7 Days in Sikkim and Darjeeling — Eastern Himalaya

This route combines two of the eastern Himalaya's most famous hill destinations — Darjeeling (West Bengal, the tea town with Kanchenjunga sunrise) and Gangtok (Sikkim, the orderly Himalayan-Buddhist capital) — into a manageable week. Both are reached from the same gateway, Bagdogra airport, so the trip flows naturally as a loop. Add Pelling in West Sikkim if you have an extra two days — it has the cleanest Kanchenjunga horizon in the eastern Himalayas.

At a glance

• Total days: 7 (6 nights)
• Route: Bagdogra → Darjeeling (3 nights) → Gangtok (3 nights) → Bagdogra
• Distance: ~350 km loop, mostly on twisty mountain roads
• Best season: mid-March to May and October to early December. Avoid the monsoon (June–September) — heavy rain, landslide risk, and views obscured.
• Permits: foreign nationals do not need an Inner Line Permit for general Sikkim including Gangtok, but separate permits apply for Tsomgo, Nathula, and North Sikkim — arrange in Gangtok in 24 hours.

Day 1 — Bagdogra to Darjeeling

Fly into Bagdogra (IXB) — direct from Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Guwahati. Or take the overnight train to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) in Siliguri.

Pre-booked taxi up to Darjeeling — 3 hours, 76 km, climbing through Kurseong on a steep ghat road that often shadows the Toy Train tracks.

Drop bags at a hotel along The Mall between Chowrasta and Observatory Hill. Walk up to Chowrasta for tea at Glenary's or Keventer's. Sunset from Observatory Hill — on clear afternoons, Kanchenjunga is visible to the north-west.

Stay: Darjeeling.

Day 2 — Tiger Hill, Ghoom, Toy Train

The classic Darjeeling day.

• Pre-dawn: taxi to Tiger Hill (11 km / 30 minutes) for the sunrise over Kanchenjunga. The light hits the third-highest peak in the world before it touches you on the ground.
• Returning: stop at Batasia Loop (the famous Toy Train spiral) and the war memorial.
• Late morning: Ghoom Monastery (Yiga Choeling) and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Museum at Ghoom station (the highest railway station in India at 2,258 m).
• Lunch: back in central Darjeeling.
• Afternoon: Toy Train Joy Ride — the popular 2-hour steam-powered round trip from Darjeeling station to Ghoom and back.
• Evening: Tibetan craft shops on Nehru Road; dinner at Sonam's Kitchen.

Stay: Darjeeling.

Day 3 — Tea, mountaineering, Peace Pagoda

A morning combining tea and mountaineering.

• Morning: Happy Valley Tea Estate — the only working tea garden in the town itself.
• Late morning: Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park and the adjacent Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) — Tenzing Norgay's old training school.
• Lunch: central Darjeeling.
• Afternoon: Japanese Peace Pagoda on Jalapahar Hill.
• Evening: dinner.

Stay: Darjeeling. (For Darjeeling-only weekend version see 3 Days in Darjeeling; full town details in the Darjeeling travel guide.)

Day 4 — Darjeeling to Gangtok

The transfer between states.

• Morning: drive to Gangtok via the Tista Bridge (100 km / 3.5 hours through deep river valleys). The road descends to the Tista, then climbs back up to Gangtok.
• Afternoon: arrive Gangtok. Drop bags and walk MG Marg (the pedestrianised central avenue — no vehicles, no smoking, no spitting, and it is genuinely enforced).
• Evening: sunset at Hanuman Tok above the town. Dinner on MG Marg.

Stay: Gangtok.

Day 5 — Gangtok monasteries

A full day around Gangtok.

• Morning: Rumtek Monastery (24 km out, the largest in Sikkim and the seat-in-exile of the Karmapa of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism).
• Lunch: in Gangtok.
• Afternoon: Enchey Monastery, Do Drul Chorten (the large white stupa with 108 prayer wheels), and the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology (one of the best collections of Tibetan religious art outside Tibet itself).
• Evening: dinner on MG Marg; ropeway ride for the night skyline.

Stay: Gangtok. See the Gangtok travel guide for full details.

Day 6 — Tsomgo Lake (and Baba Mandir)

A pre-booked day trip to high altitude.

• Pre-dawn: organised group jeep with permit (arrange through your hotel or any tour operator on MG Marg the day before).
• Morning: drive to Tsomgo (Changu) Lake (38 km from Gangtok at 3,750 m on the road towards Nathula). A glacial lake that freezes over in winter; yak rides on the lakeside; the lake colour is striking.
• Late morning: Baba Harbhajan Singh Mandir — small shrine on the Tsomgo–Nathula road dedicated to an Indian Army soldier; a curious local pilgrimage site.
• Note: Nathula Pass (4,310 m on the China border) is open to Indian nationals only with separate permits — closed to foreign visitors.
• Evening: back in Gangtok.

Stay: Gangtok.

Day 7 — Gangtok to Bagdogra, then home

• Morning: leisurely; final shopping on MG Marg.
• Late morning: drive down to Bagdogra (4 hours).
• Afternoon/evening: depart.

Practical notes

• Tiger Hill crowds: the sunrise viewpoint can have hundreds of people on a peak-season morning. Get there early.
• Toy Train booking: Joy Rides on the Ghoom round trip sell out quickly in season — book ahead through IRCTC.
• Permits in Sikkim: carry your passport (foreign) or government ID (Indian). Sikkim entry is recorded at Rangpo. Tsomgo permit is arranged by your tour operator in 24 hours.
• Plastic and waste in Sikkim: Sikkim is officially a plastic-bag-free state since 1998 and an organic-farming-only state since 2016. Single-use plastic bags are banned; carry a reusable bag.
• Driving and altitude: Tsomgo at 3,750 m is high enough to feel altitude — pace yourself, drink water, allow a day in Gangtok first.
• Cash: ATMs are reliable in Darjeeling and Gangtok; carry some cash for the higher trips.

Variations

• 5 days: drop the Tsomgo Lake day at Gangtok and Day 3 in Darjeeling — do Darjeeling 2 nights and Gangtok 2 nights only.
• 10 days: add Pelling in West Sikkim (Pemayangtse Monastery, Rabdentse ruins, Khangchendzonga sunrise from Sangachoeling Hill — 5 hours from Gangtok, 3 nights total). Or add Kalimpong (a quieter colonial hill town with monasteries and orchid nurseries, 50 km from Darjeeling).
• 14 days: add a North Sikkim circuit (Lachen, Lachung, Yumthang Valley, Gurudongmar Lake) — 4 days with permits and a registered operator. Some of the most spectacular scenery in the eastern Himalayas.

Related guides

• Darjeeling travel guide →
• Gangtok travel guide →
• 3 Days in Darjeeling → (Darjeeling-only weekend version)
• All India Travel Itineraries →