Gangtok
15 May 2013 | Gangtok, Sikkim, India
Like
It's time for us to get to the higher Himalayas! So we set off to Sikkim. Sikkim is a small state of India, bordered by Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan. It is home of the mount Kangchenjunga, the third highest in the world culminating at 8585 meters high, and to countless wonderful landscapes and flowers.
But here start the difficulties. First you need a permit to get there, which is free and easy to get at the border, but then as soon as you want to go anywhere, you need another permit, that you can obtain anloy from travel agencies when you hire guides and vehicles (and you cannot be mixed with Indian tourists to lower any cost). No way to just walk freely in the moutains and enjoy the view. Also the raining season is one month early, which means it's raining everyday and foggy and cloudy all the time (despite that it's still hot).
So we first spend three days in the capital, Gangtok, wondering what to do next while enjoying that cute mountain town surrounded by temples, mountains and waterfalls.