Nine to fourteen nights
The long way, across the Eastern Himalaya
For travellers with two weeks and one journey in mind: several countries joined by road, or one country end to end, with the border days, flights and permits planned before anything else.
- 5private journeys
In short
What is the best 10 to 14 day itinerary across Sikkim, Bhutan and Nepal?
Two Kingdoms, for most travellers: it joins Gangtok to western Bhutan by road with one border and one long day, and ends with the Tiger's Nest and a flight home from Paro. Add Kathmandu and Darjeeling at the start and it becomes Three Kingdoms. To go deep into one country instead, choose Sikkim, End to End or Bhutan: Into the Heart; Goecha La, Privately is for trekkers only.
Choose first between breadth and depth. The two kingdom routes give the widest view of the Eastern Himalaya, with a night at Phuentsholing to break the border crossing. Sikkim, End to End and Bhutan: Into the Heart go further into one country, and Into the Heart flies Bumthang to Paro rather than retracing two road days. Goecha La, Privately is a trek with a crew of your own, for walkers used to sleeping above 3,500 m.
Grand journeys ask for the most careful choice of month. Mid October to November is the safest window on all five, with dry roads and open passes. Spring brings rhododendrons, with haze by May. Winter narrows the choice to the two kingdom routes, and snow reaches the Tsomgo and Chele La roads in January and February.
Pace and party come next. All five are private for two to six guests. Sikkim, End to End and Goecha La are active; the rest are moderate. The kingdom routes and Into the Heart suit children over twelve, End to End children over eight, and Goecha La only teenagers who have trekked before, with a parent.
Passports shape the paperwork on all five. Foreign and OCI guests need Sikkim's permit before they reach the state, and pay Bhutan US$100 a night and a US$40 visa where Indian guests pay ₹1,200. A foreign national travelling alone cannot walk to Goecha La: the trek takes two foreign guests together.
Three far ends
Where each long route ends up
Yumthang in May, the furthest north any of these five journeys sleepsSaief Al Emon / Unsplash Trongsa, east of Phobjikha, on the only route of ours that drives that far and flies backDeepavali Gaind / Unsplash A painted Bhutanese gateway at Phuentsholing, where both kingdom routes change country by roadSagar Madha / Unsplash
Choose by
Five journeys, side by side
| Starts in | Best months | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two Kingdoms: Sikkim to Bhutan by Road | 11 | Gangtok | About 7 h | October to December, March to May | ₹5,30,000 |
| Sikkim, End to End | 10 | Gangtok | About 6 h | April to May, October to November | ₹2,25,000 |
| Bhutan: Into the Heart | 9 | Paro | About 6 h | October to November, March to May | ₹9,50,000 |
| Three Kingdoms | 14 | Kathmandu | About 7 h | October to mid December, March to April | ₹5,70,000 |
| Goecha La, Privately | 10 | Pelling | About 6 h | Mid October to late November, and March to mid May | ₹1,90,000 |
Signature expedition
11 nights
Two Kingdoms: Sikkim to Bhutan by Road
Gangtok3Phuentsholing1Thimphu2Punakha2Paro3
Sikkim's royal past, then Bhutan's royal present: eleven nights by road, ending on the cliff at Taktsang.
Grand journey
10 nights
Sikkim, End to End
Gangtok2Lachung2Gangtok1Ravangla2Pelling3
The whole of Sikkim in eleven days, from Yumthang's yak meadow to three Kanchenjunga dawns at Pelling.
Grand journey
9 nights
Bhutan: Into the Heart
Paro2Thimphu1Punakha2Gangtey (Phobjikha valley)2Bumthang (Jakar)2
Five valleys from west to east, Taktsang to Bumthang's oldest temples, and a small plane back to Paro.
Grand journey
14 nights
Three Kingdoms
Kathmandu3Darjeeling3Gangtok2Phuentsholing1Thimphu2Paro3
Kathmandu to the Tiger's Nest by way of Darjeeling and Gangtok: three old kingdoms, three borders, one team.
Private trek
10 nights
Goecha La, Privately
Pelling1Yuksom1Trek camps: Sachen, Tshoka, Dzongri, Lamuney, Kokchurung7Yuksom1
Eight days on foot into Khangchendzonga National Park with your own crew, to Kanchenjunga at first light.
