Explore Sikkim

SIKKIM is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful destinations of INDIA. With high mountain ranges and massive glaciers, vivacious rivers and placid lakes, alpine meadows and dense forests; with as many as 5000 flowering plants, 500 orchids, 500 species of birds and 650 species of butterflies; with rich culture and colourful traditions... this tiny little state has lots to offer. The visitor to Sikkim will be spoiled for choice with each of the four districts offering unique travel opportunities. There's something for every type of traveller. Some remote villages in west and north will give you a sneak peek into Sikkimese culture, the wildlife sanctuaries here will give you a glimpse into the exotic Himalayan wildlife, if you are the road tripper explore old silk route in east Sikkim to get picture-postcard landscapes and some great hikes in the mountains of north and west will give you a superb mountain escape. The best time to visit Sikkim is from November to May.

When I was planning my trip to Sikkim I realised the need for such post where the information on the state is at one place, hence this post. I am putting down some information (collected from various sources) here that will help you decide what to chose as per your interest and plan your vacation to Sikkim.

WEST DISTRICT:

Visit west Sikkim for history and religion. This is where the first Chogyal of Sikkim was consecrated at Yuksum in 1642 and some of the holiest and most important monasteries of Sikkim were established, including Dubdi and Sanga Choling. Pemayangtse Monastery one of the oldest monasteries of the State and houses priceless thankas, icons, Buddhist texts, paintings and frescos. It was built in the 18th century. Originally established by Lhatsun Chempo, one of the revered Lamas to have performed the consecration ceremony of the first Chogyal (Religious Monarch) of Sikkim. 

About 3kms from Pelling and few minutes walk further down from Pemayangtse Monastery are the Rabdentse ruins. Rabdentse is the second capital of the erstwhile Kingdom of Sikkim after Yuksom and till the year 1814 AD, the Kings of Sikkim had ruled the State from this place. 

West Sikkim has beautiful terrain with lakes and waterfalls in abundance and has some great trekking routes. Yuksom situated amidst pristine hills is the base camp for Dzongi trek. It is also the point from where one can visit the Kanchendzonga National Park.
An easy four kilometers trek from from Hilley takes one up to the Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary which is in bloom from March to April. One can also trek from Soreng and Dentam.
Khecheopalri Lake also known as the wishing lake is surrounded by forest and is believed that birds do not permit even a single leaf to float on the lake.

Khecheopalri Lake

Stay Options:
If you want to experience the living in the lap of nature with basic facilities stay at homestays in Hee burmoik, Khechiopalri or Dentam. And if you like staying at touristy location with all facilities stay at Pelling.

EAST DISTRICT:

Apart from the beautiful capital city of Gangtok, east Sikkim offers a lot more. If you are an adventurous soul and want to explore the unexplored, plan a road trip on the old Silk Route through Aritar, Zuluk, Thambi, Gnathang and to Nathula. It will take you through some breathtakingly beautiful landscapes and stunning views of Kanchenjunga range. Beautiful zig zag roads, amazing view of Kanchenjunga throughout, varied flora and fauna and lovely locals... all this makes the drive one of the most beautiful drives of India. You will cross through beautiful lakes like Kupup and Memenchu and waterfalls like Que Khola on the route.

Aritar is blessed with Lush green forests, sweeping hills of paddy fields and placid lake and monastery hidden inside deep forest that makes it a perfect destination for nature lovers.
The view of Kanchenjunga and Zuluk loops (32 hairpin bends) from Thambi view point is amazingly beautiful.
Gnathang is a beautiful small village nestled in a valley and has decent stay options.
Apart from this, in east you can also visit the beautiful Tsomgo Lake, the historically important Nathula pass, as well as many monasteries and temples. 

Zuluk Loops

Stay Options:

Homestays and guest houses in Zuluk, Aritar or Gnathang offer beautiful views and a feel of staying in a Himalayan village with touch of local culture. In Nathang temperature goes down to sub zero and water freezes when you wake up. So be prepared for that.
If you are looking for luxurious comfort stay in hotels at Gangtok.

Explore the silk route in east sikkim with professionals.

