Road Trip to Kalimpong & North Sikkim
It all started with the idea to celebrate the 6 month ownership of the Scorpio-N – and what better place to travel than the unpredictable North Sikkim – with a couple of days chipped in at Kalimpong.
Itinerary:
25-Mar-25 Siliguri to Kalimpong
The next day we started around 11ish, with Kalimpong as our objective. We had stayed at a lovely place, Windsongs before and we were booked at the same place and the same rooms for this stay too. The idea was to laze around for a couple of days. The traffic on the Sevoke road has increased manifold and with speed cameras in place, you need to maintain a sedate pace. As we crossed the Sevoke railway line, the hills started. The idling Teesta river and blue skies keep company as one crosses the Coronation bridge. We had been on these roads only 3 months back, on the way to Biksthang. Only this time, we depart from NH 31/NH 10 much earlier at Teesta Bazaar from where the switch backs of Kalimpong start. Comparison comes immediately to the mind because I had climbed these hills in my Swift where I had to rev it high but in the ScorpioN, the climbs are not stressed.And around 2 PM we enter Windsong and as you enter the gates, you can feel that the banter of the roads and traffic have disappeared and you get to hear literally the chirping of birds and winds. Being late March, the day was hot.
Stay at Windsongs is synonymous with relaxation and good food and good sleep. And in those two days the relaxation provided a much needed break from our stay. One of the days was also wife’s birthday which was celebrated with a cake and some extra savouries from the owners. From the rooms, one can simply gaze at the Tarey Bhir ridge at the top and the deep Teesta valley at the bottom and on a clear day the Kanchenjunga appears over the ridge. The next day we went to the Cactus Nursery and in the evening to the Durpin monastery. Coming to the food, be it the breakfast spread of Puri subzi or the Toast/Sausages and the lunch/dinner of Dal, chicken curries or the custard seems and the icing on the cake has to be the custard..
28-Mar-25: Lachung – Yumthang/Zero Point - Lachen
So, with the problematic fuel situation, we started towards Yumthang/Zero Point. The fuel situation was so bad that we we would be bound to cancel the Lachen leg, if there was no replenishment. But in that bright morning with the snow peaks glistening in the distance and the conifers swaying in the wind, the worries disappeared. We took it slow absorbing the beauty of the place. A few miles out of Lachung, the snow line started. At places the Lachung Chu came close to the road and at times it slipped away by a few miles. And there were times when we crossed over boulder zones which were probably part of the river bed.
We climbed up further crossing South Yumesamdong and then further up where it was very cold and completely snowed out. The road goes further , but we stopped our journey at the place where all the cars were standing. It was a snowed out zone. The breeze sometimes increasing in intensity to a strong wind as evident from the fluttering prayer flags.The sun had disappeared by then and it was dark and cloudy - quite ominous.
While we were having tea with the the worry of the low fuel in the mind and I just thought of asking the tea seller if he knows where we get diesel in Lachung or Chungthang..? He told me I needn’t go any where but will get diesel here itself and then someone came with a 20 litre can. An cab driver opined that this fuel might not be good for BS6 cars. That was a risk I was prepared to take and then filled up the diesel. So with fuel in the tank and an updated range and some more tea, we drove down hill. At Yumthang we had lunch and started pondering where to stay at Lachen.
The stay at Lachung was good, but we didn’t have a proper sleep. Rest was required, more so, because the next day was supposed to be a long one with an early morning start. My wife started to search for hotels and zeroed in on the Apple Orchard Resort. The hotel was exorbitantly priced but with some bargaining we arrived at a decent deal. It was around 4 in the evening when we crossed Chungthang. Lachen was around 25 kms away. The roads continued to be good till we reached a place called Munsithang. The road was very narrow and the tarmac had disappeared leaving behind a slippery gravel surface. These areas were apparently the result of some massive landslide. After crossing that deadly stretch, we made good time and by 6 in the evening, we were at the Apple Orchard Retreat.
29-Mar-25: Lachen - Gurudongmar - Dzongu
The next morning, at 6, as we were were ready to go to Gurudongmar we were served cups of ginger tea and packed breakfast and as the sun was filling up the valley, we realized that there was an apple tree at the center of the courtyard. In fact we came to know later that there were a few apple trees in the upper reaches of the resort.
