Eight nights, a first visit
A first visit to these hills could run in any order. This one runs in only one: the high lake while you are fresh, the mountain close, and the airport near at the end.
Photo: Fardin sk / Unsplash
Gangtok first, 1,650 m (5,410 ft)
Gangtok comes first because of a simple altitude rule: two nights at 1,650 m before Tsomgo Lake at 3,753 m (12,310 ft). The Nathu La permit also needs a day to file, and that day goes to Rumtek at morning prayer.
Photo: Amshiv_VIP / Pexels
Day 3
Nathu La, at 4,310 m (14,140 ft) and closed to visitors on Mondays and Tuesdays, is for Indian passports only. Foreign and OCI guests, US travelers included, keep the morning at the lake, which needs two or more of them together, then Enchey Monastery and the ropeway.
Photo: Sourav Ghosh / Unsplash
Day 4
Pelling comes second because the road from Gangtok through Ravangla is about 115 km, while the road on to Darjeeling is only 70. Lunch is in Ravangla, high on its own ridge, before the long drop to the Rangeet at Legship.
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Pelling, two nights
Two dawns face Kanchenjunga about 45 km away, from a retreat a king of Sikkim built in 1942. Between them: Pemayangtse before breakfast, the ruins of Rabdentse, and Yuksom, where Sikkim crowned its first king in 1642.
Photo: Soumik Ghosh / Unsplash
Darjeeling, three nights
Darjeeling closes the week with Tiger Hill at first light, a tasting at Happy Valley, a tea garden planted in the 1850s, and first-class steam to Ghum. The hotel, the Windamere, began life as Ada Villa in 1841.
Photo: kabita Darlami
The last morning
Darjeeling is the closest of the three to Bagdogra, about three hours away, so a 13:00 flight still leaves a calm breakfast. Reversed, the final morning would be four and a half hours on NH10, with its landslide risk.
Photo: Arto Suraj / Pexels
October to early December
With only six nights, Pelling is the stop to drop rather than rushing the lake. Go October to early December, or March to May; it suits children over eight. The journey is priced from ₹1,75,000 per person, twin share.
Photo: Akash Dey / Unsplash