Web Stories

The Eastern Himalaya, one story at a time

Tea, monasteries, the toy train, festivals and trails: short stories for planning Darjeeling, Sikkim, Bhutan and Nepal from the United States or Spain.

All stories

A cook in a woolly cap serving noodles and chilli fry from a wide griddle at a night market stall in Sikkim USA · EN What we eat at home in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Gangtok Sel roti for breakfast, thenthuk at night, gundruk, glass noodles and a fierce round chilli: hill food and where to eat it. A yellow Tibetan Buddhist balcony in Kalimpong hung with a painted door curtain, dharma wheel railings and a maroon flag USA · EN When Kalimpong was the end of Tibet's wool road Mule caravans, a trade agent's house, a Tibetan newspaper and addresses in miles: what the Tibet trade left in Kalimpong. Kanchenjunga lit gold at first light above the rooftops of Darjeeling, the town spilling down its forested ridge USA · EN When Kanchenjunga shows itself from Darjeeling, month by month The months that give clear views of Kanchenjunga from Darjeeling, night temperatures, festival crowds and our pick. A street vendor in a gray sweater tossing noodles on a hot griddle at his stall in Darjeeling, a steamer pot beside him USA · EN Where Darjeeling eats breakfast: Glenary's, Keventer's or sel roti Darjeeling's three breakfasts, what to order at each, when they open, and the day of the week the bazaar shuts. Cloud drifting across green tea rows and a scatter of tin roofed houses on a Darjeeling hillside USA · EN Where to stay in Darjeeling: town, ridge or tea estate Why many Darjeeling town rooms look onto rooftops, the houses we use instead, and the questions we ask before booking one. A Sikkim hill village on terraced slopes with cloud pouring over the ridge above and a track winding through USA · EN Which car, where, and the road rules behind a Himalaya journey Why the car changes in Sikkim and Bhutan, the six-hour driving rule, and how each mountain road day is kept safe. A line of tiny trekkers crossing the golden high meadows around Dzongri in West Sikkim, snow peaks of the Kanchenjunga range behind USA · EN Why Sikkim is called a hidden valley: the beyul and its four caves What a beyul is, why Bhutias call Sikkim Demazong, and the four sacred caves set around Tashiding like the petals of a lotus. Houses on the hillsides of southern Thimphu above the river and its road bridge in Bhutan USA · EN Your driver, your guide, your chef: who does what on the road The people around a private journey in the Eastern Himalaya, from the Bagdogra driver to the licensed guide in Bhutan. A whitewashed chorten beside the moss-covered stone coronation throne at Norbugang in Yuksom, yellow prayer flags in front USA · EN Yuksom and the stone throne where Sikkim crowned its first king The 1642 coronation at Norbugang, a chorten made of the whole kingdom, Kathok Lake and the monastery that anointed kings. El lago Kathok en Yuksom, Sikkim occidental, con el bosque y una colina verde reflejados en el agua quieta bajo un cielo despejado España · ES Yuksom, el trono de piedra donde Sikkim coronó a su primer rey La coronación de 1642 en Norbugang, el lago Kathok, el chorten de todo el reino y el monasterio que ungía a los reyes. La cordillera del Kanchenjunga teñida de rosa y oro al amanecer sobre crestas boscosas oscuras en Sikkim España · ES ¿Bután o Sikkim? Cómo elegir si solo hay tiempo para uno Una comparación honesta: qué da cada uno, cuántas noches pide, qué papeles necesita un pasaporte español y a quién le va. La pirámide oscura de la cumbre del Everest sobre un mar de nubes y el Himalaya nevado, vista desde la ventanilla de un avión España · ES ¿Se ve el Everest desde Darjeeling? Lo que muestra cada mirador Por qué no se ve el Everest desde Darjeeling, cómo de pequeño aparece en Tiger Hill y qué ofrecen Sandakphu y el vuelo.

Plan my journey

Tell us the month and we will do the rest

Four lines are enough to start: when, who, how to reach you, and the trip you picture.

  1. A reply within 24 hoursFrom a designer in the hills, not an auto-reply. If your dates are tight, the reply says so.
  2. A day-by-day draftEvery house, drive, guide and permit on its own line, with the date each rate was checked.
  3. Change anythingAs often as you like, before anything is booked.
+91 86178 24110 Message a designer Support 24×7, every day of your journey
With country code if outside India. Either this or email is enough.
Who is coming, the pace you like, the occasion. A sentence is fine.
Add more detail
Their ages help: add them in your note
Permits in Sikkim and fees in Bhutan depend on it
A week in the hills starts around ₹1.4 lakh per person, and Bhutan around ₹3.25 lakh.
Calls from our office, 8am to 9pm IST (GMT+5:30)
Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Gangtok, Pelling, Bhutan, Nepal

No deposit to begin, and nothing is booked until you say yes.