[Captdey]

Enjoyed your travelogue,
One request , could you please share the name / phone number
of the travel agent from where you have hired the driver , or
the name of driver and his telephone number please .

[gurha]

Originally Posted by Captdey

Enjoyed your travelogue,
One request , could you please share the name / phone number
of the travel agent from where you have hired the driver , or
the name of driver and his telephone number please .

Captdey,
Sorry for the late response, somehow I didn't get any notification, Here are the details of the travel agent.
Viz-Poz Tours & Travels
Feroj: (0)9593985698

I also had the number of the driver, but that is currently switched off, when I called Feroz few days back to talk to the driver, he said he is also trying to reach him but his mobile is always switched off.

You can directly call Feroj and tell him you got my number from Pallav from Bangalore who came with his duster, he will probably remember me.

Don't hesitate to send me a PM if you need any further info.

Thanks,
-Pallav

[F150]

What a beautiful travelogue, complete with all the details. So we need either a rear wheel drive or a 4WD to handle such terrains.
I wish to do such trips sometime soon, added to the TODO list.

[gurha]

Originally Posted by F150

What a beautiful travelogue, complete with all the details. So we need either a rear wheel drive or a 4WD to handle such terrains.
I wish to do such trips sometime soon, added to the TODO list.

F150, I would probably never say this as what Himandri has done with his duster and which he has explained in this awesome thread clears all doubts about what a FWD can do.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ter-110-a.html

And perhaps your thinking may also change.

[F150]

Originally Posted by gurha

F150, I would probably never say this as what Himandri has done with his duster and which he has explained in this awesome thread clears all doubts about what a FWD can do.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ter-110-a.html

And perhaps your thinking may also change.

True to some extent but not everyone is Himadri and there was no ice on the trail which he took.

[himadrimondal]

Originally Posted by gurha

F150, I would probably never say this as what Himandri has done with his duster and which he has explained in this awesome thread clears all doubts about what a FWD can do.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ter-110-a.html

And perhaps your thinking may also change.

Pallav, its your humbleness to mention my name but the fact is your's Duster is the first of its kind to have kissed Zero point. To do this all the way from Bangalore is monumental. Getting the permit is beyond any stretch of my imagination and you have showed us all.

Originally Posted by F150

True to some extent but not everyone is Himadri and there was no ice on the trail which he took.

F150, FWD's wont fish tail like RWD on a icy tracks, its supposed to hold its ground.

[narayan]

Originally Posted by gurha

Don't hesitate to send me a PM if you need any further info.

Thanks,
-Pallav

Hi gurha. enjoyed your travelogue and was looking for this kind of info because we are planning a trip to North Sikkim/Assam/Shillong by Nov end. But Im not driving down because we have some senior citizens also in the group. While planning the trip, one main doubt I have is to cover Lachung or Lachen ? Due to time constraint I would prefer covering either one place. The tour operator is recommending Lachung. Whats your view ? From my internet research, both places seem to offer the same ( mountain view, greenery etc ). Is there anything I will miss if I skip Lachen ?

thanks for your inputs

[gurha]

Originally Posted by narayan

Is there anything I will miss if I skip Lachen

Narayan, Well you would definitely miss few things if you skip Lachen, and those include
1. Chopta Valley
2. Gurudongmar lake

But since you are traveling with senior citizens, they might have some problems in Gurudongmar lake, as that is probably the highest peak in Sikkim.

So it's good to cover Lachung.

[narayan]

Originally Posted by gurha

Narayan, Well you would definitely miss few things if you skip Lachen, and those include
1. Chopta Valley
2. Gurudongmar lake

But since you are traveling with senior citizens, they might have some problems in Gurudongmar lake, as that is probably the highest peak in Sikkim.

So it's good to cover Lachung.

Gurha - thanks. Also accomodation wise which place did you find better ?

[gurha]

Originally Posted by narayan

Gurha - thanks. Also accomodation wise which place did you find better ?

Lachung was a bigger town, hence more options for accommodation.

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by gurha

[b] I got the pass for North Sikkim, which so many people said that you will not get. I tried to contact many people even some contacts in Army, but couldn't get anything sorted out and eventually left everything to God and I got it......... In the mean time I called up the chief(hvk) and told him that I've got the pass for North Sikkim and he was also pretty surprised after hearing that,

Never knew getting permits were so difficult. Why is it so? Valid DL a must for all passengers?

[gurha]

Originally Posted by Surprise

Never knew getting permits were so difficult. Why is it so? Valid DL a must for all passengers?

Well what I felt was, they don't have confidence in other people who come there to drive because the roads are not easy to drive, but I really don't know the real reason .

I don't think DL is valid for all passengers, DL is required only for the person who is going to drive and for others any ID proof will do I guess other than PAN card I think, thats what I recall I may be wrong.

[PapaBravo]

Originally Posted by gurha

Hi All,

When it comes to long drives,

On the way to Zero Point, one of the snow covered roads

Mindblowing !! Do not know how I missed this thread & apologies for bumping it after so long. The detailed description is highly appreciated. You have created a guide for someone looking for the know hows of Permit system in Sikkim. Great coverage of roads as well. Rating 5 stars.

Regarding the steep road to Darjeeling, I believe you took the Pankhabari road which is the steepest of all roads from south. There are many options available if you don't want to to do steep climbs.

About the other road you mentioned from Darjeeling to Teesta, We had taken our fully loaded erstwhile car Brio uphill to Jorebunglow/Darjeeling from Teesta.

Regards,

Pawan

[gurha]

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

Mindblowing !! Do not know how I missed this thread & apologies for bumping it after so long. The detailed description is highly appreciated. You have created a guide for someone looking for the know hows of Permit system in Sikkim. Great coverage of roads as well. Rating 5 stars.

Regarding the steep road to Darjeeling, I believe you took the Pankhabari road which is the steepest of all roads from south. There are many options available if you don't want to to do steep climbs.

About the other road you mentioned from Darjeeling to Teesta, We had taken our fully loaded erstwhile car Brio uphill to Jorebunglow/Darjeeling from Teesta.

Regards,

Pawan

Hi Pawan,

Thanks for compliments, Well as far as I remember we took Siliguri-Kurseong-Darjeeling route, not sure if its the Pankhabari route, but it wasn't that steep, atleast not as steep as the road which we took to get down from Darjeeling to Gangtok via Teesta.

Well yeah I had never seen such uphill road before, so was an experience in itself and kudos to you to take your car uphill in that road.

[mkbksc]

Originally Posted by gurha

Hi Pawan,

Thanks for compliments, Well as far as I remember we took Siliguri-Kurseong-Darjeeling route, not sure if its the Pankhabari route, but it wasn't that steep, atleast not as steep as the road which we took to get down from Darjeeling to Gangtok via Teesta.

Well yeah I had never seen such uphill road before, so was an experience in itself and kudos to you to take your car uphill in that road.

Lovely travelogue! Superb photos!!! Kudos to your indomitable spirit!!! Your level-headedness played a big role in an incident free mega journey that you undertook!

I am planning a trip to this part in my XUV in the last week of June. There could be one or two senior citizens with me. Lachung and the other place you went appear daunting. Can you please tell me the distance from Gangtok to Nathu La? Did you go there? I think you took 05 hours to reach Gangtok from Darjeeling. How much time required to travel from Siliguri to Darjeeling?