Hey friends, am back to recollect my Gangtok visit just a few days back. Just in case you have missed out on the first part of the blog heres the link :
https://shreerajtalwadekar.blogspot.in/2017/12/my-sikkim-visit-dec-2017-account-and.html
So Gangtok is the capital of Sikkim(capital since 1894) situated in the Eastern district of Sikkim. A hub of tourism, this city is also labelled as a colourful city of India. Situated at about a 5500ft altitude , Gangtok has a lot to offer to the nature lover as well as an adventure seeker.
When at Gangtok there are three things to do a) Local site-seeing (whole day) b) Changu Lake(Tsomgo lake),Nathu La and Baba Mandir (whole day) c)Paragliding. All the rates for the same are displayed on a noticeboard at the central taxi stand, on a share as well as full vehicle basis. However, during off season the cab drivers offer better packages combining 4-5 points altogether for a reasonable cost.
So we started off the first day at Gangtok with Local sight-seeing which covered about 5-6 wonderful points. Better start off by around 8.30 - 9 am or so. If you havent bought any souvenirs etc for your relatives yet in your Sikkim visit, then this is the day to do it. Throughout the day you will come across many of these shops at almost every point you stop at it, but its best to buy at M.G road (second best beeing Ganesh Tok). Most of the spots will have minimal entry fee like 20bucks or so per person and also parking fees in similar range (Total 100-150/- for a couple will be spent just on these) M.G road is generally the last destination of the trip and the cab driver allows you about hour and a half or so to check out this spectacular street before dropping off to your stay. Keep in mind that Changu lake (Tsomgo lake) and Nathu La both require permits so keep passport photos with you and valid ID and address proofs like Aadhar,Voters I.D etc (PAN card not accepted). These permits are to be applied for a day before visit so cordinate that with your cab driver. Keep the pic below as a sort of ready reckoner for Gangtok sight seeing
so as to not miss out on any spots and plan your days accordingly.
We started at about 9am and first point we did what 'Hanuman Tok'. A beautiful Hanuman Mandir which is entirely maintained by the Army. As with most of the points, it offers a spectacular view of the Himalayas (the sleeping Buddha with Kanchenjunga being one of the peaks) You can try your hand at getting those cliched pics of carrying the mountains , one which I got terribly wrong as seen below! :p Theres an observatory from where you get a decent view and it also has a pic showing the names of all the different peaks of the Himalayas in the sleeping Buddha, I have put some internet sourced pics here for your reference. You can spot some wildlife,birds here and we managed to catch sight of two mongooses here who were pretty camera shy and fled away before they could be clicked! Meanwhile do arrange for the Changu lake and Nathu La permits with your cab driver because the application apparently has to be submitted one day prior till 11am.
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| Failed attempt at being Hanuman! |
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| Credit : M&M Smith from internet |
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| Sourced from internet |
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Next on the list was Ganesh Tok (Tok similar to its Marathi meaning means a high place), again a beautiful Ganpati Mandir. As the vehicle stops at the entrance you will be surrounded by shops renting 'Bakhu'(Nepali) or Kho (Bhutia), Sikkim's traditional dress, which you can wear for about 50/- and go up the temple,click pics and take nice memories to your home. Needless to say being a Tok , it will again give you a spectacular view of the Himalayan range.
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| Ganesh Tok |
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| In traditional attire - Bakhu |
There are lots of souvenir shops here at Ganesh Tok which will tempt you to buy but you can resist yourself and buy it from M.G road later to save some bucks. You can have breakfast here and surprisingly the cafe here had parathas,sandwich and other things apart from the routine momos,chowmein,maggi and Wai Wai on the menu which is rare in Sikkim. There's also a haunted house which you can visit. The Himalayan Zoological Park is situated just next to Ganesh Tok but since it was a Thursday it was closed (refer Ready reckoner at the start of the blog to avoid such sitautions!!), which actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we did it on the penultimate day of our trip and got more time to see all the animals.
Moving on from Ganesh Tok we came to the Plant Conservatory and its an absolute picnic there. For the nature freak this is the place to be, with various trees which are labelled with their scientific names and thousands of flowers , there is no wonder this city is called as Colourful city of India. these mini-trail is a must visit to check out the flora of Sikkim.
On the road ahead there is View point where you have to climb up an observatory to once again see the Himalayan range. I did manage to click a great pic from here but apart from that there is nothing much here except a souvenir shop and some shops selling cut fresh fruits. By now you must have had Kanchenjunga pic firmly etched in your minds!You can see some people paragliding while travelling the roads
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| Your companion throughout - Kanchenjunga |
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Theres is a flowers exhibition centre which you can visit for an entry fee of 20/- and it has an amazing display of orchids and other flowers which distinguishes it from the plant conservatory.