SOUTH DISTRICT:

South Sikkim, the smallest district of Sikkim is a fairy tale land with picturesque villages and high hills. It is a good destination for a short treks and village excursions.

Namchi, 80 kilometers from Gangtok offers a panoramic view of snow capped mountains. The head quarter of South Sikkim is a fast developing tourist destination. Namchi is famous for the flower festival which usually held in the month of February.

Ravangla is an ideal place for short treks. The trek to Meanam – a town situated on the ridge between the Meanam and Tendong hills, from Ravangla takes about 4 hours and from Maenam hill to Borong village. 

Borong is a small typical Sikkim Village with a beautiful set up. There is a hot spring which is known as Borong Tisa Chu.
Temi Tea Garden the only tea garden in Sikkim produces one of best quality tea in the international market. The garden is spread over a gentle slope of hills from Tendong and offers an extra ordinary view of surrounding villages.
Sikip, located on the banks of river Rangeet is an excellent fishing spot and river campsite.
Phur-cha-chu or the Hot Spring is an ideal for bird watching and butterflies.
Ralang Monastary, Sinon Monastery, Kewzing monastery are also places to visit in South Sikkim.

A typical village house

Stay options
Yangang, Tinkitam, Kewzing, Barfung & Bakhim are small villages with home stay options. You can also opt to stay at Namchi.

NORTH DISTRICT:

Visit North Sikkim for its heavenly beauty.  Sikkim tourism is emerging fast and North Sikkim is a must visit.  The breathtaking view of Mount Kanchendzonga, the fragrance of variety of flowers, the quietness of sparkling lakes and the gurgling of rivers make North Sikkim a destination that no nature lover should miss. Perhaps the most picturesque of all the districts, Mangan District Headquarter of North District is 67 kms from Gangtok. A three day music festival is held at Mangan in December every year. The roads are steep and winding so be prepared for a hectic trip. But all the effort surely will be worth it.

Chungthang, 95 kms from Gangtok, is situated on the confluence of the river Lachen Chu and Lachung Chu and it is the starting point of the river Tista. The valley is believed to have been blessed by guru Rimpoche and one can visit the Holy Guru Ihedu to see the foot and palm left behind by the patron saint. The place is rich in bio-diversity with a wide variety of plants, wild life & orchids.  Just 23kms and 29 kms away from Chungthang there another two important valleys Lachung and Lachen.

Yumthang, 140kms from Gangtok is at an elevation of 11800 feet. It alone is enough to satiate the most demanding, with its panoramic valley of Flowers. The valley has Shingbha Rhododendron Sanstuary 24 verities of rhododendrons. There is a hot spring and just 24 kms away Katao offers a panoramic view of snow capped peaks. A must-see here are the Yumthang "Tsa-Chu" - hot springs and the vibrant Sikkimese tribal culture and customs.  

Singhik has a number of interesting short nature trails for one to three days along the higher ridges of the surrounding hills.
Gurudongmar Lake is a enthralling lake of North Sikkim at an altitude of 17,150 ft. and surrounded by snow capped peaks
Singhik, Phodong Monartery, Phensong Monastery, Kabi Longstok, Mangan etc.are few other places to visit from Lachen similarly Katao, Yumeysomdong is close to Lachung. 

North Sikkim is known for its rhododendron forest and the snowfall. There are few trek routes also to Green Lake.

Lachen

Pic downloaded from net

Stay Options

One can stay at Lachung and Lachen. Expect basic homestays with warm hospitality and beautiful locations.

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Khecheopalri Village and the lake in West Sikkim

Walking up the dense forest at midnight with 3 sweet local guys and 2 friends from Delhi, I had no idea what to expect. I could see nothing except the winding path through thick forest; just that much that was shown by the torch and a dog crossing my path time and again who accompanied us on the whole trek. Dark night, twinkling stars, deep forest, fireflies and the only sound I could hear was of our footsteps... quite mysterious it was!

After a 3km uphill trek, it was a delight to reach the home-stay.  It was much more cozy, beautiful, well constructed and well managed than I expected. Hot meal waiting for us at midnight was cherry on the cake.

