A Trip To Gangtok


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Gentlemen,
Decided to visit Gangtok for a few days. Got the phone number of a hotel from a friend of mine. Rang them up and very fortunately they had accommodation available. And I had a phone number of a hotel in Siliguri, where I usually stay. That was because wife reasonably refused to go to Gangtok straightaway, saying that it was too difficult for her, sitting in a car for some eighteen or nineteen hours.

Started from my home in north Calcutta right at 3 O'clock, very early in the morning. The roads were emtpty. In less than three hours reached Panagarh (a place near Durgapur in West Bengal, on NH-2). I was heading for Messanjore dam, near Dumka town (in Jharkhand). Actually there is also a shorter route from Calcutta which leads to to this place, going via Bolpur. But I do not have a GPS device in my car and I was afraid that I might get lost and not recognise the roads. So decided to take this longer route instead.

The mostly empty roads were very beautiful. This picture of the road between Illambazar and Dubrajpur (both in Birbhum district of West Bengal) was taken by my wife at half past five.
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Messanjore dam, at half past seven.
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Going to Sikkim during summer has almost become an yearly ritual for me. This is my fourth visit in as many years. But although on my last visit to Sikkim I could stop at this tea shop and had a cup of tea, this time I was unlucky as the shop was yet to open.
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The road leading to Dumka was in very god shape. Fresh carpeting has been done this year. It has also been widened. But there are several new culverts being constructed, so there are road diversions. And I had to remain extra careful with my nine year old car (Tata Indigo, GLX model/MPFI, 96000+ KM), not to scrape the bottom.
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This road continues to a small town named Hansdiha, which is located almost in Jharkhand-Bihar border. Allow me to share with you a picture of me, standing at a place close to this town and giving a splash of cold water on my face to freshen up.
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It was raining heavily when I entered Bihar. Fortunately the rain did not last long. These pictures are in the state of Bihar.
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This is the entrance to Bhagalpur town.
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A picture of Tilka Manjhi, a great freedom fighter who fought against the British. Even the Bhagalpur university is named after him.
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From Bhagalpur I had to cross the river Ganga by taking the Bikramshila bridge. This is a picture of this bridge. Unfortunately the stretch of road right from Tilka Majhi Chawk in Bhagalpur till it reaches a place called Naugatchia (where you join NH-31) is bad. Fortunately this bad stretch is less than fifteen KMs.
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Once in NH-31, it is a fun to drive. Very smooth surface. Although it is an undivided road, it is sufficiently wide, even at places wide enough for four cars abreast.
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And just before you reach Purnia, please take the bypass road, where you get an excellent divided four lane road right up to Siliguri. Please do not worry, there is even a sign-board present, displaying direction.
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Unfortunately there was some road block at Kishanganj town, where there was an accident. And one vehicle was set on fire. Please see the column of rising smoke and the stranded vehicles. Unfortunately I did not get closer than this and my wife could not take a better view.
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The locals advised me to take this bridge, drive for some five KMs by a small narrow road, till I reach a place called Panjipara (If I remember the name correctly) and hit thew highway again. Please see the local vehicles coming from the opposite (Silliguri) side.
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Then it was a smooth drive all the way. Although the road has got some potholes shortly before Siliguri town, they can be easily avoided or negotiated satisfactorily. Reached Siliguri and checked into the hotel at around half past four in the afternoon.

Thanks for reading. I shall post about the remaining portion of my just concluded trip very soon.
Regards,
Rahul Biswas,
Calcutta.
 
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Excellent photos and coverage. The weather looked very pleasant outside in early morning hours, though it was raining for a short while. Waiting for more pictures and details.
 
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Gentlemen,
I am afraid I did not have much activity on the second day of my trip. Just planned to drive to Gangtok and check into the hotel. My hotel in Gangtok did not have an attached secured parking space. And from my past experiences I knew that the police department in Gangtok was strict and effective. You park your car in a no parking zone and you always have a good risk of getting your wheels clamped and face consequent penal measures. But I was assured by the manager of the hotel that he should arrange parking of my car somewhere nearby in a secured place.

Left Siliguri at almost 9 O'clock in the morning. The view of the roads were magnificent.
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This is the Sevok railway level crossing gate. It is almost from here that the hills start and the plain land ends.
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The road to Gangtok was in very decent shape, except in two or three places, where landslides and falling rocks have damaged it. You have to remain careful, specially with cars having lower ground clearances.
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Stopped for some refreshment at a small restaurant in a place called Singtam. The eatery had excellent views of the hills. Please see a picture of my wife and daughter.
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The view from the window at the above picture was so magnificent that I took a snap of it. Hope you will like it.
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Reached Gangtok in about four hours.
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Checked in to Hotel Sonali in Gangtok. It was really a budget hotel. A double bedded room costed me twelve hundred rupees only (plus 10% taxes). I did not have to pay anything extra for my daughter, although we were three in a room. It is located on the main highway, in a place called Baluakhani, which is in upper fringes of the city and the rooms offered excellent views of the mountain.

After checking into my hotel I had to park my car in the north district taxi stand. Even the Nathula and Baba Mandir bound taxis start from there. Located next door to Bajra Cinema Hall, it was a four storied parking lot and also had an adjacent police check-post. The attendant allowed me to park my car there for a daily charge of one hundred and twenty rupees. I did not take any picture of it but it was almost similar to this one in the picture. This picture is actually the municipal taxi parking lot at a place called Deorali (in Gangtok), which I found in the net.

As I had nothing to do on that day, had our lunch completed and fell asleep. In the afternoon just had a little walk to the adjacent areas.

Thank you for reading this. Please feel free to leave your comments.
Regards,
Rahul,
Calcutta.
 
