Why Silk Route?
If you are in Kolkata and planning for a trip to the mountains, Sikkim will always offer to be a great travel destination. Beautiful landscapes, warm inviting locals, mouthwatering cuisines, and ample scope for tourism and adventure, all this make it a great choice for all ages.
In the later part of 2019, we decided to visit East Sikkim and travel through the Old Silk Route, covering several locations of interests. Today, I will share our travel diary with you, and present to you all the locations we covered and where we stayed through our Old Silk Route Road Trip.
Throughout this blog, I have also shared detailed videos on each of the locations we covered in this trip (from our YouTube channel - RidingNHappy).
Locations Where We Stayed
We stayed at the following locations through our tour of 6 nights and 7 days:
- Rongli Khola
- Dzuluk (also referred to Zuluk or Dzoluk)
- Lingtam
- Mankhim
- Ichchhe Gaon
- Dello
Although Ichchhe Gaon and Dello are not really a part of the actual East Sikkim Silk Route, we included these two locations in our holiday plans as we had a couple of days to spare, and had heard good things about these places.
Here is a video of the entire trip for you:
Now let me share our tour plan with you.
Our Travel Plan
Day 0 - Oct 4 - Night Bus from Kolkata to Siliguri
On this day, after office hours, we grouped at Esplanade bus terminus in Kolkata. We took a night bus from Kolkata to Siliguri from Esplanade.
The only reason why we opted for this bus ride was that we did not get train tickets. I would not recommend taking a bus to Siliguri if you can avail one of the night trains, as the train journey is far more comfortable and convenient.
Here are some details of this bus ride (as of October 2019):
- Aitiana Travels
- Bus type: 2x2 AC Volvo pushback seats
- Fare: Rs 2,750 per person (with tax)
- Journey started: 9:30pm
- Reached Siliguri: 11:30am next morning (Oct 5) (2 hours late due to traffic)
- Verdict: not worth it unless train tickets are absolutely not available
Day 1 - Oct 5 - Night Stay at Rongli Khola
Once we reached Siliguri, we had our ride (Maruti Wagon R) waiting for us. We had pre-booked this car for the entire road trip, Siliguri to Siliguri, and it was a great decision. Not only did this make our entire trip smooth, but the car owner, Mr Amir, was very polite and accommodating throughout the trip.
From Siliguri, we started for Rongli Khola, our first destination in the East Sikkim Silk Route. On the way, we stopped for a quick snack of momos and thukpas, which ultimately turned out to be our lunch! There was heavy traffic almost till Rangpo, which made us miss our lunch at Rongli.
We reached Mangaldeep Resort at 4pm instead of 2pm as a result of this traffic. After freshening up, we enjoyed some hot evening snacks of tea and veg pakoras.
As it was almost dark, we did not venture to visit the Rongli river in the evening. Instead, we visited the Rongli market, and retired for the night after an early dinner of rotis and chicken.
Here is a video of our trip from Kolkata to Rongli Khola for you:
- Verdict: Mangaldeep Residency, at Rongli Khola, is a quiet place to stay, with the beautiful Rongli River flowing by the resort. Although the Rongli market stays busy with tourists, you can stay here for a day when starting on your way towards the Silk Route. The food is good, and the staff is very polite here. Rooms are spacious, but basic. We were happy with our short stay here.
Day 2 - Oct 6 - Night Stay at Dzuluk
The next morning, after some tea, we visited the Rongli River. It was barely a 5 minute walk from the resort, and undoubtedly an amazing experience. You can definitely go for a swim here.
After a delicious breakfast of luchi, tarkari and boiled eggs, we started for our next destination, Dzuluk. But before we could be on our way, we had to get passes for traveling on this route from Rongli Market. Amir ji helped us with this—we did not even have to get down from our car.
We started at around 11am from Rongli Khola. It was a great drive indeed. On the way, we got to see a number of places of interest, including:
- Phadamchen village (our passes were checked here)
- Nimachean Monastry
- Que Khola Falls
You can of course stop anywhere on this route for photo-sessions, as this entire route is very beautiful.
We reached a rainy Dzuluk at around 2pm. The sky was overcast, and drizzling continuously. It was very cold in Dzuluk. We had our stay booked at Dzuluk Residency.
After freshening up, we had a very basic, but hot lunch. We saw the sky clearing up, and went out for a short walk around. There is a army camp nearby, so be careful when taking photographs.
In the evening, we had the usual snacks of veg pakoras and black tea. As it was quite cold, we had an early dinner or chicken and rotis, and went to bed after that.
Here is a video of our road trip to Dzuluk:
- Verdict: Although the location of this hotel/resort was simply amazing, offering breathtaking views of the mountains from the windows, we would not recommend staying at Dzuluk Residency because of the following reasons:
- Uncooperative staff
- Quality of food
- However, it may be that the resort has improved its way of operating by now.
Day 3 - Oct 7 - Night Stay at Lingtam
The next morning, after a breakfast of bread toast and tea, we started for the road trip planned for that day. That day, we were to see:
- Thambi View Point
- Lungthang View Point
- Kalipokhri Lake
- Old Baba Mandir
- Tukla Valley
- Nathang Valley (or Gnathang Valley)
- Kupup Lake (or Hati Lake)
This was an adventurous day for us, and probably the most exciting day of the entire road trip. After visiting each of these places, we retraced the Silk Route and returned to lower Lingtam, where we stayed for the night.
