a view of zero point in North Sikkim
Last November I was finally able to travel to Sikkim after planning it for years. Covid postponed the trip for years and then once that was over, work came up. While planning for the trip, we tried looking for blogs and youtube videos but the information on line was scarce and not up to date.
So just listing down few pointers which we figured out throughout the entire trip.
I hope it would be helpful for people who are planning to travel.
One of the first things we were made aware of PAN card and Aadhar card not being valid identification in Sikkim. Ensure you have voter ID or driving license with you as it would be required for the permits.
Since Sikkim shares its border with China, a number of places require a permit to visit even for Indian citizens. The tours and travel services we used took care of all the required permits so that was not a hassle for us. Even if you do not book any such travel services, there are a number of shops in Gangtok for short tours who can help you with the permits. Just ensure to talk to them at least a day in advance.
After research, we figured the major expense would be transportation and it would be advisable to prebook the local cab services for the entire trip. Although the shared services are quite easily available and can be booked from Gangtok.
While planning the trip, most itineraries suggested North Sikkim and Pelling. But for me, pelling did not fit the bill. I found the old silk route (through Zuluk) much more off beat and appealing. If you are a family with senior citizens or children, I would suggest Pelling would be a much advisable location than Zuluk which is quite sparse and rugged. Since my husband and I have a special affinity to sparse locations which less crowd, Zuluk was the better choice for us
Since we were travelling to several locations with sea level height higher than 10000ft , AMS was a major worry for us. We carried Diamox and a jar of camphor with us. Trust me, these help a lot. Fortunately for us, we never did suffer any AMS symptoms but that could be due to sniffing camphor pellets and popping popcorn every few hours.
Ensure you carry other required medicines and hygiene products. The towns pretty much carry all necessary items but we spend quite some time travelling between these settlements and most of these routes did not have much along the way.
Also pack some snacks and water for the same reasons.
Since we were travelling in November, we had to be prepared for the low temperatures. Although it was not the snow season (apart from zero point), the weather was quite cold with temperature dropping to low single digits.
Ensure you have thermals and leg warmers. Jackets alone would not cut it. Also a couple pairs of thick Socks would be highly advised.
Hope you have an excellent trip and I could help you with your planning.
TheNerdLife ❤❤❤
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