NOTE: A special permit is required to visit Sikkim. A minimum of 4 persons must travel together. The permit can be applied for while getting your Indian visa, or we can arrange it for you with advance notice.

Day 1: Bagdogra To Darjeeling

Fly to Bagdogra Calcutta. You are met at Bagdogra airport and transferred to Darjeeling, a 5-hour drive. Situated at an altitude of 2,134 m, Darjeeling was developed by the British as a hill resort to escape the heat and rains of the plains. In the 1840s, tea plantation was introduced in the area Overnight at Hotel Windamere or similar.

Day 2: In Darjeeling

Early in the morning, drive to Tiger Hill, 10 km south of Darjeeling, to get a spectacular view of Mt. Kanchenjunga at sunrise. On the way back, stop at Ghoom, a small monastery by the roadside, built in 1875 housing a 5-meter statue of the Buddha.

After breakfast, explore this quaint hill station. At the centre of the town is the Mall, Darjeeling's commercial street, lined with souvenir shops which leads to Chaurastha, a square with a bandstand and several antique shops. The Observatory Hill is perhaps the oldest built-up site in Darjeeling. On Birch Hill to the north stands the Shrubbery, the residence of the Governor of West Bengal and further down along the Birch Hill Road is the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute previously headed by the late Tenzing Norgay. A museum displays the equipment used on the first successful expedition to Mount Everest. The nearby Zoological Park specializes in high-altitude wildlife - yaks, Himalayan black bears, pandas, but is also has four Siberian tigers. Dominating the Mall is the Planter's Club, where planters from all over the area meet, particularly on Sundays. The Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre has a temple, school, hospital and a shop selling carpets, textiles and jewellery. Overnight at Hotel Windamere.

Day 3: Darjeeling To Gangtok

After breakfast depart on the 6-hour drive to Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, which lies at an altitude of 1,640 m.

In the afternoon visit the Research Institute of Tibetology the most prestigious one of its kind built in 1958 by the last Choegyal to preserve Tibetan culture, houses a library of more than 30,000 books on Buddhism, astrology, medicine and philosophy as well as a collection of thangkhas (Tibetan religious paintings on cloth).Today it is a renowned worldwide centre for the study of Buddhist philosophy and religion. Dinner and overnight at Hotel Norkhill.

Day 4: In Gangtok

After breakfast visit Rumtek Monastery, which lies 23 km west of Gangtok, a 45-minute drive away. The monastery belongs to the Yellow Hat Karmapa sect, a reformist branch of Tantric Buddhism, founded in the 15th Century. Built in the 1960s, it is traditional in design and is a replica of the original Kagyu headquarters in Tibet destroyed at the time of the Chinese takeover. The monastery houses some of the most unique religious art objects and is the largest one of its kind outside Tibet.

After lunch visit the Deer Park, which is set amongst the picturesque dales and mountains of Sikkim and is based on the model of a similar one in Sarnath, in homage to the Bodhisattva who got reincarnated as a musk deer. Also visit the Government Handcrafts Centre instituted with the aim of promoting and keeping alive the state's traditional art and crafts. The Centre is a storehouse of hand-woven woolen carpets with traditional motifs, blankets, shawls in Lepcha weaves and exquisitely carved choktse tables. Overnight at Hotel Norkhill.

Day 5: Phodong And Labrang

After breakfast drive to Phodong monastery, situated 38 kms from Gangtok in North Sikkim. The original monastery, which belongs to the Kargug-pa sect, was built by the Choegyal Gyurmed Namgyal in the first quarter of the 18th century. It has old mural paintings and has around 260 monks. The annual festival is performed on the 28th and 29th days of the tenth month of the Lunar calendar when the religious Chamms (dances) are performed. Stop for a picnic lunch and continue on to Labrang monastery, situated a km uphill from Phodong. Built about 100 years later than Phodong, it belongs to the Nyingma-pa sect. Just below the road between Phodong and Labrang are the ruins of the third capital of Sikkim - Tumlong. In the beginning of the 19th century, the capital of Sikkim was shifted from Rabdanste to Tumlong, which remained the capital for almost 90 years. Return to Gangtok for overnight at Hotel Norkhill.

Day 6: Gangtok To Kalimpong

After breakfast depart on the 4-hour drive to Kalimpong, a quiet hill resort once the former headquarters of the Bhutanese governor. Situated at an altitude of 1250 m. between the Deolo and Durbindra hills it lies in the valley formed by the lower Teesta River and its tributaries in the foothills of the Himalayas.

In the afternoon visit Tharpa Choling at Tirpai, the largest Yellow Hat sect Buddhist monastery in Kalimpong, which houses a library of Tibetan manuscripts and thangkas. The Zang-dog Palrifo Brang monastery on Durpin Dara Hill is smaller and of more recent construction. There is also a small market selling spices, fruit and traditional Tibetan medicines, textiles, wool and musk. Kalimpong was once the starting point for the trade route to Lhasa. Overnight at the quaint Himalaya Hotel.

Day 7: KalimpongTo Bagdogra To Delhi

After breakfast depart on the 4-hour drive to Bagdogra airport for your onward flight.