Temi Tea

I opened my eyes to a completely different world with the view of dense forest and a lake from the window of my room. It was a lovely morning. I went out to veranda and sat there enjoying the sounds and smell of the forest when a little girl came with a huge cup of famous temi tea. It was very refreshing. Along with us there were 2 more guests in the homestay - a lady from San Francisco who was staying here from a month and a lady from Italy who had also come last night much before we arrived. After taking some tips of what all to explore around from the SF lady, I went out to explore.

I have something for villages and local people, so rather than going to the lake or the caves I decided to go explore the village first. Our homestay was around a kilometer's walk from the village. Walking through a well paved way with pea plantation on the sides followed by a narrow path through cardamom plantations took me to the village. Huts were mostly self made with bamboo, wood and straw with lots of potted plants mainly flowers in front. This is the place that you thought existed only in your dreams.

A simple village house with potted flowers which is common in every house here

Self made lovely little hut... Every hut looks different here.

People seemed busy in their day to day chores. I could hardly see anyone. After some roaming around I met were two sweet young girls playing on a hammock and a young energetic guy playing guitar. When I stared talking to him I was surprised to know he knew that I came last night with 2 other friends and that we reached very late at night. He was genuinely interested to know if the climb was ok and we did not get very tired. It's a small village and everyone seem to know each other. The guys accompanying us in the night were related to him.

Simple yet talented people in romote yet well connected village

Currency pasted on a wall by
travellers from different countries 

Anyway after a quick introduction he took me to show around his place. I was amazed to see it. One wall had coins from all over the world stuck to it, another wall had pics of him and his family with foreigners, a world map, lots of travel guide books and hand made wind chimes hanging above the dining table. The pictures he told were taken by his guests and sent to him later by post, the wind chimes were also made by the guests and were presented to him as the parting gift. He insisted I check out his kitchen too.
It was a small but very well organised modern kitchen and inside there was a traditional clay stove as well. little more talk and I got to know this is his homestay where he mostly get backpackers from all over the world. He is running it from past 15 years. And its mainly through the his traveller guests that he learns about the world.

Well organised Sikkimese kitchen

I visited the village again in the evening and went till the monastery. On my way back heard guitar playing in a room. went inside to seee some local youngsters playing guitar and singing. they were happy to have a guest joining in. There was no hesitation whatsoever.

Ex service-man retired from Indian army

Another interesting character I met was an old man sitting by the window smiling at every passerby. He was in army and was posted at Dehradun before his retirement. Now he spends all his time in this small village with his family.

Just in a day I got so attached to the people and the place, I surely would want to come back here for atleast a week.


The next day was spent exploring the lake and caves. We had to down trek to the road to reach the lake. The lake is sacred for both Buddhists and Hindus and is believed to be a wish fulfilling lake. The local name for the lake is Sho Dzo Sho, which means "Oh Lady, Sit Here". The popularly known name of the lake is Khecheopalri Lake as its nestled in the midst of the Khechoedpaldri hill, which is also considered as a sacred hill. 

 According to Buddhist belief the lake is the emanation of goddess Tara blessed by Guru Rempoche. Local folk tales say the lake got migrated from elsewhere and stayed in the valley which some of the then villagers saw it, therefore, they named the lake Chojoo “The lake that stayed” The miraculous part of the lake is that surface of the lake is clean in spite of it being surrounded by the thick forest. Leaves do fall on it sometimes but the birds fly in and instantly pick them away. 

On the other side in about one hour walk from the lake there is a holy cave.

Khecheopalri Lake

---------------------------------------------------THE GUIDE------------------------------------------------------

Best time to visit: The best months to visit are from September to May.

How to reach: The lake is in West Sikkim and is147 kilometres from Gangtok  and 32 kilometres from Pelling town. You can hire a cab from Pelling to reach the lake. There are no local buses but there are some shared jeeps that ply from Pelling and Geyzing once or twice a day.  There is a walking track too from Pelling to this lake, which takes around 5 hours. 

Where to stay: There are some basic guest houses nearby lake. If you want to stay in the village and experience local life trek up to the village (30 - 40 min trek) and look for homestays. There are some good ones to spend a few days in the lap of nature ranging from 800-1400pp /day including meals

Get in touch with ChaloLetsGo for customised trips if you want to explore Sikkim.

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