Gangtok Tour
INTRODUCTION
Over the last one year, I have been to so many places that one may start considering me as a seasoned traveler. Well, I may not be a seasoned traveler, but I do have a penchant for writing and I strongly believe in sharing information. So, I am back with yet another blog on my travelling experience — this time, from Kolkata to Gangtok.
For many reasons apart from nostalgia, being employed in Kolkata had been on my wish-list for a long time. Very recently, my wish got fulfilled and I relocated to Kolkata after having spent a decade in Delhi-NCR.
People who have relocated with family would agree that relocation takes away a lot from you, apart from money of course. Having relocated recently, I was barely having any energy to think about a tour, but a long weekend always calls for a vacation plan and I got that just after joining my new company. The Bengali New Year is celebrated on 15th of April, and this New Year, 1418, started on a Friday thereby giving us the opportunity to enjoy an extended weekend.
Like Delhi, Kolkata has a few tourist spots within its 1000 km radius, and one can take advantage of that during the extended weekends. Gangtok is one such place, and I must admit, though Gangtok is not as celebrated as its counterparts Shimla and Nainital, it has lot more to offer —
There is peace, there is calmness
Away from the chaos, away from the madness
There are lakes, there are green hills
And above all…there is snow in the month of April!
Gangtok and Darjeeling are two neighborhood hill stations, but in different states. Gangtok is ideal for vacationers having a week's time, while Darjeeling can be covered during the weekend. So, initially Darjeeling was on our radar, but the news of some regular disturbances in Darjeeling perturbed us, and we had to zero-in on Gangtok.
Both these places, Gangtok and Darjeeling are well connected from a place called Siliguri, which is in West Bengal. There is no direct link to Gangtok or Darjeeling. First you have to reach Siliguri by bus, train, or by air and then you can board a car or SUV to reach Gangtok or Darjeeling. There is a toy train from Siliguri, but it takes lot of time and tickets are not readily available.
We chose to reach Siliguri by bus. The Royal Cruiser bus service provides comfortable AC buses, and we booked our tickets 10 days in advance.
TOUR SUMMARY
· Dates: 14.4.2011 to 17.4.2011
· No. of Members: 5 (including 3 ladies and 2 gents)
· Duration: 4 nights and 3 days
· Places Visited
o Nathula Pass
o Tsomgo (Chaangu) Lake
o Tsomgo (Chaangu) market
o MG Marg Market
o Enchey Monastery
o Flower Exhibition
o Ropeways
· Route Followed: Kolkata -> Siliguri ->Gangtok->Siliguri->Kolkata
· Distance and Time
o Kolkata to Siliguri: 600 kms/12 hrs
o Siliguri to Gangtok: 114 kms/5 hrs
o Gangtok to Nathula Pass: 54 kms/4 hrs
· Mode of Transport and Cost
o Kolkata to Siliguri: Bus (Royal Cruiser)/Rs. 900 per head
o Siliguri to Gangtok: SUV (Sumo)/Rs. 1300 (reserved)
o Gangtok to Nathula Pass: SUV (Mahindra Max)/Rs. 600 per head (shared)
o Gangtok City Tour: Car (Maruti Omni)/Rs. 1600 (2 cars)
· Total Expenditure: Our total expenditure was round about Rs. 21000 and this included:
o Hotel bills for 5 members for 2 nights
o Overall traveling cost
o Entry fee at various sites for 5 people
Note: Food and shopping costs are not included here because these are subjective.
TOUR DETAILS
Day 1 (Thursday, 14th April, 2011)
We boarded the bus from Korunamoyee in Kolkata at 8:00 PM. On the way, the bus stopped once for dinner and then the overnight journey led us to Siliguri at 8:15 AM.
Day 2 (Friday, 15th April, 2011)
At Siliguri, we first got our return tickets of the same bus. We had booked the tickets in advance, but the rule was to get the return ticket from Siliguri only.
We were approached by a few travel agents who offered ‘complete’ packages for Rs 14000 or so, but we did not pay heed to their offer because our recent tour of Rajasthan had given us a lot of ideas and courage to visit places on our own. As per our experience, it’s a lot cheaper and better to select the hotels and conveyance ourselves rather than depend on package providers. So, we reserved an SUV and started off for Gangtok at 9 AM.
The road to Gangtok was filled with twists and turns, but it was not a joyride; due to regular landslides the road had become one-way at several turns, leading to frequent traffic jams. Though a river accompanied us all along the way to Gangtok, the frequent traffic halts marred the beauty. Besides, it was hot and humid; when my sister asked the driver if we would find snow at Gangtok, we laughed out loudly — really, at that point it did not seem that we were destined for a mesmeric surprise.
