From forest clad mountains to tumbling rice terraces, Sikkim is living proof that good things really do come in small packages. One of India’s tiniest states, wedged between Nepal, China and Bhutan, Sikkim manages to pack in some of the most beautiful scenery the Himalayas have to offer.
Streams fed by rain and snowmelt tumble through valleys of purple and emerald green, their slopes chopped into terraces like ladders to heaven. Golden-roofed monasteries perch high and proud on top of conical purple mountains. And towering in the background wherever you look stands the vast snowcapped range of Mt Khangchendzonga – the world’s third highest mountain, and Sikkim’s guardian deity.
An independent kingdom until 1975, entering Sikkim still feels like stepping into a different world – a world where conservation, organic farming and sustainable development are philosophies that live close to the heart of the Sikkimese people.
All our journeys in Sikkim offer you the chance to stay in local village homestays, where you can share in the culture and daily activities of local people. Depending on the time of year, you may be invited to join in the annual cardamom harvest, or soak away your aches in a fire-heated herbal bath as the first snowflakes of winter land on your nose.
