Arrival day
Almost every journey starts at Bagdogra, near Siliguri. Here is how an arrival day runs, from the moment you send your flight numbers to the moment the car pulls up at the house.
Photo: Sahil Pandita / Unsplash
Before you fly
Once your flights are booked, send us the numbers and the names on the tickets. Every drive is planned around them, and on the evening before you land we check the schedule and the road, so the day is set before you board.
Photo: Bigyan Khanal / Unsplash
Immigration
From the US you clear Indian immigration at your first airport in India, usually Delhi or Kolkata, then fly on as a domestic passenger. Only Drukair passengers from Paro or Bangkok clear it at Bagdogra itself.
Photo: Boudhayan Bardhan / Unsplash
The meeting point
Not inside the hall: at the exit, with the car, cold water and a snack, and room for luggage, a child seat or a folded wheelchair if you asked. The same driver stays with you as far as the rules allow.
Photo: Angshu Purkait / Pexels
The first road
The car crosses Siliguri to the foothills on whichever road up is open that morning, and the hairpins begin about an hour out. If anyone feels the bends, there is ginger in the car, the front seat is theirs, and the driver takes the turns slowly.
Photo: Boudhayan Bardhan / Unsplash
Drive times
Kurseong is 1 to 1.5 hours away. Darjeeling, 70 km, and Kalimpong, 80 km, take about 3 hours each. Gangtok, 124 km, takes 4.5 to 5 hours, and Pelling, 135 km, 5 to 6. Monsoon slides and festival traffic add time.
Photo: Prasanta Kr Dutta / Unsplash
Halfway
Tea at Kurseong on the Darjeeling road, or a riverside stop on the Teesta on the way to Kalimpong or Gangtok. If you land at midday, lunch is planned before you arrive. For Sikkim, the driver shows the papers at Rangpo or Melli, and you show your printed permit.
Photo: Anil Kumar / Pexels
Before dark
The driver sends your arrival time ahead so tea or dinner is waiting. We aim to have you in before dark, which in December and January means leaving the airport by early afternoon.
Photo: Unsplash
Next step
Land by 11:30 if your first night is in Sikkim; an early-afternoon landing still reaches Darjeeling, Kurseong or Kalimpong. Tell us your options and we say which flight makes the first day calm.
Photo: Ganesh Kumar / Unsplash