Altitude
Height in these hills is mostly a day-trip question. Almost every night on our journeys is spent below 2,400 m (7,870 ft), and the high lakes and passes are visited and left the same day. Here is how the itineraries are built around it.
Photo: Anoop VS / Pexels
The towns
Kalimpong sits at 1,247 m (4,090 ft), Gangtok 1,650 m (5,410 ft), Darjeeling 2,045 m (6,710 ft), Pelling 2,150 m (7,050 ft) and Thimphu 2,320 m (7,610 ft). Most guests notice only a shorter breath on stairs, and the cold of the nights.
Photo: Unsplash
Rule one
Every journey starts low, and none sleeps above 3,000 m (9,840 ft) in its first two nights. On more than three quarters of them you never sleep above 2,320 m (7,610 ft) at all.
Photo: sanjay saxena / Unsplash
The high days
Tsomgo Lake, at 3,753 m (12,310 ft), is reached and left the same day, never on the day you land. The road from Gangtok climbs about 2,100 m in 40 km. Nathu La beyond it is open to Indian citizens only, so a US passport stops at the lake.
Photo: NSG / Unsplash
At the lake
The car carries oxygen, drinking water and blankets. Time at the lake stays under an hour: walk at half pace and keep a warm layer on. A headache means we turn back. We suggest plenty of water, an early night and no alcohol the evening before.
Photo: Gokul Arakkal / Unsplash
Higher nights
Lachung sleeps near 2,650 m (8,690 ft), Phobjikha in Bhutan near 3,000 m (9,840 ft), Sandakphu at 3,636 m (11,930 ft) and the Dzongri camp near 4,000 m (13,120 ft). Each follows lower nights, and on the ridge and trek your guide checks oxygen levels morning and evening.
Photo: Pulak Bhagawati / Unsplash
Who should ask first
Anyone with a heart, lung or blood-pressure condition, or who is pregnant, should take medical advice before days above 3,000 m. Preventive medicine such as acetazolamide is your own doctor's call. Children of five and under are not issued the Tsomgo permit.
Photo: Unsplash
Insurance
A standard travel policy often stops at 3,000 m. Lachung and Yumthang need cover to about 3,800 m, the Singalila Ridge 4,000 m and the Goecha La trek 5,000 m. Buy to the highest point on your own itinerary.
Photo: Sujan Mongar / Unsplash
Next step
Send the ages in your party and any condition that matters, and the plan is built around them from the first night. Each journey page states its highest point, so you can see the numbers before you choose.
Photo: Sounak Mukherjee / Unsplash