Oct 29, 20235 min read

Going to Pelling in Sikkim

October 9- from the itinerary: Drive to Gangtok, Sikkim / Elgin Norkhill (B,D) Depart at 8.30 am for the 3hour drive to Gangtok, capital of Sikkim. For many years, Sikkim was regarded as one of the last Shangri Las of the Himalayan region because of its remoteness, its lovely mountain terrain, ancient Buddhist monasteries and the profusion of flowers. Sikkim was a monarchy and independent Himalayan kingdom. In 1975, it was annexed to India, becoming the 22nd Indian state. Gangtok offers a spectacular view of Mt. Kanchenjunga, at a distant skyline. The pristine hill station nestled in mountains and clouds is also a base for a whole lot of trekkers to the Himalayan mountain ranges. The mesmerizing prismatic beauty and the beautiful winding hill roads are breath-taking. Check into hotel, some rest. Afternoon visit the Government Institute of Cottage Industries, the Research Institute of Tibetology, and Do-drul Chorten stupa. The Research Institute of Tibetology has the largest collection of books on Mahayana Buddhism in the world. It also has a great collection of old manuscripts, Tibetan paintings, old statues and icons. The huge Do-drul Chorten stupa is located at a short walking distance from the Research Institute of Tibetology and on a hillock. From the base of the hill there is a short but steep uphill pathway that leads to the stupa. The Chorten Stupa is marked by a golden top dome. This golden top can be seen from various places in Gangtok. (you have the option to stay at the base of the hill if you don’t wish to do this walk). The deity enshrined on top of the chorten stupa is known as Dorjee Phurpa or Vajra Kilaya. This chorten is regarded as one of the most important chortens of Sikkim. Also visit the Handicraft Centre where one can see the manufacture of Sikkimese Handicraft. You will have some time to walk around the colorful market place of Gangtok.

7am bed tea started my day to Sikkim - not Gangtok because that drive would take 10 hours if we're lucky. Instead Plan B will take me to Pelling. This should be a 5 hour drive.

I was due to leave at 8:30. Imagine my surprise when breakfast, that was supposed to be set up at 7:30 wasn't and was told it only started at 8am. After raising cane breakfast began at 7:45 and Andrew was contacted. He had no idea about my checkout and was generally contrite. That said, I was able to get the email of the owner and I sent a long letter of complaint.

My guide is Ali and Chuni is my driver. Because the roads are out, the route takes us South to Darjeeling and then North to Sikkim. It took two hours to get to/through Darjeeling and roads were bad. We didn't have a 4 wheel drive and we almost could not get out from Glenburn. The clouds lifted and Kanchenjunga was finally visible. Kanchenjunga is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit is at 8,586 m (28,169 ft). It's finally a cool and sunny day.

Some more information and factoids: I was told Darjeeling has 125,000 people. Water is carried by water truck to the city from below Tiger Hill. There were many water trucks parked along the road waiting for water to take to the city.

We drove through Ghoom at 7407 feet which has the highest train station in Asia and the second highest in world after Machu Picchu. Along the Toy Train route is a monument to the Gurkhas monument. Remembering all Gurkhas everywhere who lost their lives. According to Ali there are accidents between the Toy Train and cars - I guess I can believe that given the driving skill. Along the way we passed someone bringing how their clothes washer. We also went under the rope way discussed in yesterday's blog

To give an idea of the cost of private schools, The girl's school costs 6000 INR/month non- boarding. At today's exchange rate, that's about $72. I was told cars honk a lot because roads are all switchbacks and drivers can’t see around hairpin turns. The roads are so narrow and of poor quality. Sometimes they were so narrow the side-view mirrors had to be pulled in, in order to have enough room to pass.

We stopped for a bathroom stop. I heard a noise as I approached the toilet area and noticed a piglet in the room next door. The toilet was locked and needed a key. Not sure there was a lot there to steal and there was a big difference when compared to the Japanese versions of public toilets....

We travelled along the Singla Bazar Road to the border with Sikkim and we arrived at the border three hours from our start. I started to smell the brakes and the engine coming down to Singla.

There we crossed a “weak bridge” and pulled over so Ali could do the paper work. Sikkim is closed needing special permit for non- Indians because it is the last state in India before the border with China.

On the other side of the border were a group of bikers. Evidently Sikkim is a popular motorcycle tour destination. After seeing the roads it wouldn’t be high on my list. One of the bikers got ill and landed in the hospital, so he had to have his permit extended. I can’t imaging anything worse than being stranded in a hospital in Sikkim with no one to help.

Jorethang (pronounced Jortan) is where we stopped for lunch. This is the first town after border. Lunch at hotel Namgyal where I had egg fried rice. And got some extra sauces with some fireball chilli. Hope my stomach can handle it:)

Pelling was 48 km from lunch. Chuni asked everyone we saw about the state of the route to Pelling- I couldn't understand the answer….but I guess the route was good enough because we continued on. Funnily enough, the roads were actually better on the Sikkim side.

Some of the landslides along the road were from last year and they are still being cleaned up. At one point we went through a tunnel which was one of the hydroelectric overflow vents.

West Sikkim has several UNESCO heritage sites. As we went up we found road damage from the recent storm.

We passed through several towns on the way to Pelling: Upper kyongda, Geyzing and Darap. We finally got to Pelling at 2.30. Ali was going to end the day with this, but I insisted we see something more so that it wasn't a wasted visit. We decided to continue on 45 minutes to see one of the local attractions - the Rambi Waterfall - and save the monastery for tomorrow.

On the way to Rambi we drove through villages where their livelihood was raised from cardamom spice production.

The waterfall was very pretty. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to go to the Khacheopalri Lake. This is a sacred lake located about an hour on windy roads from Pelling.

The Dalai Lama was able to visit Gangtok today, but took his helicopter….

Upon arrival at The Elgin Mount Pandim I was offered cherry brandy and then we all sat down for tea.

Due to the flooding, only 4 rooms in the hotel were occupied. The Elgin Mount Pandim was built by the King of Sikkim and served as a Royal retreat for the Royal family of Sikkim offering one of most fantastic locations in the region of Sikkim. It has one of the best views of the same Kanchenjunga mountain peak.