I had bitter memories of the journey from Lachen to Gurudongmar. It was 11 years ago and from what I remember, a few miles after Lachen, the road completely vanished and it was a tough journey to Gurudongmar Lake. But times have changed now, except a deadly 3-4 km section which has been washed away by the flash flood, the entire stretch is butter smooth and after you cross Thangu, you can reach quite high speeds.
This area of Sikkim, is where the Tibetan plateau has entered India and the vegetation is replaced by arid, brown hills – clearly reminiscent of Ladakh. With a tea break and some checkpoints, we reached Gurudongmar at 9. We stayed at the lake for around 20 mins and then commenced the downhill journey.
Our journey to Lachen was interrupted by an over 2 hour blockade at the bridge construction site. We reached Apple Orchard resort around 1 PM and were surprised yet again with a Chinese lunch of Fried rice, chili fish, chicken and baby corn. The lunch, truth be told could not be enjoyed because a long journey to Dzongu lay ahead.
After crossing Tung, ours was the only vehicle headed towards Dzongu for a good part of 2 hours - wondering where was the tourist ferrying traffic - till we reached the Sankalang bridge. Between Tung and Sankalang, the sun went down and then the rains started. The road continued to be narrow with sustained forested stretches.
And then, a few miles before Sankalang, we came across bumper to bumper traffic and with the mobile towers back we contacted Munlom for directions. It was pitch dark by that time and the resort folks came in their Mahindra Armada to a common spot which was 6-7 kms away from the resort and told me “The last kilometre has some offroading”.
The day had being long but fruitful and with the dripping rain, muddy roads and splashes as we could see the Armada in front of us, that last kilometre was indeed fun.
Dzongu - Raiganj - Kolkata 30-Mar-25 and 31-Mar-25
The morning at Dzongu was mythical and misty. We woke up quite late and relaxed - originally aiming to reach Bagdogra. Thereafter a breakfast of Thukpa , Omelettes and Tea we exited Dzongu around 10 in the morning. A resort lady wanted a lift till Singtam and we dropped her at Singtam.At Singtam, and subsequently at Rangpo, we could feel the summer sun blazing in fully glory. Around 5 in the evening we reached Khanna Hotel, Bagdogra and had some snacks and felt we can continue further towards Malda. However the high tariff at Golden Park put us off and instead we stayed at Badshah, Raiganj.The next day it was a pretty straight forward run to Kolkata from Raiganj - with a detour to Barrackpore for packing some Biryani from Dada Boudi.At the end of the journey, we also touched upon the 10000 kms mark.
- 24-Mar-25: Kolkata - Siliguri
- 25-Mar-25: Siliguri - Kalimpong
- 26-Mar-25: Kalimpong
- 27-Mar-25: Kalimpong - Lachung
- 28-Mar-25: Lachung - Yumthang/Zero Point - Lachen
- 29-Mar-25: Lachen - Gurudongmar - Dzongu
- 30-Mar-25: Dzongu - Raiganj
- 31-Mar-25: Raiganj - Kolkata
24-Mar-25 Kolkata to Siliguri
We started from our Kolkata home around 12 in the afternoon. NH 34, which was fearsome monster in its heydays is now a predictable highway and it took us 11.5 hrs door to door with lunch breaks thrown in. This time we stayed at a new hotel in Siliguri – The 4 Vedas. The rooms were luxurious, food was excellent – but the only vegetarian fare was a dampener. However considering that it was only a transit halt, that was manageable.
25-Mar-25 Siliguri to Kalimpong
The next day we started around 11ish, with Kalimpong as our objective. We had stayed at a lovely place, Windsongs before and we were booked at the same place and the same rooms for this stay too. The idea was to laze around for a couple of days. The traffic on the Sevoke road has increased manifold and with speed cameras in place, you need to maintain a sedate pace. As we crossed the Sevoke railway line, the hills started. The idling Teesta river and blue skies keep company as one crosses the Coronation bridge. We had been on these roads only 3 months back, on the way to Biksthang. Only this time, we depart from NH 31/NH 10 much earlier at Teesta Bazaar from where the switch backs of Kalimpong start. Comparison comes immediately to the mind because I had climbed these hills in my Swift where I had to rev it high but in the ScorpioN, the climbs are not stressed.And around 2 PM we enter Windsong and as you enter the gates, you can feel that the banter of the roads and traffic have disappeared and you get to hear literally the chirping of birds and winds. Being late March, the day was hot.