Planning a long journey
Ten nights or more, in the order it happens
A fortnight across two or three countries is planned backwards from the flight you leave on. This is the order we work in, and what we need from you at each stage.
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Three months ahead
Look at the homeward flight first
Two of these five land at one airport and fly home from another: Bagdogra or Kathmandu in, Paro out. Bhutan: Into the Heart turns on a 35 minute Bumthang to Paro seat on its last morning, and Drukair's timetable changes month by month. So the homeward flight comes before the land days, with a spare day left before it.
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Six weeks ahead
Send scans, and leave the papers with us
Six weeks is comfortable and five is the floor, because Sikkim's permit for foreign and OCI guests is filed online through e-FRRO about 30 days before you reach the state, and Bhutan's entry permit, or the US$40 visa on other passports, before you fly. Indian guests bring originals and two passport photographs each: a passport, voter ID or driving licence for Sikkim's protected areas, and a passport or voter ID for Nepal, where Aadhaar, PAN cards and driving licences are refused.
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As the days are set
Let the height arrive in order
None of these routes climbs straight up. Both kingdom routes keep every bed at or below 2,320 m and make Tsomgo, Taktsang and Chele La day visits. Sikkim, End to End shows you 3,753 m at Tsomgo on day two before two nights at 2,650 m in Lachung. Into the Heart reaches its highest bed, about 2,900 m at Gangtey, on nights six and seven, after five lower ones.
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On the road
Expect three clocks and two currencies
Nepal runs 15 minutes ahead of India and Bhutan 30, so Three Kingdoms changes time zone twice inside its first nine days. The ngultrum is at par with the rupee, and Indian notes are taken at par in Bhutan. Cards work in the houses rather than at the roadside, and signal goes for long stretches on the Pele La road east of Punakha.
What travels with you
Small aircraft, and a 10 kg duffel
On a long journey your luggage moves in stages. Soft bags travel best on the Bhadrapur flight, whose allowance is smaller than an international one, and the Bumthang aircraft is smaller still, so we check your allowance at ticketing and send heavy shopping west by road. Going north on Sikkim, End to End, the main cases stay behind in Gangtok. On Goecha La a porter carries a 10 kg duffel for each of you and the rest waits in your room at Yuksom, while boots, a down jacket, poles and a daypack are yours to bring or to hire from us. Laundry is a house charge on the other four, so pack for a week rather than a fortnight.
Questions
Three questions about grand journeys
Two Kingdoms, Three Kingdoms or Sikkim, End to End?
Two Kingdoms if you want Sikkim and Bhutan with one border: Gangtok, the road day to Phuentsholing, then Thimphu, Punakha and Paro. Three Kingdoms adds Kathmandu and Darjeeling at the start, a second border and three more nights, but drops Punakha. Sikkim, End to End stays in one state and goes further into it, with two nights at Lachung in simple rooms and more walking. Both kingdom routes have one road day of about seven hours; End to End has three of five to six.
Which grand journey works in December?
Two Kingdoms: December is within its season, the skies are at their clearest, and the cost is cold, with Thimphu's nights near freezing and snow able to close Nathu La. Three Kingdoms runs until mid December. The other three are better left for spring or autumn: snow closes Goecha La's high camps, the north road to Lachung can shut from late December, and Bumthang freezes while its flights drop to two a week.
Sikkim, End to End or Goecha La, Privately for walkers?
Sikkim, End to End if you want a bed every night: its walks, up Tendong and around Pelling, end at a view, and its high days, at Tsomgo and Yumthang, are reached by car. Goecha La, Privately is eight days on the trail, about 85 km, to View Point 1 at about 4,600 m, sleeping as high as 4,150 m at Lamuney with nights well below freezing. We ask every trekker for a doctor's fitness note, and suggest it only to walkers who have slept above 3,500 m before.
Plan my journey
Which of these five fits your dates?
Four lines are enough to start: when, who, how to reach you, and the trip you picture.
- Journeys
- 5
- Length
- 9 to 14 nights
- From
- ₹1,90,000 per person