Gangtok and East Sikkim on a budget

The cheapest way up from the plains is a shared jeep from Siliguri or NJP to Gangtok, which costs about ₹350–450 a seat and takes 4.5–5.5 hours. Jeeps leave from the Sikkim stand next to the Tenzing Norgay Central Bus Terminus on Hill Cart Road in Siliguri and go when all ten seats are full. Mornings are best, because departures thin out after about 2 pm. SNT buses from their own stand in Siliguri are slower but a little cheaper and have more room for bags.

Inside Gangtok, walk as much as you can in the centre and use the small local taxis for longer hops. They run point to point and charge by the trip, typically ₹100–250, so agree the fare first. The Gangtok ropeway is a cheap way to get a view over the town. For Rumtek and Rhenock, shared jeeps leave from the town's taxi stands and cost a fraction of a reserved car.

If you are flying, compare the cost of a shared jeep from Siliguri with a reserved car from Bagdogra. A reserved car costs about ₹4,000–5,500, which is reasonable for four people but steep for one. Solo travellers can take an auto or bus from the airport into Siliguri and pick up a shared jeep there.

The trip to Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La is where budgets usually break, because tourists must travel in a registered vehicle with a permit. A reserved car costs ₹3,500–5,000 for Tsomgo and Baba Mandir and ₹5,500–7,500 with Nathu La. For a couple, that is a large share of the trip's cost.

The answer is a pooled vehicle. Travel agents along MG Marg sell individual seats in shared vehicles for about ₹700–1,200 for Tsomgo and Baba Mandir and ₹1,200–2,000 including Nathu La, with the permit included. You hand over your ID and photos the afternoon before and are picked up at 7 or 8 am. You will travel with strangers and cannot choose your stops, but the saving is large.

Other ways to save on permit days are to travel with friends and fill a reserved car, to skip Nathu La and do only Tsomgo and Baba Mandir, and to avoid the peak weeks when agents raise fares because cars are short. Do not skip the spare day, though; losing a pre-paid trip to snow costs more than one extra night in a guesthouse.

• Ask two or three agents for pooled seat prices; they vary.
• Check whether the price includes the permit and Baba Mandir.
• Hire boots and coats only if you need them; ₹100–200 each.
• Pack your own snacks and a flask; food at the lake is pricey.

Gangtok has plenty of guesthouses and small hotels in the ₹1,200–2,500 range, concentrated around MG Marg, Tibet Road, Development Area and the lanes near Lal Market. Rooms are usually clean and have hot water, though views and heating vary. Staying central saves more than it seems, because you will walk to dinner instead of paying for a taxi each evening.

Outside Gangtok, homestays are the budget traveller's best friend. In Aritar and Zuluk, ₹1,200–2,200 per person usually includes dinner and breakfast, which removes the cost of eating out. Rumtek village also has a few simple homestays. Book directly where you can, and confirm what meals are included.

Prices jump during the Durga Puja holidays in October, the Christmas and New Year week, and the school holidays in May and June. If your dates are flexible, March, early April, November and early December give good weather at lower prices. In the monsoon, rooms are cheapest but roads are least reliable.

Local food in Gangtok is cheap, filling and good. A plate of momos costs ₹80–150, a bowl of thukpa or a thali meal ₹120–250. The best value is in the small restaurants in the lanes leading down from MG Marg towards Lal Market and in the Kanchenjunga shopping complex, where office workers and students eat. The cafés on MG Marg itself charge more for the same dishes, partly for the seats with a view.

Try Sikkimese and Nepali dishes rather than pizzas and pasta, which cost more and are rarely better here. Gundruk soup, phagshapa, sel roti, aloo dum and the many kinds of momo are all cheap. Buy fruit, nuts and churpi from Lal Market for snacks on long drives. Carry a refillable bottle; Sikkim discourages single-use plastic, and filling up at hotels saves money too.

Here is how a careful traveller might spend five days in East Sikkim for about ₹11,000–13,000 per person, sharing a room. The plan uses shared transport throughout and one pooled permit trip. It does not include the Silk Route, which needs a reserved car and is cheaper with a group of four or five.

• Day 1: Shared jeep Siliguri to Gangtok, guesthouse near MG Marg, dinner near Lal Market (about ₹2,000).
• Day 2: Walk to Do Drul Chorten and the Institute of Tibetology, ride the ropeway, hand in documents for the permit (about ₹2,000).
• Day 3: Pooled vehicle to Tsomgo, Baba Mandir and, if you are Indian, Nathu La (about ₹3,000).
• Day 4: Shared jeep to Rumtek and back, afternoon free (about ₹1,800).
• Day 5: Shared jeep to Rhenock, local taxi to Aritar, homestay with dinner and breakfast (about ₹2,500), then down to Siliguri next morning.

Some savings are false economies in the mountains. Do not skip warm clothing to save luggage space; buying a jacket in Gangtok in a hurry costs more than bringing one. Do not take the cheapest unregistered driver for mountain roads, especially in snow or on the Silk Route. And do not plan your trip so tightly that a single landslide or snow day forces you to pay for a last-minute reserved car to catch a train.

Travel insurance that covers delays and medical evacuation is worth its modest cost in the Himalaya. So is a spare night. On a budget trip, time is often the thing you can afford to spend, and in East Sikkim a little extra time is what turns a stressful trip into a relaxed one.