Tea gardens, toy trains and the third-highest mountain on earth. The 5 Days Darjeeling & Sikkim Tour (4 nights / 5 days) starts and ends at Bhadrapur airport in Nepal or Bagdogra airport in India, making it a perfect add-on to a Nepal trip. You stay in the colonial hill station of Darjeeling and the Sikkimese capital Gangtok, with sightseeing, daily breakfast, the Sikkim Inner Line Permit, the Tsomgo Lake permit and entrance fees included.
Darjeeling (2,042 m) has the gentle charm of a mountain resort, its green hills and valleys covered with rolling tea gardens. On the way up you stop at the spiral Batasia Loop of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a UNESCO site, and Ghoom Monastery. At 4 am you drive to Tiger Hill for the famous sunrise over Kanchenjunga (8,586 m), then visit the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, founded by Tenzing Norgay, the zoo, the Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre and the Happy Valley Tea Estate for a tasting.
Long sequestered between Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, Sikkim is a land of snow peaks, forests and monasteries – a true Shangri-la. In Gangtok you visit the Do Drul Chorten and the Flower Exhibition Centre and stroll along MG Marg. A day trip climbs to Tsomgo (Changu) Lake at 3,753 m, often frozen in winter, with optional yak rides and cable car, returning via Hanuman Tok, Ganesh Tok and Tashi View Point.
Why choose this tour?
- Darjeeling and Sikkim in five days, with easy access from eastern Nepal.
- Tiger Hill sunrise over Kanchenjunga and Tsomgo Lake.
- Sikkim permits, hotels, breakfast and sightseeing included.
Who is it for?
Families, couples, honeymooners and Nepali travellers. The grade is easy. Best from March to May and October to December.