Visit to Gangtok (Part - 3)

[Continued from Visit to Gangtok (Part - 2)] The next day we woke up early. We got ready quickly and were there at the Alternative Tours & Travels Office by 7:35 am. There we waited for some time. Then we were taken to the taxi stand opposite the office and told to get on one of the cars. The car took us to the North Sikkim Taxi Stand. We had our breakfast at a small dhaba in the taxi stand.

Changu Lake (Tsomgo Lake)

Our car started at around 9:30 am. There was a checkpost on the way where our car stopped for a while. We bought packaged drinking water bottles from there. Again we started our journey. After some time we were not able to see anything on the side of the road. Everything was covered with fog. The road as well as the weather was bad. On the way we saw a few waterfalls. Then we saw Tsomgo Lake on the side. But our driver said that it would be better to first go to Nathula Pass and then see Tsomgo Lake while returning.

Baba Harbhajan Singh Mandir

So we headed towards Nathula. On the way we stopped at a place. There we had Bread-Omlette as food. It was quite cold up there even in the month of June. After that we again started our journey. At last we reached Nathula. The driver dropped us and went away to the car parking. I was suffering from headache due to high altitude and lack of oxygen. We walked up a hill. In the distance we saw patches of snow on the hill slopes. But then it started raining so we had to come back quickly to our car. Then we headed to Baba Mandir. It is a shrine of a soldier saint Baba Harbhajan Singh who had died near Nathula. A distant waterfalls could be seen from there.

Yak at Changu Lake

After that we climbed onto our seats in the car and started our return journey. While returning the weather had worsened further and we were not able to see the road in front of us clearly. Again on the way we halted at the dhaba where we had our food and ate Maggi noodles there. We also saw a number of Yaks at the place. Then we went to Changu Lake. It was raining heavily so we could not stay there for long. Then we returned to Gangtok. We were dropped at a taxi stand outside the main city of Gangtok. From there we took another taxi to reach our hotel. In Gangtok, taxis are not allowed to pick up and drop passengers anywhere on the road. There are special designated taxi stands where taxis can drop and pick up passengers. So we had to walk a little to our hotel from the taxi stand. Back in my hotel I was looking back into my past experiences. I was ready to swear that this was the most thrilling journey I had ever made. At night we had dinner at Woodland Restaurant. We all were tired and felt asleep as soon as we crawled on the bed.

Continued to Visit to Gangtok (Part - 4)

How to Reach :

12363 Kolkata-Haldibari Express departs Kolkata station at 09:05 hrs and reaches New Jalpaiguri at 18:50 hrs. 12343 Darjeeling Mail leaves Sealdah station at 22:05 hrs and reaches New Jalpaiguri at 08:00 hrs. 12377 Padatik Express leaves Sealdah at 22:55 hrs and reaches New Jalpaiguri at 09:05 hrs. Hired cars (Tata Sumo, Mahindra MAXX and Bolero) are available from New Jalpaiguri and Siliguri. Buses are running from S.N.T. Bus Terminus in Siliguri.

Nearest Airport - Bagdogra Airport

Where to Stay :

New Jalpaiguri
Hotel Miami, Tariff - Double bed Rs. 400, Tel: 9332232897
Hotel Holydon, Tel: (0353) 2691162
Gangtok
Greendale Residence, Tariff - Double bed Rs. 4500-4900, Tel: (03592) 201400
Hotel Babumashai, Tariff - Double bed Rs. 1500, Tel: (03592) 204030
Hotel Himalaya's, Tariff - Double bed Rs. 1500, Tel: (03592) 202842
Hotel Woodland, Tariff - Double bed Rs. 1000, Tel: (03592) 203414
Hotel Paradise, Tariff - Double bed Rs. 800, Tel: 9832036610

Places of Interest :

The prime attractions of Gangtok are Ropeway, Rumtek Monastery, Tasi View Point, Ganesh Tok, Bakthang Waterfalls, Banjhakri Falls, Himalayan Zoological Park and Research Institute of Tibetology. Other attractions include Hanuman Tok, Lhasa Falls, Do Drul Chorten Stupa, Enchey Monastery and Ganjong Monastery. There are three excursions from Gangtok - Nathula Pass, Tsomgo Lake (Changu Lake) and Baba Harbhajan Singh Mandir which can be covered in a one day tour from Gangtok (Rs. 800-1000 per head). Indian Visitors are allowed to visit Nathula Pass on all days except Monday and Tuesday. Another conducted tour is the Yumthang Valley Package. It is a 1 Night 2 days tour (Rs. 1200-1400 per head) consisting of Lachung and Yumthang Valley. You can also go for the Gurudongmar Lake package which is 2 Nights 3 Days (Rs. 2400-2800). The tour consists of Lachen, Chopta Valley, Gurudongmar Lake, Lachung and Yumthang Valley. You will be required to produce xerox copy of Voter ID Card and two passport photos of each member of your family to the travel agency for permit.

For more information, please contact :

Sikkim Tourist Information Centre
M.G. Marg, Gangtok,
East Sikkim
Tel: (03592) 221634