Ultimate Gangtok Tour Guide

Rider Escaped — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 12:35:00 +0000

We often search, “hotels in Gangtok”, “Gangtok sightseeing”, “best time to visit Gangtok” or “which local food is a must-try in Gangtok”. If you are also searching for this information, your search ends here, in this very Gangtok Tour Guide. Before that, we should know why Gangtok is one of the most famous places in entire Sikkim.

Gangtok, the state capital of Sikkim, is nothing but a City in the lap of Mountains. You can also consider this place as a gateway to the Northern and Eastern part of the Sikkim, although there are alternative routes available to these places, still, many tourists prefer via Gangtok. MG Marg is the only popular place in Gangtok which remains congested most of the time and also considered the heart of the city.

Local Sightseeing in Gangtok Tour

You have plenty of good places to visit around Gangtok.

Tashi View Point: This is the most scenic place around the city, on a clear day, you can witness the huge Kanchenjunga. You might try to see Sunrise from this point also.
Hanuman Tok & Ganesh Tok: Tok represents cut and leveled in the local language. Both of these temples located nearby to the 3rd-mile check post, known for the majestic view of surroundings.
Banjhakhri falls, Bakthang falls, Butterfly falls, Lhasa Falls: These waterfalls look very good in monsoon and definitely worth the visit.
Rumtek Monastery: Rumtek Monastery is located above 4900 ft and around 24 kilometers out of Gangtok. It is the largest Monastery in Sikkim and one of the oldest of its kind.

Also, there are more places to visit like M.G. Market, Ropeway, Enchey Monastery, Ranka Monastery, Zoological Garden, etc.

Accommodation in Gangtok

Getting an accommodation of your choice in Gangtok and that in a very tight budget is a bit challenging. Most of the people prefer to stay near MG Marg which further unlocks restaurant and shopping options. But if you want peace and a calm place to enjoy every bit out of your stay, you can stay a little far from the MG Market. You can choose any of the options below, all the hotel names are clickable to redirect you to its location on google map, also note these recommendations are based on the review we read and where it is located. Also, do check out our Hotel booking tips guide.

You might find great deals in apps like OYO, MMT, etc. or even book bank Holiday homes. All the hotels mentioned above are in budget mostly within INR 1.5K but the rates vary season-wise.

Fooding options

You will get food of almost every cuisine, not all but most of the dishes in nearby restaurants. We would recommend to try out momos, thukpas, noodles, and tea. Foods are generally good and cheap almost everywhere, but few restaurants may charge more for the theme they maintain or the brand value they hold.

P.S. – Smoking in public is a punishable offense in Gangtok.

How to reach Gangtok, Sikkim

Reaching Gangtok is very easy from its nearest Railway station or Airport. It has got well connectivity from recently opened Pakyong Airport, Bagdogra Airport, NJP station, Siliguri Station or even Siliguri Bus terminus also. You can choose between state government bus (SNTC), shared cab (INR 200 – 250) or even a rented cab (Within INR 3K). Although, you will reach Gangtok in 4 to 5 hours depending on the traffic and the breaks. Cab rates may vary season-wise.

Transportation options for Sightseeing

You can hire a shared taxi, rent a cab or a motorcycle. Being a rider, I will suggest to get yourself a motorcycle but only if you have a passion to ride.

We will share information about parking and motorcycle restricted areas permits in another post soon.

Best Time to Visit Gangtok

You can visit Gangtok throughout the year, even the hottest days will feel pleasant due to surrounded mountains. Our recommendation will be Either March-April or November. The way to the captioned city even looks more natural in monsoon but there are chances of getting landslides which may lead to wasting time.

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Places to visit nearby

You can visit Guudongmar Lake, Yumthung Valley, Katao, Singhik, part of Silk Route or the complete silk route by exiting via Rongli (all these routes cover high altitude areas, so prepare for that, you may want to read “how to fight AMS or High Altitude Sickness“. Other options will be Rishikhola, Ravangla, Pelling, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Lava, Lolegaon, Rishop, Icchegaon, Sillery Gaon, Tukdah, Lamahatta, Chatakpur, Tinchuley and many more. You cannot complete the entire Sikkim in one go and that is the best part I believe, you have to Visit Sikkim again and again. We are yet to cover all the nearby places with a descriptive post very soon.

Till then you like to read our Rishikhola, Pelling and Ravangla posts.

Suggested Itinerary for Gangtok Tour

It is not possible to cover the entire Sikkim in one go, so I am breaking it into a few options based on Gangtok.

Itinerary 1

NJP to Lachung (If you already have permits, else halt in Gangtok).
Lachung to Yumthung Valley to Lachen
Lachen to Gurudongmar to Singhik
Singhik to Gangtok (Sightseeing of Gangtok on the way)
Gangtok to Zuluk via Nathula, Baba Mandir
Zuluk to Rishikhola
Rishikhola to NJP

Based on your choices you can return back to Gangtok on Day 5 from Baba Mandir and on Day 6 reach NJP.

Note: Most driver will not want to go straight towards Lachung from NJP as it takes almost 8-10 hours.

Itinerary 2

NJP to Pelling (Via Namchi Chardham). Read Pelling tour guide
Pelling Sightseeing
Continue Pelling Sightseeing
Pelling to Ravangla/Keuzing/Borong
Ravangla to Gangtok
Gangtok Sightseeing
Gangtok to NJP

Itinerary 3

NJP to Gangtok
Gangtok Sightseeing
Gangtok to Nathang (Via Nathula Tsongmo Lake, Baba Mandir)
Nathang to Rishikhola (Via Zuluk, Aritar)
Rishikhola to Lava (Lava Sightseeing including Rishop)
Lava to NJP

Lastly, all the itineraries can be modified based on your requirements.

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Although, we are in a process to queue up the next post shortly. Till then subscribe to Rider Escaped Newsletter and connect with us on Social platforms to get future updates quicker.

Don’t forget to check out our detailed guides on other Sikkim and nearby places.

Certainly, if you loved the content, share this Gangtok Tour Guide with your buddies. Also, if I missed out on anything do let me know in the comment section. I will include it in the post.

Thanks! Have a great day ahead.

Tell me

Have you ever visited Gangtok yet? If yes, how was your experience?

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