It took more than 5 hours to reach Deorali stand in Gangtok.
The external SUVs are not allowed to enter main city, and so we had to board small taxis to reach the taxi stand called 'Petrol Pump'. It took us just 10 minutes to reach the main city.
At the main city, we were approached by a few touts who offered help to search hotels, but again we searched hotels on our own and checked into a hotel called Sunny Guest House. After refreshing ourselves, we had a nice Bengali lunch at a nearby restaurant.
Back at the hotel, we talked to the hotel Manager regarding the scenic places of Gangtok, and he suggested that since we were not having enough time, it was best to visit Nathula Pass where we could get snow. We agreed to his suggestion and decided to visit Nathula Pass the next day.
Visiting Nathula Pass required identification documents of atleast two group members and photographs of each of the group members. So, we had to get those formalities done before moving out for a stroll at the main shopping arena of Gangtok —The MG Marg. It was raining incessantly, though not heavily, and we could not really enjoy the ambience.
The market was open only till 8:30 PM, and so we came back by 9 PM and had dinner at the hotel.
Day 3 (Saturday, 16th April, 2011)
The day started with a beautiful sight — that of the snow-covered Kanchenjunga Mountain amidst a couple of green hills. The hotel staff informed us that we were lucky to witness the magical sight because it’s not visible too often.
We set-off for a visit to Nathula Pass at around 8:00 am on a shared SUV that took 12 passengers. On the way, some time was spent in getting the documents verified by the authorities before we could actually set-off for Nathula Pass. The distance from proper Gangtok to Nathula Pass was merely 54 kms, but the path was treacherous. There were innumerable twists and turns, and with each turn we were climbing several meters and the climate was getting colder. Soon, we could see far away mountains filled with snow. The more we progressed, the more we found snow scattered here and there. Also, there were waterfalls in abundance.
After traveling for more than two hours, our vehicle stopped at Tsomgo market. When we de-boarded the vehicle, we could not control our excitement. The makeshift tents at the market were filled with snow, and for the first time in life, we got the chance to touch snow.
From the market, we got jackets and boots on rent (50Rs each), and again moved forward. On the way, we crossed the Tsomgo (Chaangu) lake, which was partly frozen. After an hour or so, we finally reached the Nathula Pass at 12:15 PM — the sight was absolutely awesome; nothing less than what we saw in movies. We were informed that we were at 14000 ft above the sea level, and a restaurant called 14 Thousand symbolized the height.
The Nathula Pass was the gateway to a small snow covered hill where we did some cheeky skating and played with snowballs. Besides, we could salute the national flag and touch the Indo-China border.
It was a place where any tourist would like to spend hours, cherish every moment, and capture every second as the treasure of lifetime experiences. Unfortunately, the driver did not allow us to spend more than 45 minutes, and soon we were backtracking. On the way, we stopped at Tsomgo (Chaangu) Lake.
The sun had risen by then and the beauty had improved a million times. Words cannot explain how it looks when sun rays fall on snow-covered mountains. We clicked many pictures, and all of them looked fit to be set as our Desktop background.
People do silly things when on a tour, and so did we. At the Tsomgo (Chaangu) Lake, we rode on Yak and clicked a few pictures. Thereafter, we moved on to Tsomgo market, deposited the rented jackets and shows, and had lunch in the form of Maggi and fried rice. The snow melting from the rooftops was giving the impression of rains and the climate was chilling. After lunch, we hurried to get into our vehicle and reached Gangtok at around 4 PM after yet another treacherous ride.
While coming down to Gangtok, we looked below and saw dark clouds covering the Gangtok city, but thankfully there was no rain in the city. In the evening, we again visited the MG Marg market and did lot of shopping.
Day 4 (Sunday, 17th April, 2011)
Our day again started at around 8 AM. After breakfast, we hired a couple of taxis to visit the nearby sight-scenes. We visited a few monasteries and a flower exhibition. We also had a ropeway ride and reached hotel at 11:30 AM.
After lunch, we set off for Siliguri on a shared SUV and reached Siliguri at around 5 PM. The way back took us only 4 hours because there were lesser vehicles on the road due to the upcoming elections.
Our bus was scheduled to depart at 7 PM, and so we thought of doing some shopping at the HongKong market in Siliguri. Our decision backfired and we were somehow able to make it to the bus stand at 7 PM.
We had our dinner on the way back to Kolkata and reached Kolkata the next day at around 7 AM, and my hectic office life started the same day.
