Beyond the main towns
A high road that snow can close, a park shut for the rains, a valley that waits for the cranes. These places run to calendars of their own; here is when each one opens, and when to think twice.
Photo: Labun Hang Limboo / Unsplash
Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La
Clear air in autumn; the lake frozen hard in January and in flower after mid May. Snow can shut Nathu La from December, and Nathu La is open to Indian citizens only.
Photo: Sourav Ghosh / Unsplash
North Sikkim: Lachung and Yumthang
Rhododendron flowers along the Yumthang road in spring, and the skies clear in autumn. From late December to February, snow can close the north road altogether.
Photo: Ankan Sarkar / Pexels
Zuluk and the Old Silk Route
Dry roads, and Kanchenjunga at dawn from the high switchbacks of the old trade road. From December to March, snow can close the road above Zuluk.
Photo: Abhisek Hazra / Unsplash
Singalila Ridge and Sandakphu
In autumn Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Kanchenjunga stand on one horizon from the ridge. The national park is closed from 16 June to 15 September, through the rains.
Photo: ankit raj / Unsplash
Goecha La trek
Settled weather after the rains in autumn, rhododendron and magnolia in spring. December to February brings snow to the high camps, and the monsoon brings leeches to the trail.
Photo: Lay Naik / Unsplash
Phobjikha, Bhutan
Black-necked cranes fly in from the Tibetan Plateau in late October and winter on the marsh. From late February to October they are back in Tibet, so a crane trip belongs in the winter months.
Photo: Karma Chhophel / Pexels
Pokhara and Lumbini, Nepal
Pokhara: October to early December or February to April; from mid June to mid September cloud hides the Annapurnas. Lumbini: October to November or February to March; April to early June passes 36 °C (97 °F).
Photo: Nishess Shakya / Pexels
Jaldapara, the Dooars
The parks are open and the grass is short enough to see rhino. From mid June to mid September they close for the rains, along with Singalila and Neora Valley.
Photo: Dipankar Layek / Pexels
Planning
The main towns follow the broad seasons. Add one of these places and its window decides the trip: a closed park or a snowed-in pass moves everything else around it, so tell us which one matters most.
Photo: Suman Mandal / Pexels