Next up on the local sightseeing list is a waterfall where again you can rent local outfits and click pics. The competition amongst them is fierce and you can really get a good bargain for the rented dress ;) Its a slightly different version from those at Ganesh Tok.
We went on to have the Gangtok cable car ride next and it is probably a bit slower than other cable cars but offers a nice view of the city. Ticket costs about 110/- per person for to and fro.
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| Gangtok view from cable car |
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The cable car ride is mostly be the last stop on your trip for the day as later he will take you to M.G road and let you explore the street for about hour or two before dropping you back to your hotel. M.G road has lots of souvenir shops where you can get good deals, you will get much to eat here as well in both veg and non veg options, rolls, thali etc. Its a nice walk and we managed to lay our hands on a local jelly noodles known as Laping (Tibetan street food). Boy, it was spicy! You can also try Yak butter milk, Phaley , momos and other delicacies.It also has some huge display screens which give it a sort of mini Times Square kind of a look.
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| M.G. Road |
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| Laping | | | |
At about 3.30 or so you can return to the taxi stand and your driver will hand you back your original documents and drop you to the hotel which would mark the end of the sight seeing day as it gets dark early. So much to see in the first day itself and we havent even reached the best part of the trip yet - Changu Lake and Nathu La!!
Next day again we left by 8.30am or so (earlier the better) for Changu lake and Nathu La. Only larger vehicles like Sumo,Bolero etc are allowed on this route. You can have tablet Diamox(acetazolamide) as it is at an altitude of 14k feet but we didnt take. Also masks,hand gloves may be needed. Some people even take small oxygen cylinders with them. Chewing gum or toffee may be needed as the Eustachian tube in your ear gets blocked frequently,gulping action will work to relieve it. Make sure you carry your original IDs with you, your permits will most likely be with the driver himself. So this road to Nathu La pass itself is a treat in itself through the alpine terrain and snow filled mountains. Picturesque indeed and you can even see the clouds below you.
Throughout the road you can see various army camps,their temples and gurudwara and photography is strictly permitted in these parts so you may wanna look out for noticeboards and click pics only of the terrains and places where army presence is not there. Its a long and curvy drive and you can literally feel the oxygen tension reducing as you ascend. About some 20kms in you will reach Changu Lake also known as Tsomgo lake. You can do during return as Nathu La and Baba Mandir closes by about 2pm or so. There will be one or two checkpoints where you may need to show your original I.Ds. Nathu La will be about 16kms more from here. Similar curvy road takes you there and there are various points in between where you can get down and click pics,play with the snow etc. Many small lakes will also be seen along the roads.
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| On top of the world, looking down on creation |
About 12kms from Changu lake you will reach a fork 4kms from the left road(leading up) leads to Nathu La and right one leads down to Baba Mandir. We went to Nathu La first and the vehicle stops at the entrance. You are not at all allowed to carry mobile phones or camera and its pretty strict so dont try something smart. You will have to climb a few hundred steps to see the actual Indo-China border. Climbing up the stairs is a task even for the fit as the oxygen tension is pretty low and you will feel a bit short of breath. There's a war memorial for the Nathu La martyrs of 1967 (read about the India vs China Nathu La skirmish on the internet,inspiring!) The lines written on it really touched my heart - "When you return home, tell them about our tales, that for your tomorrow, we gave our today!!" You will get a feeling of pride reaching here and seeing the gate down which opens into China. Our troops are stationed there while no chinese troops can be seen but apparently they are always watching you with binoculars (so one soldier said!). You will also be issued a certificate for visiting Nathu La and it rightly mentions that we realize what the army goes thru to keep us safe!! Do offer a salute or two to the various soldiers you encounter here coz they have little to be happy about there other than the pride of serving the nation.
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| Click to enlarge |
Once you return to the fork and take a u-turn 4kms down you will reach Baba Mandir. There is a war museum on the way which is worth seeing. Thers a huge Indian flag in premises of Baba Mandir.Its a shrine for Baba Harbhajan Singh who came in a fellow soldiers dream after attaining martyrdom and told to build a shrine (google it for another interesting story) You can see a huge Shiva statue situated at some distance from here.There is a Hangu lake (different from Changu lake) near the war memorial where you can do boating.
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| Baba Harbhajan Singh |
On the return we did Changu Lake which is known as Tsomgo lake in English. Its a huge and beautiful lake which supposedly freezes entirely by December end or so. You can do yak ride here the short versions will cost about 300/- and longer ones about 800/- or so. We did a short ride and it was nice. Each of the Yaks has been named by their owners. These are such gentle giants contrary to the image you may have in your minds.
