Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, the Dooars and Bhutan · a planner replies within one working day
Try "Gangtok", "toy train", "rhino", "Bhutan permit"
An eight-night loop from Siliguri: three nights in Gangtok with Tsomgo and Nathu La, a night at Aritar, two at Zuluk, and two in Kalimpong on the way back down. It covers the whole of East Sikkim and finishes in an old trading town that the Silk Route once served.
This loop follows the old trade in reverse. You start in Gangtok, the capital, and go up to Nathu La, the pass the caravans crossed. Then you drop to Aritar and climb the mule road to Zuluk, and finish in Kalimpong, the market town where Tibetan wool once came to be sold.
Starting in Gangtok means you are used to the hills before the higher nights at Zuluk, and the Nathu La permit is easy to arrange there. The night at Aritar breaks the journey and gives you a rest day by a lake between two high stretches. Kalimpong, at about 1,250 m, is a gentle place to end, with nurseries, monasteries and old colonial buildings.
Highlights
Three ways to do it
Budget
₹23,500 pp
Best value with four people sharing the Silk Route car
Ask for BudgetValue
₹39,000 pp
Breakfast and dinner included
Ask for ValueComfort
₹62,000 pp
Guide for Gangtok and Rumtek monasteries included
Ask for ComfortIndicative, per person, twin sharing, for the whole package. Mix tiers night by night if you like. Your written quote lists every cost.
Day by day
Drive up NH10 beside the Teesta through Sevoke and Rangpo to Gangtok. Check in, rest, and walk to MG Marg in the evening. Give your ID and photos to the agent for the Tsomgo and Nathu La permit, and send scans to your Zuluk host for the Silk Route permit if you have not already.
Morning at Rumtek Monastery, with ID for the gate check, and a walk down to the old monastery. Return via Lingdum or go straight to Do Drul Chorten and the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology in the afternoon. Finish with tea on MG Marg. This easy day helps your body adjust before tomorrow's climb to 4,310 m.
Leave Gangtok at 7 am in a registered vehicle. Visit Nathu La first, climbing slowly to the border viewing area, then Baba Harbhajan Singh Mandir and Tsomgo Lake on the way back. Return by mid-afternoon. Nathu La is usually closed on Mondays and Tuesdays; plan this day for Wednesday to Sunday, or do Tsomgo and Baba Mandir only.
A short drive down to Ranipool and Rorathang and up through Rhenock to Aritar at about 1,400 m. Spend the afternoon walking around Lampokhari, take a boat out if you like, and climb to Mankhim viewpoint before sunset. Dinner is with your homestay family.
Visit Aritar Gumpa in the morning, then drive to Rongli for the permit check and climb through Lingtam and Padamchen to Zuluk at about 3,000 m. Arrive by lunch and rest in the afternoon. The three nights in Gangtok mean most people adjust well, but still drink water and avoid alcohol tonight.
Leave before dawn for sunrise at Thambi viewpoint, with the zigzag road below and Kangchenjunga across the horizon. Continue across Nathang valley to Kupup and Elephant Lake at about 4,000 m, stop at Old Baba Mandir, and return to Zuluk for a late lunch. The afternoon is free.
Drive down through Rongli and Rhenock and leave Sikkim at the Rishi Khola bridge, crossing into West Bengal towards Pedong and Algarah. This was the old trade road to Kalimpong. Arrive in the afternoon, check in, and walk through the town centre. In the monsoon this road can be affected by landslides, and the driver may use NH10 via Rangpo instead.
Visit Zang Dhok Palri Phodang monastery on Durpin hill, a flower nursery, and the Haat Bazaar if it is a market day. Kalimpong was the main wool market for the Tibet trade, and old trading houses still stand near the bazaar. Try the local cheese and lollipops for which the town is known, and rest before the drive down.
Drive down through Teesta Bazaar and along the river to Sevoke and Siliguri. Kalimpong is closer to the plains than Gangtok, so a departure from about 1 pm is usually possible. Allow more time in the monsoon, when landslides can slow NH10 between Teesta Bazaar and Sevoke.
Included
Not included
Where you sleep
An established mid-range hotel on Tibet Road, a few minutes' walk from MG Marg, with rooms that look out over the valley towards Kangchenjunga on clear …
A long-running, family-run guest house on Bhanu Path, a short walk below MG Marg. Rooms are simple and warm, the garden is quiet, and the welcome …
A heritage hotel built in the 1930s as the royal guest house of the Chogyals of Sikkim, now run by Elgin Hotels. It has period rooms, …
Aritar has a good spread of family homestays around Lampokhari lake and the surrounding villages. They are clean, friendly and cheap, and most include dinner and …
Zuluk has no hotels in the usual sense, only family homestays in the small village and army settlement. Rooms are basic but warm, and the price …
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Questions travellers ask
Three nights in Gangtok at about 1,650 m help your body adjust before the higher nights at Zuluk, and the Tsomgo and Nathu La permits are easiest to arrange there. Going in this direction also ends the trip in Kalimpong, which is closer to the plains and makes the final drive shorter.
Yes, without Nathu La and the Silk Route above Rongli. Foreign travellers can do Gangtok, Rumtek, Tsomgo with a Protected Area Permit, Aritar and Kalimpong, with an extra night in Gangtok or Kalimpong instead of Zuluk. They need the Sikkim Inner Line Permit to enter Sikkim. Check current status before you travel.
Expect three to six hours of driving on most days, on winding mountain roads. The longest days are the transfer from NJP to Gangtok and from Zuluk to Kalimpong. Day 8 in Kalimpong and day 2 in Gangtok are lighter. Motion-sickness tablets help on the hairpins above Zuluk.
It is a comfortable length. You could cut a night in Kalimpong or Gangtok, but the spare time is what absorbs weather delays, which are common in the hills. For a slower pace, add a second night at Aritar or an extra night in Kalimpong.
Nathu La, at 4,310 m, on day 3. Nathang and Kupup on day 6 reach about 4,000 m. You never sleep higher than Zuluk at about 3,000 m. If you feel unwell at altitude, tell your driver and descend; the itinerary can drop Nathu La and stay at Tsomgo instead.
Yes. Kalimpong is in West Bengal, and the road from Rhenock to Pedong crosses back from Sikkim. There is no permit needed for Indian nationals to leave Sikkim. Foreigners may need to show their Sikkim permit at checkposts and should keep it until they leave the state.
Many older travellers enjoy it, but it is moderately demanding: long drives, cold mornings, basic rooms at Zuluk and a few hours at 4,000 m or more. Travellers with heart or lung conditions should take medical advice. A Gangtok and Kalimpong version without the Silk Route is gentler.
Kalimpong has Zang Dhok Palri Phodang monastery, Dr Graham's Homes, flower and cactus nurseries, the Haat Bazaar and walks on Deolo and Durpin hills. It is quieter than Darjeeling and Gangtok. Local cheese, noodles and the town's well-known lollipops are worth trying.
Avoid July and August, when the monsoon brings landslides on NH10 and the Silk Route, cancelled permit trips and little view. Midwinter can be beautiful but the roads above Zuluk and to Nathu La close often. Peak holiday weeks in October and late December are expensive and crowded.
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