Lachung - Good Morning Sikkim
There are mornings in the rest of the world, and then there are mornings in Lachung. Because it takes almost all day to reach Lachung, so you are taken completely by surprise when you wake in the mornings to see an ice-covered mountain outside your hotel window! Nowhere else would you wake to the feast that you will experience in this picturesque valley, tucked away in the remote north of Sikkim - itself one of India's least known and verdant states, forgotten among the snows of the Eastern Himalaya.
Get to New Jalpaiguri (or NJP as people often call it) by train, or to Bagdogra by flight. A train journey from Kolkata to NJP takes roughly 12 hours (I suggest the Kanchan Kanya express which leaves Sealdah around 8:30 and reaches NJP at 7:30 AM), and costs between Rs. 300 – 900 depending on the class. Alternatively you can take a flight to Bagdogra from Delhi (between Rs. 3000-9000) or Kolkata (Rs. 3000 – 5000, depending on when you book). From Bagdogra or NJP (both of which are suburbs of Siliguri really), you can get jeeps to Gangtok. They charge about Rs. 150 per head, but they really squash you in to fit an extra passenger. You can choose to book a full vehicle for yourself, at around Rs. 700 for a Mahindra Maxx, or upto Rs. 1500 for more deluxe vehicles.
You can stop for lunch at Rangpo or Singtam. Do try the Gorkha thali if you stop there. Else head to Gangtok, where you can get several good restaurants. You will need to change vehicles in Gangtok, at the main taxi stand. That would set you back by another Rs. 400 – 600. Only North Sikkim registered vehicles are allowed to ply to Lachung, so look for a vehicle that has a round sticker with a big N marked on it. The drive will take about 8 hours across narrow mountain roads, and it will be quite dark by the time you reach. You can stop for tea at Dikchu and later at Mangan.
The only way to get to Lachung is by road (unless of course, you are a VIP and get a government helicopter!). But the journey is worth it, for it is among the most picturesque road journeys you'll ever experience, even among picturesque Himalayan road journeys.
Food is a complete experience at Lachung. The hotels do serve you Chinese, Punjabi or South Indian food, but I suggest you avoid those and try out the local cuisine instead. It is certainly a completely different experience. And I'm not just talking about momos here, though they have lots of varieties. I tried out the tea momo (a floury momo to be had with Sikkim tea), and the steamed momo stuffed with Lachung potatoes (a unique kind of potato). Also try out soup made with shell macaroni and thukpa with gundruk. Don't miss the curry they make with ferns, or the stew made from nettles, or the curry made from giant beans that grow only in Lachung. You'll never get these dishes anywhere.
Remote mountain villages aren't really the best places to go shopping, but you can find a few interesting items in the bazaar. At Yumthang, there are stalls where you can buy curios like toy yaks, Lachungpa jewellery etc, as well as snacks and cold drinks. Do try out chhurpi, which is an inch-long, superhard piece of cheese made from yak's milk. At Lachung Bazaar you can get items like Tibetan incense sticks, souvenir woolen caps, dry thukpa sticks and Sikkim tea.
A trip to Lachung can be fairly heavy on the pocket, costing anything between Rs. 15,000 – 30,000 including airfare. Nevertheless, if you want this to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, it is quite fair. It might take you a whole week to visit Lachung and back, including travel to and from Siliguri, the trip to Gangtok (and you might want to visit Gangtok and around too).
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