Destinations covered:

Featured activities:

About the trip:

This holiday takes you through a Sikkim of old traditions, religion, local culture, and striking natural treasures.

Sikkim has a lot to offer, from the charming village of Rumtek in East Sikkim which houses the largest Buddhist monastery of Sikkim to the idyllic village of Pastanga. An area surrounded by hills, dense forests and cascading rivulets, this is adobe of folklore and cultural richness.

Hospitality of the lively local communities and their authentic rural lifestyle makes this holiday all the more special. You will see traditional Bhutia and Rai houses that have remained virtually unchanged for the last 150 years, visit a sacred waterfall and enjoy a walk through the herbal gardens and cardamom plantations.

Trekking through Magnolia and Rhododendron forests carpeted with medicinal plants and flowers, you will also be exploring the ancient Tibetan trader's trail to Khedi, which is renowned for its two sacred lakes, the Bhale Pokhari and the Pothi Pokhari.

This trip also takes you to Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim where different cultures and religions blend harmoniously with old traditions and modern developments.

Itinerary:

Day1

Bagdogra and Rumtek - Arrive in Bagdogra and transfer to Rumtek (4.5 hours drive). Overnight in an eco-resort.

Day 2

Rumtek and Pastanga - Morning village walk in Rumtek, afterwards visit the old Rumtek monastery, home of the Kagyugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Here one can observe the daily activities of the monks as they start their morning chores with prayer. Drive to Pastanga village in the afternoon, and spend overnight in the Home stays.

Day3

Pastanga and Khedi - While hiking to Khedi you will trek over the bamboo (Malingo) trail and observe the change in vegetation as you ascend to an altitude of 2500 meters. Overnight camping at Khedi.

Day4

Khedi - Explore Khedi. Morning orientation on the environment and landscape. Afternoon free. Overnight in a well maintaned tented accommodation.

Day5

Khedi and Pastanga - Hike to the village. Ethnic cultural interaction in the evening. Overnight in a homestay.

Day6

Pastanga and Gangtok - After breakfast, drive to Gangtok, on the way visit the Institute of Tibetology and the local Cottage Industry. Interpretation of natural history and culture of Sikkim. Overnight in a homestay.

Day7

Gangtok and Bagdogra - Depart to Bagdogra airport for your onward flight.

We ensure that the benefits of your holidays reach the local people, starting with the the activities which are mostly owned, operated and managed by the local communities in locations that you visit.

In Pastanga all activities are part of social development programs where tourism is used as a tool for providing sustainable sources of income. Our local partners consists of local community members, both female and male, who work with us through their home stays and cultural performances.

The cultural activities in this holiday are promoted to ensure that it helps preserve the unique cultural tradition lively. In Pastanga for instance, the Nepali and Bhutia dancers perform their traditional folk songs which provides supplementary source of income for their family.

Traveler's interest in these performances is an incentive for the young kids to also learn the traditional music and dance arts, ensuring that these cultural treasures are being kept lively.

The Sikkimese people especially Lepchas and Bhutias are famous for their weaving and wood carving. Buying these souvenirs will not only give your family back home a special and exclusive presents but you also support the local craftsmen and their traditional handicraft technology.

For instance the visit to the Handicraft centre at Gangtok provides crafts(wo)men a source of income. They are mostly school drop outs who were rehabilitated through sustain development programs.

The Namgyal Institute of Tibetology we visit is promoting research on the religion, history, language, art and culture of the people of the Tibetan cultural area which includes Sikkim. The NIT's library holds one of the largest collections of Tibetan works in the world outside Tibet as well as a museum of Tibetan iconography and religious art. The library has published the Bulletin of Tibetology since 1964 and numerous books over the years. We ensure contributions towards funds that are used for renovation and maintenance of works and artifacts.

During this impressive trip we often stay in home stays. This promotes village tourism and helps the local communities benefit fully from the economic opportunities of tourism. The concept of Home stays was introduced in the rural areas of Sikkim with an aim to facilitate alternative source of income directly for the rural people in a sustainable way. The system of Home stay brought in a very efficient way of sharing the income from tourism among several families. Depending on the number of visitors, the hosts have agreed upon a system where they circulate the guests amongst themselves so that everyone benefits out of tourism. A productive way of complementing rather than competing with each other!

In Pastanga, the home stay providers are donating part of their income to a fund that supports the local children's educational infrastructure. This fund also supports capacity building programs like training in language, documentation and conservation for the community members are arranged.