Stay at Windsongs is synonymous with relaxation and good food and good sleep. And in those two days the relaxation provided a much needed break from our stay. One of the days was also wife’s birthday which was celebrated with a cake and some extra savouries from the owners. From the rooms, one can simply gaze at the Tarey Bhir ridge at the top and the deep Teesta valley at the bottom and on a clear day the Kanchenjunga appears over the ridge. The next day we went to the Cactus Nursery and in the evening to the Durpin monastery. Coming to the food, be it the breakfast spread of Puri subzi or the Toast/Sausages and the lunch/dinner of Dal, chicken curries or the custard seems and the icing on the cake has to be the custard..
27-Mar-25 Kalimpong to Lachung
So, after spending two relaxing days at Kalimpong, we were on the road again and this time headed towards North Sikkim. The road to Gurudongmar lake, a common adventure spot in the Eastern Himalayas, was closed for close to 2 years (?) due to a Glacial Lake outburst and was reopened in January 2025. However 2 weeks before the trip we came to know that the road had closed down again due to a broken bridge and we had excluded it from our itinerary. But only the previous day we came to know that the route was reopened which was good news for us. The permit had to be done from Mangan and Rikzin, a local, had arranged for the same.
We took the following route: Kalimpong – Rangpo – Singtam – Dikchu. At Dikchu we came to know that the usual route through Mangan is closed (Google was indicating that – but did not suggest any alternate route, and nor did we enquire because I felt there must definitely be some way). At Dikchu, we had the ubiquitous maggi for lunch and lost a good deal of an hour for the getting the permits…before we crossed over to Dzongu.
I found it strange that Google map wasn’t showing any route map here. It was a long detour of ~40-45 kms – several sections of which were steep, narrow and broken. The road, first climbs up and then rapidly descends to the river bed at a place called Sankalang. From Sangkalang it rises again in a series of 46 switchbacks, some of which was quite steep and you can feel the altitude at times. The road is very narrow and making way for the uphill traffic is quite common till you reach the check post of Tung.
We had started from Kalimpong at 9 in the morning and it was around 4 that we reached Tung. Lachung our destination for the night was around 40 kms away. At Chungthang we saw the devastation caused by the flooded glacial lake, so much so that the river changed its course, uprooting trees at least a 100 feet higher than its course and as we learnt later, washed away 14 bridges on the Lachen side. However, the road from Chungthang to Lachung was in top shape. It had rained sometime back and then the skies had cleared up for a moment revealing the orange glow of the setting sun that fell upon the still wet blooming magnolias and rhododendrons in the evening light. It was around 6 that we checked in to Etho Metho hotel at night.
But I was worried about fuel, I had presumed that the route will take me through Mangan where there is a fuel station. But this new road alignment was a surprise. In fact I did not fuel up at Dikchu, thinking that I will any way fill up at Mangan. Anyway, thinking of Lachung now where I had been first in 2005, was a small village, but is now a series of hotels. And where there was hardly mobile networks, now has even 4G WiFi. It was rainy, windy and quite chilly in evening.
However, the next morning, was bright and sunny, Vivek Gurung, the hotel manager was quite supportive and he drove me to a few places where he knew we could get Diesel – but we were out of luck. In fact, whatever be my feedback on the hotel, we will always have words of appreciation for Vivek.
So, after spending two relaxing days at Kalimpong, we were on the road again and this time headed towards North Sikkim. The road to Gurudongmar lake, a common adventure spot in the Eastern Himalayas, was closed for close to 2 years (?) due to a Glacial Lake outburst and was reopened in January 2025. However 2 weeks before the trip we came to know that the road had closed down again due to a broken bridge and we had excluded it from our itinerary. But only the previous day we came to know that the route was reopened which was good news for us. The permit had to be done from Mangan and Rikzin, a local, had arranged for the same.
