Travel style
Food trails
Momos, thukpa, gundruk and ema datshi
Hill food is simple and warming: momos and thukpa in every town, gundruk and sel roti in Nepali homes, Lepcha dishes in Dzongu and chilli and cheese in Bhutan.
We add market walks, a cooking session in a homestay and the tea rooms and momo shops our planners actually eat at.
Journeys
Routes in this style
Places
Where it fits best
Sikkim's capital on a ridge above the Ranikhola valley
A Lepcha reserve of cardamom, rivers and village homestays
Tea, toy trains and Kangchenjunga at the end of the ridge
The plains city where every hill journey begins
An old Tibet-trade town between Deolo and Durpin hills
Bhutan's front door on the Dooars plains
A small capital of dzongs, prayer wheels and no traffic lights
Shape your own trip Tell us your dates and budget. We draw the route around you. Begin Not sure where to start? We match the valley to your month, your budget and the people travelling with you. Begin Talk to a planner A first route and an itemised price within one working day. No payment to start. BeginStays
Rooms that suit it
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 …
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 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, …
A large, full-service resort on the outskirts of Gangtok with a spa, indoor pool and landscaped grounds. It is the most resort-like stay in the region …
Family homestays in Lepcha villages such as Lingthem, Passingdang and Hee Gyathang. The main way to stay in the reserve, and one of the most rewarding …
The lanes above Chowrasta and along Dr Zakir Hussain Road hold dozens of small family-run guesthouses with simple rooms, hot water by bucket or geyser and …
A long-running mid-range hotel in Siliguri, part of the Kolkata-based Sinclairs chain. We use it when a late train or an early flight forces a night …
Darjeeling's best-known heritage hotel, on Observatory Hill a few minutes' walk from Chowrasta. Built as Ada Villa in 1841, it became the Windamere Hotel in 1939 …
A working Darjeeling tea estate with a small planter's bungalow guesthouse above the Rungeet river, about 1.5–2 hours' drive from Darjeeling town. It is the splurge …
Shape your own trip Tell us your dates and budget. We draw the route around you. Begin Not sure where to start? We match the valley to your month, your budget and the people travelling with you. Begin Talk to a planner A first route and an itemised price within one working day. No payment to start. Begin