| Day 01 |
Bagdogra - Darjeeling (2134m): 3 hrs drive |
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| Fly into Bagdogra from Delhi or Kolkata and drive 80 km to Darjeeling; the world famous Tea Estate. Evening free. Overnight at hotel. |
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| Day 02 |
Darjeeling (2134 m) |
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| After breakfast walk to Darjeeling Railway station to board the Toy Train. Darjeeling Toy Train is one of the most famous narrow (2 feet) gauge trains. Chug, Chug, Chug, Chug… A ride on the famous Toy Train will be an unforgettable part of your experience in Darjeeling. This train takes you to the next station called Ghoom (2265m) the highest in India and the overall ride is for two hours which includes the visit to the historical Himalayan Railway Museum at Ghoom. Afternoon free. Overnight at hotel. |
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| Day 03 |
Darjeeling – Maneybhanjang (2000 m) –Tumling (3000 m): 6 hrs walk |
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Early 30 km drive to a village, Maneybhanjang and start trek. The trail starts with a rather steep climb as we move to reach the Singalila ridge. Passing a small hamlet, Chitrey, the trail leads us to Tumling. It is a small village which offers magnificent view of the distant Mount Kanchenjunga. It in fact, this village lies in Nepal. Overnight at trekkers hut. |
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| Day 04 |
Tumling – Sandakphu (3636 m): 6 hrs walk |
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We proceed to a village and the trails zigzag into Nepal and back to India regularly. We enter the Singalila National Park and then descend 6km to Gairibas. The trail climbs up back to the Singalila ridge rather steeply and we again follow the ridge till we reach Kala Pokhari, literally meaning “ Black Lake”.
We proceed via Bikhey Bhanjang (poisonous valley) and the last 5 km of the trail is a steep ascent till we reach Sandakphu. Sandakphu is a window to one of the finest view of the snowy mountains, from the mighty Everest in Nepal, to the revered Kanchenjunga in Sikkim and the legendary Chomolahari in Bhutan. From here Everest is just 144 km as the crow flies. The whole snowy range of Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal, about 320 km in length, a wonderful square mass of mountains looking like a wall of snow, is visible, but the gigantic height and breadth of touring Kanchenjunga, with its attendant peaks, Kabru, Jannu and Pandim dominate the scene. Overnight at trekkers hut. |
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| Day 05 |
Sandakphu- Molley (3000 m): 5 hrs walk |
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After breakfast we start on the trail on the ridge towards Molley. As we walk along we can view the beautiful valleys of both India and Nepal with Kanchenjunga on our right and Everest on our left. For about 4 km the trail is flat and finally there is a long steady climb to Sabargram (about 5 km further away). To break the long walk to Phalut, a slight detour has been made and after a small descent we reach Molley, about 2 km off the road. Molley means gobar - cow donwhich is applied to floorings in a village and was once a camping ground for shepherds. The vegetation is Alpine, with an undulating ripple of dwarf rhododendron bushes and shrubs of poisonous aconite. Overnight at trekkers hut. |
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| Day 06 |
Molley – Phalut (3605 m): 3 hrs walk |
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The trail at first climbs back to join the main trail and after some descent there is a 3 km steep ascent to Phalut which is an important view point on the trail. Phalut forms the junction of Nepal, Sikkim and West Bengal. The hills are all bare and from here Kanchenjunga is only 48 km as the crow flies. Overnight at trekkers hut. |
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| Day 07 |
Phalut – Gorkhey (2390m): 4 hrs walk |
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Early morning walk to the view point to see the splendid sunrise. After breakfast the route ahead descents1200 mts in 15 km but this descent is through a most wonderful forest. The trail is well trodden and the bamboos and furs are ultimately replaced by deodars and pines in a day’s wonderful walk. The low hills are covered with moss-laden trees, different varieties of rhododendron, silver firs, pines, spruce, chestnuts, oaks, giant magnolias and hemlocks. Finally we reach a small village of Gorkhey.
Overnight at trekkers hut. |
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| Day 08 |
Gorkhey - Sirikhola (2286 m): 5 hrs walk |
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The trek is now on flat land and a further easy walk of 6 kms takes us to the village of Samadeen, which means the Lost Valley. From Samadeen to Rammam is another 2 kms of an easy amble along the river Rammam that defines the boundary between Sikkim and West Bengal. From Ramam the road is almost level walk for about first 9 km and again it descends to Sirikhola. Overnight at trekkers hut. |
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| Day 09 |
Sirikhola – Rimbik – Darjeeling (2134 m): 5 hrs |
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The road rises steep, for about 1 km where it levels out again till we reach Rimbik. After a hot cup of Darjeeling Tea, drive to Darjeeling. A drive of about 4 hours. Overnight at hotel. |
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| Day 10 |
Darjeeling – Bagdogra Airport: 3 hrs drive |
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After breakfast drive to Bagdogra Airport for onward flight to Delhi/Kolkatta. |
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