We took the following route: Kalimpong – Rangpo – Singtam – Dikchu. At Dikchu we came to know that the usual route through Mangan is closed (Google was indicating that – but did not suggest any alternate route, and nor did we enquire because I felt there must definitely be some way). At Dikchu, we had the ubiquitous maggi for lunch and lost a good deal of an hour for the getting the permits…before we crossed over to Dzongu.
I found it strange that Google map wasn’t showing any route map here. It was a long detour of ~40-45 kms – several sections of which were steep, narrow and broken. The road, first climbs up and then rapidly descends to the river bed at a place called Sankalang. From Sangkalang it rises again in a series of 46 switchbacks, some of which was quite steep and you can feel the altitude at times. The road is very narrow and making way for the uphill traffic is quite common till you reach the check post of Tung.
We had started from Kalimpong at 9 in the morning and it was around 4 that we reached Tung. Lachung our destination for the night was around 40 kms away. At Chungthang we saw the devastation caused by the flooded glacial lake, so much so that the river changed its course, uprooting trees at least a 100 feet higher than its course and as we learnt later, washed away 14 bridges on the Lachen side. However, the road from Chungthang to Lachung was in top shape. It had rained sometime back and then the skies had cleared up for a moment revealing the orange glow of the setting sun that fell upon the still wet blooming magnolias and rhododendrons in the evening light. It was around 6 that we checked in to Etho Metho hotel at night.
But I was worried about fuel, I had presumed that the route will take me through Mangan where there is a fuel station. But this new road alignment was a surprise. In fact I did not fuel up at Dikchu, thinking that I will any way fill up at Mangan. Anyway, thinking of Lachung now where I had been first in 2005, was a small village, but is now a series of hotels. And where there was hardly mobile networks, now has even 4G WiFi. It was rainy, windy and quite chilly in evening.
However, the next morning, was bright and sunny, Vivek Gurung, the hotel manager was quite supportive and he drove me to a few places where he knew we could get Diesel – but we were out of luck. In fact, whatever be my feedback on the hotel, we will always have words of appreciation for Vivek.
28-Mar-25: Lachung – Yumthang/Zero Point - Lachen
So, with the problematic fuel situation, we started towards Yumthang/Zero Point. The fuel situation was so bad that we we would be bound to cancel the Lachen leg, if there was no replenishment. But in that bright morning with the snow peaks glistening in the distance and the conifers swaying in the wind, the worries disappeared. We took it slow absorbing the beauty of the place. A few miles out of Lachung, the snow line started. At places the Lachung Chu came close to the road and at times it slipped away by a few miles. And there were times when we crossed over boulder zones which were probably part of the river bed.
We climbed up further crossing South Yumesamdong and then further up where it was very cold and completely snowed out. The road goes further , but we stopped our journey at the place where all the cars were standing. It was a snowed out zone. The breeze sometimes increasing in intensity to a strong wind as evident from the fluttering prayer flags.The sun had disappeared by then and it was dark and cloudy - quite ominous.
While we were having tea with the the worry of the low fuel in the mind and I just thought of asking the tea seller if he knows where we get diesel in Lachung or Chungthang..? He told me I needn’t go any where but will get diesel here itself and then someone came with a 20 litre can. An cab driver opined that this fuel might not be good for BS6 cars. That was a risk I was prepared to take and then filled up the diesel. So with fuel in the tank and an updated range and some more tea, we drove down hill. At Yumthang we had lunch and started pondering where to stay at Lachen.
The stay at Lachung was good, but we didn’t have a proper sleep. Rest was required, more so, because the next day was supposed to be a long one with an early morning start. My wife started to search for hotels and zeroed in on the Apple Orchard Resort. The hotel was exorbitantly priced but with some bargaining we arrived at a decent deal. It was around 4 in the evening when we crossed Chungthang. Lachen was around 25 kms away. The roads continued to be good till we reached a place called Munsithang. The road was very narrow and the tarmac had disappeared leaving behind a slippery gravel surface. These areas were apparently the result of some massive landslide. After crossing that deadly stretch, we made good time and by 6 in the evening, we were at the Apple Orchard Retreat.