On the way back to Lingtam, we stopped again at Que Khola falls, and had food there. This again consisted of thukpas and momos, and was very delicious!
Here is a video of our road trip for this day:
- Verdict: We stayed at Lingtam Resort. We felt that this stay was not really required, as we could have travelled to Mankhim that very day. The resort did not really offer a great location, but the staff was very polite and helpful, and food was ok here.
Day 4 - Oct 8 - Night Stay at Mankhim
The next morning, after having breakfast, we started our road trip to Mankhim top, via Dalapchand Village and Aritar. On the way, we visited the following places of interest:
- Dalapchand Village
- Lampokhri Lake
We stopped briefly at the beautiful Dalapchand Village for some photos, after which we visited Lampokhri Lake in Aritar. We walked around the lake, and also went for boating in it.
After this, we drove to our resort at Mankhim top, the Heaven Valley Homestay. This was the most beautiful location we stayed at throughout the entire trip, and we just wished we could have stayed there for an extra day!
Our cottage was located almost on top of the entire mountain, offering us a breathtaking view of Mount Kanchendzonga, Paykong Airport, and much much more. We had food in the open, while enjoying this view all through the day, and in the evening as well.
We would highly recommend this place.
Lunch was delicious with vegetables and egg curry. While the evening snacks offered the usual veg pakoras and tea, the dinner consisted of an awesome chicken curry and rotis.
Here is a video of our road trip to Mankhim top, covering Heaven Valley Homestay:
- Verdict: Mankhim Top is one of those locations in the Silk Route that offer some breathtaking views. Our homestay was amazingly located. The staff here was extremely polite, and so was the owner. Food was delicious as well. Once again, Heaven Valley Homestay is highly recommended!
Day 5 - Oct 9 - Night Stay at Ichchhe Gaon
The next morning, after another delicious breakfast of alu parathas, we started for the remaining of the road trip. On that day, we left Sikkim behind and returned to West Bengal. We stayed the night at Ichchhe Gaon, an amazing hilltop village where the primary occupation of the residents is offering homestay facilities to tourists.
On the way to Ichchhe Gaon, we visited the following places:
- Amitabha Buddha Temple
- Aritar Gompha
We reached Ichchhe Gaon after a short but completely off-road drive. Both Amir ji and his Wagon R did fabulously on the extremely steep and broken roads to Ichchhe Goan.
This village offered us a very hospitable homestay, right on the top of the hill. The view from our room made us feel as if we were sitting on an aeroplane and looking at Mount Kanchendzonga!
To reach Ichchhe Gaon, you may have to climb quite a bit up the hill through the village, depending on the location of your homestay. We had to walk a considerable distance uphill, as our homestay (Eden Homestay) was right on top of the hill. However, the view made us forget the labours of the climb 😊
Here is a video of our experience at Ichchhe Gaon:
- Verdict: Staying at Ichchhe Goan was a very different sort of experience for us, and we enjoyed the food, hospitality and amazingly breathtaking views wholeheartedly. We would highly recommend staying for a day at Eden Homestay for sure, provided you are comfortable with walking uphill for a considerable distance.
Day 6 - Oct 10 - Night Stay at Delo Hills
The next morning comprised of another short drive, from Ichchhe Gaon to Delo (or Deolo) Hills. On the way, we got to see the following tourist spots:
- Burmiok Shiv Dham
- Durga Mandir
- 17 Mile Ground
- Hanuman Mandir
After visiting all these areas of interest, we reached Kanchendzonga Homestay in Deolo Hills, which would be our place for stay for that day. The rooms were very comfortable and cosy, and the owners were probably the most polite and helpful people we met throughout the entire tour. The food here was delicious too.
After freshening up and having lunch, we booked the owner's car for siteseeing all around Dello Hills and Kalimpong. This was also an eventful day for us. The places we covered included:
- Delo Park
- Dr Graham's Home
- Morgan House
- Pine View Nursery
- Durpin Monastery
- Hanuman Temple
- Mangaldham Temple
- Kalimpong Market, and a few other places
We had to let Amir ji go that day, as he had to attend to something urgent. However, he made sure that our journey to Siliguri the next day was well-organised, so that we do not face any trouble.
Here is a video of our stay and site seeing in Delo and Kalimpong:
- Verdict: Delo and Kalimpong offer a lot of places of interest for tourists. It is undoubtedly a good place to spend a day or two. We would happily recommend Kanchendzonga Homestay to people who want to visit Delo. It may not offer a great view, but the owners will simply make you feel more comfortable than home.
Day 7 - Oct 11 - Night Bus to Kolkata from Siliguri
This was the day when our road trip came to an end. We started the day with morning walks through the Delo roads covered by tall pine trees. After packing up, we had an early lunch, and boarded a Maruti Ignis that belonged to the owner of the homestay. He dropped us at Siliguri in time, and we took the night bus to Kolkata.
Once again, unless train tickets are absolutely unavailable, it is always recommended to travel between Kolkata and Siliguri by train.
That brings us to the end of this road trip. Hope you liked it.
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Stay tuned for my next blog!
Thank You 😊
