in the day-by-day plan
Room service, laundry, telephone calls, tips and anything of a personal nature
Travel insurance and medical costs
Cost of any extension, detour or extra night caused by weather, landslide, roadblock, strike or another event outside our control
Anything not expressly listed under what is included
Zero Point excursion, paid locally
Nathu La permit and vehicle charge, if added
Pelling Skywalk and monastery entry tickets
Booking, payment and cancellation
How booking works
A written itinerary with named hotels and one all-in price is issued before any payment is taken.
Booking is confirmed against the advance; hotel and transport vouchers are issued once it is received.
The balance is payable before the trip begins, unless a different schedule is agreed in writing.
Peak-season travel (mid-October to early January, and mid-April to early June) is held on shorter cut-offs and may need full payment earlier.
Rates are held against the dates quoted. A change of dates is re-quoted at the rates for the new dates.
Government levies, permit fees and entry charges are charged at the rate in force on the day of travel.
If you have to cancel
Cancellations must reach us in writing. The date we receive that message is the date we use.
What we can return depends on what the hotels, transport and permit offices have already charged us. Those deductions are passed on at cost, without a markup from us.
Permits, entry tickets and train or air tickets already issued are governed by the issuing authority and are usually non-refundable.
Peak-season bookings carry tighter terms because hotels hold us to tighter terms. These are stated on your confirmation.
No refund is due for unused nights, unused services or an early departure once a trip has begun.
A road or pass closed by weather is not a cancellation. We rework the day; costs already committed to third parties cannot be returned.
Your written confirmation carries the exact advance, the balance date and the cancellation schedule for your trip. Those numbers, not this page, are the ones that apply. Full terms are on the booking conditions page.
Questions about this trip
Is nine days too long for Sikkim?
It is the right length if you want the west as well as the north. If you have to cut, cut Pelling and take the six-night North Sikkim trip; do not cut the acclimatisation nights in Gangtok.
Can we add Darjeeling to this?
Yes, and it is the most common change people ask for. Two nights at the start, before Gangtok, adds about a day and a half of driving in total. Ask us and we will re-quote.
Fill this in and we will come back with a proper day-by-day itinerary for your dates, with named hotels and one all-in price. No payment is taken at this stage and nothing is confirmed until you say so.
We reply within the working day.
The itinerary comes in writing, with the hotels named.
Change anything you like before you decide.
Your details stay with us. We do not sell or share them.
Kanchenjunga from the balcony, and the ruins of the old kingdom
4 Nights / 5 DaysSikkim & Darjeeling
From₹13,900per person, twin sharing
View trip
Tell us roughly what you want. We will send back a real itinerary.
Dates, how many of you, and anywhere you have your heart set on — that is enough for us to start. You will get a day-by-day plan with named hotels and one all-in price, in writing, before you pay anything.