Stay at Apple Orchard
A steep series of staircases took us to the warmly lit reception. Most people who come to Lachen carry the baggage of a long journey behind them. But the heated room, Cherry brandy and the ‘as deep as you can sink’ sofas were enough to make us feel that the journey was a thing of the past. We were ushered to our rooms.and were served tea and cookies. The room was uber luxurious and as we sipped the tea and relaxed in the rooms - my memories of old Lachen were replaced by luxury and comfort. A hot bath later, we were served a proper dinner – rice, dal fry, paneer, baked egg plant, chicken masala and salad. That night we had a sound sleep but knowing fully well that a long day lay ahead of us.
A steep series of staircases took us to the warmly lit reception. Most people who come to Lachen carry the baggage of a long journey behind them. But the heated room, Cherry brandy and the ‘as deep as you can sink’ sofas were enough to make us feel that the journey was a thing of the past. We were ushered to our rooms.and were served tea and cookies. The room was uber luxurious and as we sipped the tea and relaxed in the rooms - my memories of old Lachen were replaced by luxury and comfort. A hot bath later, we were served a proper dinner – rice, dal fry, paneer, baked egg plant, chicken masala and salad. That night we had a sound sleep but knowing fully well that a long day lay ahead of us.
29-Mar-25: Lachen - Gurudongmar - Dzongu
The next morning, at 6, as we were were ready to go to Gurudongmar we were served cups of ginger tea and packed breakfast and as the sun was filling up the valley, we realized that there was an apple tree at the center of the courtyard. In fact we came to know later that there were a few apple trees in the upper reaches of the resort.
I had bitter memories of the journey from Lachen to Gurudongmar. It was 11 years ago and from what I remember, a few miles after Lachen, the road completely vanished and it was a tough journey to Gurudongmar Lake. But times have changed now, except a deadly 3-4 km section which has been washed away by the flash flood, the entire stretch is butter smooth and after you cross Thangu, you can reach quite high speeds.
This area of Sikkim, is where the Tibetan plateau has entered India and the vegetation is replaced by arid, brown hills – clearly reminiscent of Ladakh. With a tea break and some checkpoints, we reached Gurudongmar at 9. We stayed at the lake for around 20 mins and then commenced the downhill journey.
Our journey to Lachen was interrupted by an over 2 hour blockade at the bridge construction site. We reached Apple Orchard resort around 1 PM and were surprised yet again with a Chinese lunch of Fried rice, chili fish, chicken and baby corn. The lunch, truth be told could not be enjoyed because a long journey to Dzongu lay ahead.
After crossing Tung, ours was the only vehicle headed towards Dzongu for a good part of 2 hours - wondering where was the tourist ferrying traffic - till we reached the Sankalang bridge. Between Tung and Sankalang, the sun went down and then the rains started. The road continued to be narrow with sustained forested stretches.
And then, a few miles before Sankalang, we came across bumper to bumper traffic and with the mobile towers back we contacted Munlom for directions. It was pitch dark by that time and the resort folks came in their Mahindra Armada to a common spot which was 6-7 kms away from the resort and told me “The last kilometre has some offroading”.
The day had being long but fruitful and with the dripping rain, muddy roads and splashes as we could see the Armada in front of us, that last kilometre was indeed fun.
Dzongu - Raiganj - Kolkata 30-Mar-25 and 31-Mar-25
The morning at Dzongu was mythical and misty. We woke up quite late and relaxed - originally aiming to reach Bagdogra. Thereafter a breakfast of Thukpa , Omelettes and Tea we exited Dzongu around 10 in the morning. A resort lady wanted a lift till Singtam and we dropped her at Singtam.At Singtam, and subsequently at Rangpo, we could feel the summer sun blazing in fully glory. Around 5 in the evening we reached Khanna Hotel, Bagdogra and had some snacks and felt we can continue further towards Malda. However the high tariff at Golden Park put us off and instead we stayed at Badshah, Raiganj.The next day it was a pretty straight forward run to Kolkata from Raiganj - with a detour to Barrackpore for packing some Biryani from Dada Boudi.At the end of the journey, we also touched upon the 10000 kms mark.
