Travelling / Driving in Sikkim
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Overall, the roads are in quite bad conditions. Terrain makes the roads very winding as well. To get anywhere from Gangtok, you need to have a good vehicle with a four wheel drive. If you are prone to motion sickness, you will have to be on a heavy doze of Promethazine (Avomine/Dramanmine etc.). If you are headed to North Sikkim, please book the trip through a reputed travel agent. We booked ours through Galaxy Tours and Treks and from our experience, we would recommend them highly.
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Hotel Sonam Delek, Gangtok: This is a mid-range hotel and amenities are decent. The bathrooms are very clean. The rooms are carpeted and it has an acceptable level of cleanliness. The breakfast spread is decent and it changes everyday. They serve the breakfast early. The service is fast and good. A-la-carte dinner was a bit disappointing. The views from the balcony is excellent. On a clear day, you will get the best view in town of the Kangchenjunga range. It is a short 5 min walk down to the MG road. It is not easy to find taxis outside the hotel. That is pretty much the only downside.
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Hotel Aurora Pelling, Sikkim: Another mid-range hotel. The food is decent, not great. Rooms and bathrooms are clean. The rooftop has the best view in town of the Kangchenjunga range. Service is good. It is a fair bit away from the town centre. You need to have your own transport to get around.
Driving Distances / Conditions
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North Sikkim Loop: To get to North Sikkim, you need to get to Chungthang. There are couple of ways to get there, both are equally bad (road condition wise). You normally leave late in the morning as the tour agent needs to arrange for the permits. Try to get out of Gangtok by 11 am. You will be Chungthang by 4pm. You can then head 2 hrs up to Lachen, spend your first night there. Then head early in the morning to Gurudongmar lake. Lachen to Gurudongmar is 4hrs (with a breakfast stop). That means you need to leave at 4am to be able to make it back to Lachen by noon/1pm. After lunch you head back down to Chungthang and head up to Lachung (1.5 hrs from Chungthang). Your second night will be Lachung. It is about an hour to Yumthang Valley from Lachung. If you come all the way here, you must go upto Zero Point. The views are spectacular on a clear day. It is a furtheer 2 hrs (one-way) to get to Zero Point from Yumthang. You can spend your third night in Lachung and head back to Gangtok on the fourth day. One way to cut time would be to head all the way back to Gangtok on day 3. But that will make it two very long days back to back. If you only have time for one valley, Yumthang be the one. Overall, it is better. Note that Gurudongmar is not open to non-Indians. Without Gurudongmar, heading to Lachen is not worth the effort.
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South and West Sikkim: Gangtok to Namchi will take 3 hours. You will need at least an hour and a half to check out Samudruptse and Char Dham (plus a quick lunch). Namchi to Rabongla is little less than an hour. You will need about 30 mins at the Sakhyamuni Buddha Complex in Rabongla. Rabongla to Pelling is about 2.5 to 3 hrs. Pelling - Kangchenjunga Falls - Khecheopalri Lake - Pelling will take you leisurely 3 hrs and hurriedly 2. Pelling to Jorethang is 2 hrs. Jorethang to Malli is 1.5 hrs. Malli to Siliguri is another 1.5 hrs.