Snow-Capped Mountains and Monasteries

Travel time - Darjeeling to Gangtok: approx 7 hours.

The first day of this India experience begins in Darjeeling. The day begins early with a 7 hour drive to Gangtok. From the tea hills around Darjeeling, you’ll travel north over twisting roads. Mount Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world, towers over all of the scenery, making it's surroundings look. The contrast between the snow-capped background and the green lanscape in the foreground is stunning. The driver will be happy to stop on the way whenever you need a few moments take a some photos or stretch your legs and admire the view.

At the end of the first day of your India tour, you’ll arrive in Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim. This beguiling city, perched high on a mountain ridge, is home to a large population of Buddhist Indians. Your comfortable family hotel is a place of rest and harmony, where only the chirping of the birds in the lush garden can be heard. The centre of Gangtok is about 2km away and easy to reach on foot.
 

Travel time - Gangtok via Phodang and Labrang: approx 2-3 hour drive

The monasteries close to Gangtok are not often visited by tourists and still retain their original character. A truly authentic India experience, day two of your India trip in Sikkim will take you along a bumpy road to Phodang and Labrang (approx 40kms from Gangtok). These are brightly decorated monasteries full of rainbow colours and dragons motifs - far more flamboyant than anything you’ll find in Ladakh or Tibet. Each monastery will give you sweeping views over snow-capped Mount Kanchenjunga, looming large above you.

At the end of the afternoon, you can head back to your hotel in Gangtok where you are free to spend your evening as you wish. 

Travel time - Gangtok via Rumtek to Kalimpong: approx 2-3 hour drive

On day three of your trip, you’ll head to Rumtek monastery (approx 24 kms from Gangtok), perhaps the most wonderful of all the monasteries in the area. Every last inch of its interior is covered with brightly coloured murals and fine wood carvings. You are welcome to sit in on a session with the monks and listen to their mystical choral chanting whilst enjoying (or trying to keep down) a cup of Po Cha- salt yak butter tea- a real India experience. 

This afternoon, your driver will take you to the market town of Kalimpong where you can continue your India experience. Wander through the local market in search of souvenirs, or take a walk through the woods that surround the town. Kalimpong was conquered and colonised by Bhutan for over 100 years, and there is still a typical Bhutanese monastery in the town. Monks can be seen seated opposite each other at long tables alternating between chanting and making music. You’ll stay in small, cosy huts in the middle of a green oak wood.