East Sikkim
For half a century Kalimpong lived off one road. Mule trains came down from Lhasa over the Jelep La with wool, borax and musk, a journey of about three weeks. The pass shut in 1962, but most of the road beneath it can still be driven.
Photo: Prantik Mitra / Unsplash
Night 1, Kalimpong
The journey climbs the way the caravans did, from the bottom. The first night is in Kalimpong, at 1,247 m (4,090 ft) and 80 km from Bagdogra, where the mule trains once unloaded their wool into warehouses the town called unn godam.
Photo: Ayush Paul / Pexels
Zuluk, about 2,800 m
Zuluk is a village of about 65 households inside an army zone, at about 2,800 m (9,190 ft). Dil Maya, the first homestay on the route, has attached baths and geysers; the heater costs ₹500 a night and runs only while the power does.
Photo: Dhruvin Pandya / Unsplash
Lungthung, before dawn
At 04:15 the car climbs 32 hairpins to Lungthung, about 3,700 m (12,140 ft), where the Kanchenjunga range lies along the horizon about 80 km away. In the first hour the blood pheasant, Sikkim's state bird, feeds along the verges.
Photo: Mehul / Pexels
Over the top
Past Nathang, a grassy bowl where about 150 people keep yaks, the road crests near 4,100 m (13,450 ft) and drops to Kupup. The Jelep La, 4,390 m (14,400 ft), where the caravans crossed into Tibet, lies under 4 km away.
Photo: Lakshmi Raj / Pexels
Day 4
Beside Kupup lie Bitang Tso, the Elephant Lake, and the army's Yak golf course at 3,970 m (13,030 ft), which Guinness measured in 2006 and lists as the highest in the world. Then a walk by Tsomgo Lake, and Gangtok by mid-afternoon.
Photo: NSG / Unsplash
Before you book
The Zuluk permit is issued to Indian citizens only; a US passport or an OCI card cannot be added. Go October to mid-November or April to May, since snow can close the road above Zuluk from December to March. Zuluk has no ATM, so draw cash in Kalimpong.
Photo: Dhruvin Pandya / Unsplash