Travelogue : Sikkim

Sikkim reminds me so much of Kerala with abundance of flora & fauna. On reaching Gangtok from New Jalpaiguri station, I felt that this place, for some reason has still not been fully exploited by mankind (thank goodness !!). Due to this, one would be able to see nature at its best.

We went to Sikkim in Oct and we clubbed it with Durga Puja celebrations in Kolkata. On reaching Kolkata, since it was quite late in the night, we unfortunately could not go and see the pandals in the night. I had always dreamed of being in Kolkata to witness the celebrations which finally came true. Next day morning, immediately after breakfast, we set out to see the many pandals and the pujas being conducted. It was amazing to see what pains the organisers have taken to built the pandals of their creative imagination. There was one pandal which was made of horlicks bottles !!

While in Kolkata, one should definitely relish authentic Bengali cuisine at Oh! Calcutta restaurant at "The Forum Mall" and 6, Balligunje place restaurant.

The drive to Gangtok from New Jalpaiguri is about 4 1/2 hours drive. On the way, if there is a landslide, then you are stuck for another 1 hour in traffic jam. Fortunately for us, there were no landslides and we reached our hotel Himalchuli by lunch. This hotel is run by a couple and has a very homely atmosphere. We were so hungry that we just told them to make us dal, chawal(rice). We got the hot, steamy dal and rice and we gorged on it like some hungry wolfs !!

Some of the interesting places to look around is Rumtek Monastary, Changu Lake (amazing place), Do Drul Chorten (Stupa), Enchay Monastary and Tashi View point. From Gangtok we went to Pelling and stayed there for a night to get a closer look at Mt. Kanchendzonga. Here one can take a evening walk through the tea gardens. I would say the best time to go to Sikkim is in Mar/Apr as the place will be filled with the wild flowers and one can easily go on a trek in North Sikkim to enjoy nature at its best.

In all it was an exhilarating experience for us and we enjoyed every bit of our stay at Sikkim. I plan to go there once again to do a full fledged trek when the flowers are in full bloom.

While at Sikkim, one must definitely try their local liquor (made of fermented maize)