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Nice travelogue Rahul and nice set of pictures.Its always fun to travel and specially in your own car drive up there with friends and family.
Awaiting for your gangtok updates and did you visited up fowrard as well towards lachung or lachen or were only at gangtok itself?
 
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Its always fun to travel and specially in your own car drive up there with friends and family.
Yes Sir. You also should be knowing that there is no railway station in Gangtok. The nearest rail-head is in Siliguri (NJP), from where one way taxi fare (if you do not wish to go on a shared basis) is at least rupees two thousand five hundred.
did you visited up forward as well towards lachung or lachen or were only at gangtok itself?
No Sir, for some places in Sikkim you need to have special permission, even if you wish to travel in your own vehicle. And going to Lachung or Lachen was not possible for me, as both places needed overnight halts.
 
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Excellent writeup Rahul. More pictures of Gangtok please.

I travelled from Kolkata to Bolpur last year and roads were pretty good, however not sure after that.
 
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I travelled from Kolkata to Bolpur last year and roads were pretty good, however not sure after that.
Let me assure you that the road to Bolpur is still in excellent shape. The first part of the road till you cross Bardhaman town is NH-2, which is part of the golden quadrilateral (connecting Delhi with Calcutta) and is in excellent shape. The second part (I guess it is NH-2B) is also very good, although it is an undivided dual carriageway.
 
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Let me assure you that the road to Bolpur is still in excellent shape. The first part of the road till you cross Bardhaman town is NH-2, which is part of the golden quadrilateral (connecting Delhi with Calcutta) and is in excellent shape. The second part (I guess it is NH-2B) is also very good, although it is an undivided dual carriageway.
Waiting for the pictures from Sikkim. How was the weather there? Is there any chance of snowfall during winter? Because Sikkim, Bhutan and Nepal is there in my travel agenda, needs lot of planning.
 
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How was the weather there?
Mr. Ram, it was fair weather. Sometime it was raining, although sometime the weather was clear with bright sun showing up. I guess that the weather in the hills is not much predictable.
Is there any chance of snowfall during winter?
Definitely. Although Gangtok does not see much snowfall nowadays, let me assure you that a simple one and hour drive from Gangtok will take you to an altitude of 10,000 feet, where at winter snow is in abundance.
Sikkim is there in my travel agenda,
Let me assure you that after my fourth visit to Sikkim, I have come to think that Sikkim is a place where the people are generally friendly with nice hospitality. It is even less expensive than visiting the neighboring countries of Nepal and Bhutan. IMHO even the law and order is good. You need not have any undue worry.

The next day I wished to visit few local places of interest. The manager of my hotel told me to take my car along and even drew a simple map on a piece of paper, which I followed. The people were helpful and on few occasions I had any doubt with roads, I was always given accurate directions. A roadside waterfall.
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The road leading to Tashi view point, which give you a good views of the mountain as well Gangtok city.
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The stairs which took us to the top of Tashi view point.
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A view of the roads below.
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A view of the mountain and Gangtok town.
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On our road to Ganesh tok, which also has viewpoint.
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The idol of Lord Ganesh on Ganesh Tok.
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There is a small narrow road just opposite to Ganesh Tok, which took us to Gantok Zoological park. This road was slightly broken and steep. Once inside, you must walk around and see the exhibits on foot, leaving your car here, near the office of the zoological department.
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This is from where you start walking on foot.
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The rare golden leopard.
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The road to Hanuman Tok.
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Just near left of the checkpost, where the permits for tourists who are going to Nathula, Baba Harbhajan Singh Madir and Tsango (Changu) lake are checked, there is a narrow road which says "Hanuman Tok-2 KM". I was confused and asked the military personnel manning the gates whether any permit was required. He replied with a broad smile that to see the God (Hanumanjee), nowhere is any permit required. So I took the road. All of that serpentine road it was ascending uphill.
Lord Hanuman's temple on the top. It was foggy out there, so I could not take any picture of surroundings from the top.
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This is a famous landmark of Gangtok. Locals refer to it as Whitehall.
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Unfortunately you are denied entry inside, as it is occupied by a government office. I went there to see the flower show.
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Last place of my visit. This is the Sikkim Legislative Assembly building.
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A bare thirty meter walk away is the Gangtok Roapway. This is the Namnag viewpoint end. You may also board it from the opposite end, located lower at a place called Deorali.
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It was already noon. I returned back to my hotel for getting a bath and having my lunch. In the afternoon I also visited two other places, which were quite interesting. They were Ranka monastery and Saramsa Garden. But as it started drizzling, I took a taxi instead, leaving my car at the cosy confinement of a shade at the taxi stand and could not use my camera.
Thank you for reading,
Regards,
Rahul Biswas,
Calcutta
 
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@Rahul

beautiful pictures. Thank you for the information. For a normal sightseeing and a holiday, how many days you can spend in Sikkim?
 
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Thank you for the information. For a normal sightseeing and a holiday, how many days you can spend in Sikkim?
Considering almost all of us have limitations on their duration of holidays, I shall suggest that a duration of at least six nights and seven days is better (starting from Siliguri and returning back there), if you wish to travel at a leisurely pace and not on a hectic schedule. But for winter heavy woolen garments are a must.
 
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Considering almost all of us have limitations on their duration of holidays, I shall suggest that a duration of at least six nights and seven days is better (starting from Siliguri and returning back there), if you wish to travel at a leisurely pace and not on a hectic schedule. But for winter heavy woolen garments are a must.
Excellent pictures

Thanks a lot for the information. Any idea what will be the temperature during January?
 
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Excellant pictures and very nice TL sir.

Remembered of Gangtok after long time.

But I did not understand why you took such a detour to reach Siliguri by not taking NH34. Is the road condition too bad now ?
 

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