A Darjeeling and Sikkim trip starts at Bagdogra airport or New Jalpaiguri (NJP) station in north Bengal and usually covers Darjeeling and Gangtok in 5 to 6 nights. Add North Sikkim (Lachung, Yumthang and Zero Point) and Pelling and it becomes a 9 or 10-night trip. The hills are best from October to early December and from March to May. We plan the route around the permits, which decide more of this trip than the hotels do: Tsomgo Lake, Nathu La and North Sikkim all need one, and they can be cancelled at a day’s notice when roads close.
Darjeeling and Sikkim packages at a glance
| Package | Nights | What it covers | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Gangtok | 5N / 6D | Tiger Hill sunrise, toy train joy ride, Kalimpong on the way, Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La | First-timers, families, a Puja or Diwali break |
| Gangtok and North Sikkim | 5N / 6D | Gangtok, two nights at Lachung for Yumthang and Zero Point | Snow and mountain views, couples |
| Sikkim with North Sikkim, Pelling and Darjeeling | 9N / 10D | Gangtok, Lachung, Pelling, Darjeeling | The full circuit, unhurried |
| Darjeeling only | 3N / 4D | Tiger Hill, toy train, tea gardens, Mirik or Kalimpong day trip | A long weekend from Kolkata |
The full day-wise plan for Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Gangtok 5N/6D is on its own page. The other formats are built from it, adding or dropping days, and any of them can be changed to suit you.
How the route works
Bagdogra and NJP sit on the plains near Siliguri. Everything else is up in the hills, so the first and last days are mostly driving. The usual loop goes up to Darjeeling first, crosses to Kalimpong, then climbs into Sikkim to Gangtok, and comes back down to Bagdogra. Gangtok is the base for both Tsomgo Lake and North Sikkim. Pelling, in West Sikkim, is a separate side of the state and needs two nights of its own to be worth the drive.
- Darjeeling: the Tiger Hill sunrise over Kanchenjunga, about 11 km from town, means leaving the hotel around 4 am. Private self-drive cars aren’t allowed up, so you go in a local taxi. Then the toy train, tea gardens, the zoo and the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute.
- Kalimpong: quieter and lower than Darjeeling, with monasteries, nurseries and Deolo hill. Most people see it on the way to Gangtok.
- Gangtok: MG Marg, Rumtek and Enchey monasteries, and the day trip to Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La.
- North Sikkim: Lachung village, Yumthang valley (rhododendrons in April and May) and Zero Point, which is often under snow.
- Pelling: Pemayangtse monastery, Rabdentse ruins and some of the closest Kanchenjunga views in Sikkim.
The toy train: joy ride or the full line?
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is a UNESCO World Heritage line, and the short joy ride is what most visitors take. It runs from Darjeeling to Ghum and back in about two hours, with a stop at the Batasia Loop. Some rides are pulled by steam engines and the rest by diesel; steam costs more and sells out first. Tickets are on IRCTC like any other train, and also at the Darjeeling station counter. In October and the summer holidays, book as soon as your dates are fixed. The full run up from NJP takes most of a day, so we only suggest it for railway enthusiasts.
Permits: what you need and who can go where
Indian citizens don’t need a permit to enter Sikkim, only photo ID. You do need a protected area permit for Tsomgo Lake, Nathu La and North Sikkim. These are issued through Sikkim-registered tour operators and vehicles, not to individuals, which is why you can’t simply drive yourself there. We apply for them once we have everyone’s ID and photographs, usually the day before.
- Tsomgo (Changu) Lake: a day trip from Gangtok. Foreign nationals can go this far with their own permit.
- Nathu La: the border pass with China, above 4,000 m. Only Indian nationals are allowed. It’s closed to tourists on Mondays and Tuesdays, so we fix the Gangtok days around that.
- Lachung, Yumthang and Zero Point: permit and a Sikkim-registered vehicle needed, with fixed times for crossing the police check posts on the way back. Zero Point is a day visit from Lachung; you can’t stay there.
Carry an original photo ID (Aadhaar, voter ID, passport or driving licence) and a few passport-size photographs for every traveller, including children. Sikkim has been moving its permits online, and fees and processing rules have changed more than once this year, so we confirm the current rules when we quote. The Sikkim Tourism website carries the official notices.
North Sikkim road status
North Sikkim is open, but it is the least predictable part of any Sikkim plan. On the night of 3 to 4 October 2023 a glacial lake above the Teesta burst, destroyed the Teesta III dam at Chungthang and washed away bridges and stretches of the highway. The roads have been repaired in stages since, and landslides have closed them again more than once. In 2025, permits for the area were stopped from May and only restarted for Lachung, Yumthang and Zero Point on 8 September 2025, with the Lachen side (Gurudongmar) kept shut for longer.
Good to know: the Mangan district police can cancel North Sikkim permits overnight after rain or snow, and advance permits are cancelled with them. We always keep a fallback plan in Gangtok for those days. Avoid North Sikkim in the monsoon, June to September, if you can.
Best time to go
October and November give the clearest Kanchenjunga views. March to May brings rhododendrons in Yumthang and warmer days, and it’s busy with summer holidays. December to February is cold, with snow at Tsomgo, Nathu La and Zero Point; it’s beautiful, but permits get cancelled when the roads ice over. The monsoon, June to September, brings landslides on almost every hill road here.
Durga Puja is the peak of the year: half of Bengal heads to the hills, and Darjeeling and Gangtok hotels fill weeks ahead. Diwali, Christmas and New Year come next. If your dates fall in those weeks, book early.
Getting to Bagdogra or NJP
Bagdogra has direct flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and other metros. From Pune you usually change planes once. If you’re coming from Kolkata, overnight trains from Howrah and Sealdah reach New Jalpaiguri in the morning. From Mumbai or Pune the train takes well over a day, so most families fly. We meet you at the airport or station and drive straight up the hill.
For senior citizens and small children
Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Gangtok are comfortable for most people. The hard parts are altitude and cold: Tsomgo Lake is at about 3,750 m, and Nathu La and Zero Point are higher. Stay at the lake and the pass for a short while only, keep warm layers and gloves handy, and skip Nathu La if anyone has heart or breathing problems. North Sikkim means long, rough drives on mountain roads. We’d suggest it only for travellers who are comfortable with five or six hours in a car.
Questions people ask before booking
Can foreign friends or relatives come with us?
Yes, to Darjeeling, Gangtok and Tsomgo Lake, with their own permits. They can’t go to Nathu La, and rules for foreigners in North Sikkim keep changing. Tell us the nationalities when you enquire and we’ll plan a route everyone can do together.
Is Nathu La guaranteed?
No. It’s closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and whenever snow or security needs close it. We keep a spare Gangtok day in the plan for that reason.
Can we do Darjeeling and Gangtok in four nights?
You can, but you’ll spend most of it in the car, and you lose the spare day for Nathu La. Five nights is the shortest we’d suggest for both.
Is it worth adding North Sikkim?
If you want snow and the big mountain views, yes, with two nights at Lachung. If you’re travelling with elderly parents or in the monsoon, we’d skip it and spend the extra days at Pelling instead.
Checked November 2026. Permit rules, the Nathu La restriction to Indian nationals and the Monday and Tuesday closure are from Sikkim Tourism notices and tour-operator guides. North Sikkim closures and the September 2025 reopening are from All India Radio and India Today NE reports, and the 2023 flood details from news and scientific reports. Toy train details are from Indian Railways and IRCTC listings. Permit fees and processing rules were changing when we checked, and we confirm everything again when we send your quote.