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| Beautiful Changu Lake |
On our way back we played in the snow. During descent you may experience some headache and dizziness which should go after a few hours. Take some paracetamol if it doesnt relieve on its its.
It was probably the best day of our Sikkim stay and even today memories of Nathu La make me feel good.
Next day we set out with three things on our agenda Paragliding, Banjhakari falls and Himalayan Zoological Park. Paragliding is an experience which shouldnt be missed. You will be carried to the Sikkim Paragliding office at Gangtok and there are two versions a Short glide of 2500/- each which lasts for 5-7minutes in the air and a longer glide of 5000/- for about 10 minutes or more in the air. Honestly, I felt the shorter version is enough to get a feel,thrill of it and also the view of the city from the top. They also shoot your video on a GoPro which you can check and buy for 500/- extra (You can also refuse but I suggest its worth having the footage.
After you finish paragliding just next to the office is the Banjhakri falls. Its a beautiful park with boating (very small) and the impressive Banjhakri falls. Again entry fee and parking cost exists.Do check out the short video below to get an idea of the falls
Last up was what I was waiting for all along. The Himalayan Zoological park! Normally a part of the local sightseeing package we had to do it individually as its closed on Thursday. Thus we actually got more time to see the entire park as it is huge! Best thing about it is rather than being caged, animals are in 'Immersion exhibits' which are huge enclosures with habitats suiting the animals wildlife home and gives a naturalistic environment to the fauna. Spotting the animals hence takes some efforts but its more pleasing than seeing caged animals. You can take vehicle upto certain spot following which you have a trail to see all the various animals.
We started off by seeing Tibetan Sun bear and Blue Sheep off the roads. Again we spotted a mongoose on the walls of the bear enclosure.
Further ahead we have the Pheasantry which has Golden Pheasant,Silver Pheasant, Lady Amherst's Pheasant,Kalij,Satyr Tragopan and the familiar Peacock. All beautiful birds (for images look them up on the net) unfortunately caged. It is here where the car will be parked and you will have to go on a trail on your own. There are enough directions and maps to make sure you dont miss out on any animals. There is also a Red Panda breeding centre but tourists are not allowed entry inside. The entire list of animals apart from those already mentioned is Clouded Leopard,Common Leopard,Snow Leopard, Leopard cats,Tibetan Wolf,Himalayan Palm Civet,Large Indian Civet,Porcupines,Goral,Himalayan Thar, Barking deer,Yaks,Red Pandas(state animal of Sikkim),Porcupines.There is a watch tower you can climb up to get a view of the city. Check out the pics of the various animals below , do not miss the super Cute Red Panda vid!!
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| Red Panda |
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| Goral |
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| Porcupine |
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| Snow Leopard |
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| Yaks |
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| Goral |
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| Himalayan Thar |
With the return to our hotel, we finished our Sikkim tour with a deep regret of not visiting North Sikkim. Lachen,Lachung,Gur Dongmar,Yumthang is definitely on my mind for my next visit to this wonderful state of Sikkim. Very fond memories of the place,its people,their culture ,food,flora and fauna. As with the Look East policy of the government let us also try to visit these areas to strengthen their economy and the tourism industry. During our return journey to the airport the next day our cab driver invited us to his residence and offered us tea. Throughout Sikkim the people are really simple and nice people. Thanks you for reading both my blogs and thank all the Sikkimise people I encountered who made this Sikkim trip really special! :)
Bonus video : Drive thru the clouds on the road leading to Nathu La (its not fog but actual clouds!)
When at Gangtok there are three things to do a) Local site-seeing (whole day) b) Changu Lake(Tsomgo lake),Nathu La and Baba Mandir (whole day) c)Paragliding. All the rates for the same are displayed on a noticeboard at the central taxi stand, on a share as well as full vehicle basis. However, during off season the cab drivers offer better packages combining 4-5 points altogether for a reasonable cost.
On the road ahead there is View point where you have to climb up an observatory to once again see the Himalayan range. I did manage to click a great pic from here but apart from that there is nothing much here except a souvenir shop and some shops selling cut fresh fruits. By now you must have had Kanchenjunga pic firmly etched in your minds!You can see some people paragliding while travelling the roads
Next up on the local sightseeing list is a waterfall where again you can rent local outfits and click pics. The competition amongst them is fierce and you can really get a good bargain for the rented dress ;) Its a slightly different version from those at Ganesh Tok.
We went on to have the Gangtok cable car ride next and it is probably a bit slower than other cable cars but offers a nice view of the city. Ticket costs about 110/- per person for to and fro. 
On our way back we played in the snow. During descent you may experience some headache and dizziness which should go after a few hours. Take some paracetamol if it doesnt relieve on its its.
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