Travel style · Sikkim
Homestays and villages in Sikkim
Sleep in the hive itself
Homestays are the Himalaya's best value and its best way in: Ladakhi kitchens, Spiti mud houses, Kumaoni stone homes, Lepcha villages in Dzongu, Apatani homes in Ziro. Simple rooms, home food, money that stays in the valley.
Photo: Tushar2486 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsA homestay is a room in a family home, with meals from the family kitchen. Expect clean, simple rooms, often a shared or outside bathroom in the high valleys, and food made from what the village grows.
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
Homestays and villages trips in Sikkim
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
North Sikkim on a budget, 5 nights
Seats on shared permit-tour vehicles
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Sikkim west by shared jeep, 6 nights
Shared jeeps and local taxis
4 places
Where to go
Photo: Tushar2486 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Lachen
The Lachenpa village on the road to Gurudongmar
Photo: Indrajit Das · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Lachung
A valley village of the Lachungpas, base for Yumthang
Photo: Kothanda Srinivasan · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Yuksom
Sikkim's first capital and the trailhead for Goecha La
Photo: Tsen2006 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Zuluk
Hairpin loops on the old mule road from Kalimpong to Lhasa
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Prof Ranga Sai · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Lachen monastery above the village
Climb to the village monastery above Lachen, a Nyingma gompa at the heart of Lachenpa religious life, with painted wall…
Photo: Amitabha Gupta · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Thangu and the Chopta valley meadows
On the way to or from Gurudongmar, stop at Thangu, a small settlement at about 3,900 m, and visit the nearby Chopta val…
Photo: Amitabha Gupta · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
An evening with a Lachenpa family
Spend your Lachen night in a family homestay rather than a lodge. Sit by the kitchen stove, eat rice, dal, local greens…
Photo: Amitabha Gupta · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Morning at Lachung monastery
Walk or drive up to the village monastery above the Lachung Chu before your Yumthang trip or on a spare morning. It is …
Photo: Indrajit Das · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
A walk through Lachung village
Spend two hours walking the lanes of Lachung, across the suspension bridge and between wooden homes, orchards and small…
Photo: The original uploader was Jaiprakashsingh at E… · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Where the Teesta begins at Chungthang
On the drive to Lachung, stop at Chungthang, where the Lachen Chu and Lachung Chu meet to form the Teesta, the river th…
Photo: Kailas98 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Norbugang and Kathok lake at dawn
Walk from the bazaar to Norbugang, where the first Chogyal was consecrated in 1642, and the small Kathok lake beside it…
Photo: Rangan Datta Wiki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Hike to Dubdi, Sikkim's oldest monastery
Climb through forest for about an hour to Dubdi, founded in 1701 and counted as Sikkim's oldest monastery. A small ston…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: Indrajit Das · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Budget
Lachung village homestays
Family homes across Lachung's hamlets take guests in a few rooms each, with home-cooked dinners and breakfasts. Th…
Photo: Kothanda Srinivasan · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Budget
Yuksom village homestays
Small family homestays and lodges around Yuksom's bazaar and on the village edges offer simple rooms, home-cooked …
Photo: Tsen2006 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Budget
Zuluk village homestays
Zuluk has no hotels; family homestays in the village and nearby hamlets host Silk Route travellers with simple roo…
Homestays and villages elsewhere