Travel style · Sikkim
Family holidays in Sikkim
Short drives, low altitudes, room to run
Family trips that keep drives short and sleeping altitudes sensible: Kumaon lakes, Shimla and the toy train, Darjeeling, Gangtok, Paro and Thimphu. With notes on what children and grandparents can manage.
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsWith children and grandparents, altitude and drive time matter most. We keep most nights below 2,500 m, drives under five hours, and add at least one day without a car.
Sikkim is India's second-smallest state, a steep wedge between Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan that climbs from 300 m on the Teesta to Kangchenjunga at 8,586 m. Come for Gangtok, the monasteries of Pelling and Yuksom, and the permit-only high lakes of the north and east. Go March to May or October to December; plan seven to ten nights.
Trips
Family holidays trips in Sikkim
No published family holidays trip in Sikkim yet
We plan them on request. Tell us your month and budget and a planner sends a route and an itemised price within one working day.
Plan a family holidays trip4 places
Where to go
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Gangtok
Sikkim's ridge-top capital and base for the north and east
Photo: Santanu Paul · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Pelling
Kangchenjunga views, Pemayangtse and the ruins of Rabdentse
Photo: Indrajit Das · CC BY 3.0 · Commons
Tsomgo Lake
A glacial lake at 3,750 m on the road to the Nathu La
Photo: Joginder Pathak · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Yumthang Valley
Rhododendron meadows and a hot spring above Lachung
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
An evening on MG Marg and in Lal Bazaar
Walk Gangtok's car-free main street at dusk, then take the stairways down to Lal Bazaar for chhurpi, fermented greens a…
Photo: Anjan Kumar Kundu · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Rumtek monastery and the golden stupa
Cross the valley to Rumtek, the largest monastery in Sikkim, rebuilt in the 1960s as the seat of the Karma Kagyu lineag…
Photo: Drmarathe · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Tibetology museum and the Do Drul Chorten
Spend a morning with Sikkim's best collection of Buddhist art at the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, then walk five mi…
Photo: Amitabha Gupta · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Pemayangtse and its wooden heaven
Visit Pemayangtse, founded in 1705 by Lhatsun Chempo and one of Sikkim's most important monasteries. Climb to the top f…
Photo: Pankaj.biswas · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Walk to the ruins of Rabdentse
Walk about 2 km through forest to the ruins of Rabdentse, Sikkim's royal capital from 1670 to 1814. Low stone walls, ch…
Photo: Kothanda Srinivasan · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Khecheopalri, the wish-fulfilling lake
Drive about 25 km to Khecheopalri, a quiet lake in a forest bowl at around 1,700 m, held sacred by Buddhists and Hindus…
Photo: Indrajit Das · CC BY 3.0 · Commons
A slow walk around Tsomgo's shore
Walk the shore path at Tsomgo while the light is low and the stalls are still opening. In winter you see a frozen lake …
Photo: shankar s. · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Nathu La, the pass on the Lhasa road
Continue past Tsomgo to the Nathu La at 4,310 m, the pass on the old Kalimpong–Lhasa trade route and today a border pos…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
Hotel Tibet
A long-established mid-range hotel near Paljor Stadium, a few minutes' walk from MG Marg, decorated in Tibetan sty…
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
Netuk House
A family-run heritage guesthouse in a traditional Sikkimese home off Tibet Road, known for its painted interiors a…
Photo: Santanu Paul · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
The Chumbi Mountain Retreat
A mid-range resort in upper Pelling with rooms facing Kangchenjunga, a restaurant and gardens. A comfortable base …
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
The Elgin Nor-Khill
Built in 1932 as the royal guest house of the Chogyal of Sikkim, the Nor-Khill is Gangtok's classic heritage hotel…
Photo: Yakrita · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
Mayfair Spa Resort and Casino
A large luxury resort on the outskirts of Gangtok with landscaped gardens, a spa, several restaurants and a casino…
Photo: flowcomm · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Luxury
The Elgin Mount Pandim
A heritage hotel on the ridge just below Pemayangtse monastery, facing Kangchenjunga and Mount Pandim. Gardens, pe…