Near Gangtok
Rumtek Monastery
Hear the morning prayers at one of the great seats of the Karma Kagyu school, its courtyard ringed by monks' quarters above the Gangtok valley.
- Type
- Faith
- When
- All year
Destinations › East India & the Himalaya
Sikkim & Darjeeling
Gangtok, Pelling, Lachen, Lachung and Darjeeling. Run by our Siliguri office, which also handles Bhutan, Nepal and the Northeast, and meets every group at Bagdogra with its own staff.
Experience Sikkim & Darjeeling
Choose a place on the map to see what your client can do there.
East Sikkim
Tsomgo Lake
A glacial lake at about 3,750 m on the old trade road to Tibet, frozen in winter and edged with flowers in spring. Permit needed.
- Type
- Nature
- When
- Best March to May, October to December
Above Lachung
Yumthang Valley
The valley of flowers: rhododendrons in bloom, hot springs and yak pastures beneath snow peaks. Permit needed.
- Type
- Nature
- When
- Flowers April to June
North Sikkim
Gurudongmar Lake
A sacred high-altitude lake above 5,000 m, reached before dawn from Lachen. For clients fit for the altitude. Permit needed.
- Type
- Nature
- When
- Best April to June, October to November
Pelling
Pemayangtse & Kanchenjunga
A historic Nyingma monastery near Pelling, with the wall of Kanchenjunga filling the horizon on a clear morning.
- Type
- Faith
- When
- Clearest October to December
Darjeeling
The Toy Train
Ride the narrow-gauge Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage site, round the Batasia Loop on the joyride to Ghum.
- Type
- Heritage
- When
- All year
Darjeeling
A Darjeeling Tea Estate
Walk the slopes where the famous muscatel tea grows, see the withering and rolling, then taste the season's flush.
- Type
- Food
- When
- Plucking March to November
MG Marg, Gangtok
Momos & Thukpa
Evening on Gangtok's car-free promenade with Sikkimese momos, hot thukpa and local cafés.
- Type
- Food
- When
- All year
Illustrative map, not to scale. The outline is indicative and is not an official boundary. Outline data: DataMeet (CC BY 4.0).
About Sikkim & Darjeeling
Gangtok, Pelling, Lachen, Lachung, Darjeeling
Sikkim is India’s smallest Himalayan state and one of its easiest to sell: a compact circuit, a single airport gateway at Bagdogra, and a landscape that climbs from tea gardens to glacial lakes inside a week. Gangtok is the base, with Tsomgo Lake and the Nathu La pass on one side and the monasteries of Rumtek and Enchey within reach of the town.
West Sikkim adds Pelling and the Pemayangtse monastery, with Kanchenjunga filling the horizon on a clear morning. North Sikkim is the run clients remember: Lachen and Lachung, the Yumthang valley in flower in spring, and Gurudongmar Lake at over 5,000 metres for those fit for the altitude.
Darjeeling, just across the state line in West Bengal, pairs naturally with Sikkim: Tiger Hill at sunrise, the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, tea estates and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
What Your Client Will See
Tsomgo Lake & Nathu La
A glacial lake at about 3,750 m on the old trade road to Tibet; Nathu La beyond it on permit days.
Kanchenjunga views
The world’s third-highest peak from Pelling, Tiger Hill and Gangtok’s ridge.
Rumtek & Pemayangtse
Two of the great monasteries of the Karma Kagyu and Nyingma schools.
Yumthang Valley
The valley of flowers above Lachung, rhododendrons from April to June.
Darjeeling toy train
The narrow-gauge Himalayan railway, with the joyride loop to Ghum.
Tea estates
Darjeeling’s gardens and tasting rooms, a soft day between drives.
Five Ready Packages
Valid 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. Rates are nett, non-commissionable and include GST at 5 percent — price these by adding your own margin, not by taking a commission off ours.
Gangtok and Darjeeling
HY-SK-01Night-by-night routing on request from the trade desk.
Gangtok, Lachung and Darjeeling
HY-SK-02Night-by-night routing on request from the trade desk.
Gangtok, Lachen, Lachung and Darjeeling
HY-SK-03Night-by-night routing on request from the trade desk.
Gangtok, Pelling and Darjeeling
HY-SK-04Night-by-night routing on request from the trade desk.
The Full Sikkim and Darjeeling Circuit
HY-SK-05Night-by-night routing on request from the trade desk.
Departures & Catalogues
Fixed departures and catalogues for Sikkim & Darjeeling. A departure added on the Fixed Departures calendar appears here by itself.
Catalogues
No fixed departure for Sikkim & Darjeeling is open right now. Every itinerary is quoted on request: ask the trade desk for a worked quotation.
What We Do on the Ground
The things that decide whether your client's trip works, and which you should be able to promise them without checking with us first.
Permits
North Sikkim protected-area permits for Lachen, Lachung and Yumthang are filed by us. Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La permits likewise. Your client supplies photographs and ID; we handle the rest.
Arrivals
Every group is met inside Bagdogra arrivals by our own staff holding a board in your agency's name, not ours. The photographs below are from actual arrivals.
Arrivals at Bagdogra
Our team meeting Sikkim groups at the airport. Useful to show an agent who wants to know what their client actually sees on landing.
Plan the Trip
- Best time
- March to May for flowers and clear roads; October to December for the sharpest mountain views. North Sikkim roads can close in heavy monsoon rain.
- Gateway
- Bagdogra airport (IXB) or New Jalpaiguri railway station (NJP), about four hours’ drive to Gangtok.
- Ideal length
- 5 to 9 nights: Gangtok and Darjeeling at the short end, North Sikkim and Pelling added for longer trips.
- Permits
- Protected-area permits for North Sikkim, Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La. Foreign nationals need a Restricted Area Permit for Sikkim.
- Pairs well with
- Bhutan by road through Phuentsholing, or Nepal.
Selling This Sector
Sikkim sells on altitude and on the North Sikkim run, and the two things that lose a booking are both operational rather than scenic. The first is the permit — an agent who does not know we file it will quote a client a week of uncertainty they do not need to have. The second is the road.
Tell your client the Lachen and Lachung leg is a protected-area run on mountain roads and that it closes without notice in weather. Clients forgive a reroute they were warned about and never forgive one they were not.
Sell Sikkim & Darjeeling with Us
Send the dates, the number of travellers and the hotel category, and the East desk replies with a worked quotation. Registered partners see net rates on every package.