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Take the Tibetan Temple Trail

Route: Darjeeling - Richenpong - Pelling - Yuksom

This module is for travellers eager to experience more Tibetan culture after a stay in the green tea hills during their Darjeeling tour. The hikes featured in the trip are pretty easygoing and last only a few hours at a time, so anybody with a reasonable level of fitness can take part. After your journey through the foothills, listening to the chants of Tibetan monks echoing through the valley, you can relax in the grass with the highest mountains in the world spread out before you.

If you'd like to start building your very own India trip, take a look at our range of bite-sized India tours. Or alternatively, you can choose from one of our suggested holidays to India. Need some more advice or inspiration? Have a chat with one of our India travel specialists on 01273 322044.

Duration	5 days / 4 nights Departs daily from Darjeeling	Accommodation	Fairly comfortable hotels/guesthouses. Comfort level 2 (see accommodation).
Price	£518 per person - based on 2 people sharing	Includes	Accommodation with breakfast (full board in Rinchenpong), excursions with guide, transport by private car.
Transport	Private car, on foot	Excludes	International flight

Day 1: Darjeeling - Rinchenpong

(Travel time approx. 4 hours by car)

You'll begin in Darjeeling and, on the first day, you’ll drive north to western Sikkim. Then, you'll begin your Sikkim journey, and on the way, you’ll pass the rich, green tea fields for which the entire Darjeeling region is famous. As Sikkim lies at a lower altitude than Ladakh in North West India, the countryside here is more verdant, with dozens of little streams trickling down the valleys
between the green hills. After approximately 4-hours, you’ll reach the tiny village of Rinchenpong. Here, you will be staying in an authentic family-run farmstay. All your meals are included whilst here, and the family will feed you delicious meals used making vegetables from their farm.

Day 2: Richenpong - Free Time

This morning you will start your day with breakfast, prepared for you by your host family. After, you are free to explore the local area on your own as we have left today free for you. The farmstay is situated on 44 hectares of land, and there are numerous vegatables, fruits, flowers and trees being grown here. Your friendly host family will happily take you on a tour around the land and tell you more about the different plants growing here, and teach you about all their different used.

Whilst staying at your farmstay in Rinchenpong you can choose to go on one of the organised trips to various places in the local area, such as the monastery on a mountaintop which is nearby. Just ask the family what trips are available and you can book them on the spot.

Day 3: Rinchenpong - Pelling

(Travel time approx. 3 hours by car)

After breakfast we say goodbye to the family and the journey continues towards Pelling. Just before lunch, you will reach the Pemayangtse monastery which is nestled between the snowy peaks of the Himalayas (almost 2,100m high). This monastery provides a home to more than a hundred monks and also serves as a religious school for Buddhist studies. The isolated position of the monastery has enabled its wonderful preservation, so you can gaze in awe at the amazing colourful murals, finely detailed wood carvings, prayer wheels Buddha images that cover the three floors of the building. It is incredible to think that all of this is detailed work was done by hand. You’ll spend tonight in Pelling, and from your hotel window you’ll have a breathtaking view of the third highest mountain in the world - Mount Kanchenjunga.

Day 4: Pelling - Khecheopalri Sacred Lake - Yuksom

(Travel time approx. 1.5hrs by car, 4 hours on foot, 1 hr by car)

Early this morning, you will set off on foot to the Sanga Choling Monastery, which is about a 2 mile trek away. This monestary is the oldest in Sikkim and is situated on a hill, from which you get a beautiful view of the green hills and snowy peaks in the distance (especially early in the morning). After your visit to the Sanga Choling Monastery, you will get back into the car, and head to Khecheopalri Lake. Khecheopalri Lake is surrounded by prayer flags fluttering along with the trees around rhythmically in the wind. This is a sacred lake for both Hindus and Buddhists and is situated on Khechoedpaldri hill, which is also considered to be sacred.

From here, you will continue your trip with a trek to the mountain village of Yuksom. The road starts off quite flat, but then leads uphill through the mountains, past little villages. The original inhabitants of Sikkim, the Lepchas, live in these remote villages and have their own language and their own traditions.

After trekking for about 4 hours your driver will pick you up and take
you by car for the last stretch of the trip. You will encounter a rural atmosphere with chickens, small barns, goats and cows. The environment is very green around here, and looks like a jungle. You will be staying in one of the best hotels in town, a relatively new hotel in Yuksom, which is mix of traditional Tibetan and modern architecture.

Day 5: Yuksom - End of Sikkim trip

After breakfast on the final morning of your Sikkim trip, the module ends in Yuksom. From here, you can travel back to Darjeeling, or if you'd prefer, you can continue your India experience on another of our Sikkim tours. We can arrange the transfer for you – just ask one of our travel specialists.

If you would like to explore colourful Rajasthan, then you can travel to Delhi or Kolkata for an internal flight. The same applies if you’re planning to finish your trip on a tropical beach with one of our tours in Goa. Our friendly India travel specialists are on hand to help you plan your India trip.

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