Standing at the base of
Mt. Kangchendzonga,
3rd highest peak in the world.
Crossing glacial morraine,
on the way to at Goechela (16,400')
Morning camp at Dzongri:
warm washy water delivered to your tent!
Yuksom, trekking trailhead
and home of ecotourism in Sikkim
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Included : Twin-sharing bed and breakfast n Darjeeling and Sikkim, airport transfers in India, ground transportation to and within Darjeeling and Sikkim, sightseeing as specified, camping and porters services and three meals a day on trek, trekking guide and staff, national park fee and final night traditional dinner program.
Not Included: International and domestic flights (Delhi-Bagdogra-Delhi), hotel in Delhi, airport taxes, Indian visa fee, & misc (see subsequent literature).
For more information and a detailed itinerary... please contact
KarmaQuest Ecotourism and Adventure Travel
Tel: (650) 560-0101/
Fax: 712-8164
699 Spindrift Way, Half Moon Bay,
California 94019 USA
Karma@KarmaQuest.com
Website: www.KarmaQuests.com
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KarmaQuest offers this special trip to Sikkim and Darjeeling, in support of Sikkim’s efforts to promote community-based ecotourism. In keeping with KarmaQuest’s commitment to ecotourism, proceeds from this trip will go to the Kangchendzonga Conservation Committee for its environmental education activities in Yuksom.
The trip begins in historic Delhi, from where you’ll fly to the base of the Himalaya, and climb by road to Darjeeling, famed for its tea. In Sikkim, you’ll spend 9 days trekking through Sikkim’s pristine forests, camping beneath snow-covered peaks, including Mt. Kangchendzonga (3rd highest peak in the world), guardian of Sikkim and Kangchendzonga National Park. Before and after the trek, you’ll visit Sikkim’s premier monasteries, Pemayangtse and Rumtek, and visit a family home in Temi for a meal, before a final night in Gangtok.
Customized trip: We'd be happy to accommodate your special interests with a customized trip. For a group of four or more: pick the dates you wish to travel (spring and fall only). Or choose a two-night village ecotourism homestay instead of a Darjeeling stay; or of course, you can do both!
Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive in Delhi, overnight at hotel.
Day 2 Fly Delhi to Bagdogra, drive to Darjeeling The road winds up to Darjeeling’s hilltop perch. Settle into a charming hotel in time for afternoon tea. (7000’)
Day 3 Darjeeling: Spend the day visiting the Himalayan Mountaineering Museum, the zoo, and the Tibetan refuge center. Stroll along the old Chowrastha arcade.
Day 4 Drive Darjeeling to Pemayangtse: Drive to Pemayangtse/ Pelling, where you’ll overnight in a Sikkimese style hotel. (6800’)
Day 5 Pemayangtse to Yuksom: Awake to a bird’s eye view of Kangchendzonga and surrounding peaks. Visit Pemayangtse Monastery and Khechepalri (wish-fulfilling) Lake, and then drive to Yuksom to learn about conservation and ecotourism activities. Overnight in hotel (5840’)
Day 6 Trek Yuksom to Sachen: Begin with a morning trek (about 4 hrs) through the rich and diverse forests of Kangchendzonga National Park. Watch for an amazing variety of birds, trees and medicinal plants. A gentle up and down, following the Prek Chu (river). Camp at 8,200’.
Day 7 Trek Sachen to Tsokha: Ascend through a magical forest of towering rhododendron and fir trees: "one of the most beautiful forests in all the Himalaya. Camp at 10,760'. Note: there are no rhodos in bloom in Oct.
Day 8 Trek Tsokha to Dzongri: Ascend through a magical forest of towering rhododendron and fir trees: “one of the most beautiful forests in all the Himalaya.” Camp at 13,200'.
Day 9 Dzongri Rest Day Acclimatization day: early morning hike to a view point (13,700'). Visit a yak herders’ camp. Enjoy a “day off.” Camp at 13,200’.
Day 10 Trek Dzongri to Thangsing: Descend into the upper Prek Chu valley, crossing alpine meadows and fir and rhododendron forests. Camp in a wide glaciated valley, framed by glacial moraine. Climb to a lookout point on Kangchendzonga. Camp at 12,800’.
Day 11 Trek Thangsing to Lamuni: After lunch, continue up a long valley, amidst aromatic rhododendron shrubs, once illegally collected for making incense, a Buddhist offering. Mt. Kangchendzonga looms on the horizon. Camp at 13,500’.
Day 12 Trek Lamuni to Goechela to Thangsing: Rise before sunrise to catch the best views of the peaks. Cross glacial till, alongside a massive glacial lake, and beneath ice-capped Himalayan peaks. Climb slowly up the last rise to Goechela (16,200’), for an exhilarating close-up view of Mt. Kangchendzonga. Descend beyond Lamuni, to overnight in camp at Thangsing (12,800’).
Day 13 Trek Thangsing to Tsokha: Take an alternate route from Thangsing to Phedang, hiking through a magical forest of towering firs. Sikkim’s forests are a source of much pride, and are protected inside this national park. Camp at Tsokha.
Day 14 Trek Tsokha to Yuksom: It’s all downhill from here. Descend through temperate and sub-tropical forests, alive with butterflies, birds, and lush greenery to reach Yuksom by mid-afternoon. Overnight at hotel.
Day 15 Drive Yuksom to Temi: (4 hrs), winding up and down through Sikkim’s vertical landscape, passing scattered villages where cardamom grows. Building and maintaining Sikkim’s roads are an engineering feat. Visit Temi Tea garden. Overnight at Temi. Visit a family home.
Day 16 Gangtok: Drive to Rumtek (2.5 hrs): Visit Rumtek Monastery, center of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism: a masterpiece of color and pageantry where the Karmapa reigns. Drive (1 hr) to Gangtok. Overnight at Gangtok. stroll the downtown Gangtok.
Day 17 Gangtok: Visit Do-Drul Chorten, one of the Sikkim’s most important Buddhist sites, and the nearby Institute of Tibetology with historic Buddhist scripts and ritual objects. A final shopping spree, and farewell dinner. Overnight in Gangtok.
Day 18 Drive to Bagdogra, fly to Delhi. Overnight or connect to flight onward.
Trip Cost:
4-6 persons US $3,850/person
7-10 persons US $3,550/person
Single supplement US $500/person
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