After rain and thunderstorm last night,
it was bit cold morning but voila.. SUNNY MORNING WITH LOTS OF HAZY VIEW...and
we were happy. A sad news was that no permit for Tsomgo Lake/Baba mandir &
Nathula pass was issued today. Although we gave our id proofs/photos to hotel
guy to arrange for permit for tomorrow, if possible. Our cab was right on time
at 8:00 AM and we started our GGTK sightseeing.
We reached the first sightseeing
point i.e. Flower Show Nursery but
it was closed and would open by 9 AM. Our driver advised us that he will come
back later and we went straight to Hanuman
Tok the highest point in GGTK. It was small temple maintained by Army. Cold
floor (socks must), Views were hazy due last night rain but kids enjoyed ice
still lying there for some time.
Hanuman TOK
Next we reached Ganesh TOK Temple in no time. It was again small little Ganesha temple and on entrance traditional dresses were rented out by many. We did not wore any dresses by visited temple and souvenir shop and had nice snaps around there. Rested for some time in parking lot restaurant and had nice hot tea there. The Zoo was right there in front of temple, but driver told us that Darjeeling Zoo is much better (which we were supposed to go later), so we skipped the same.
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| Ganesh Tok Temple |
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| Parking and Zoo View from Temple |
Enroute to our next point, we visited Plant Conservatory (Jawaharlal Nehru Botanical Garden) which our driver recommended. Due to season time, lots of flower were in full bloom and the place was quite scenic and worth time spending for an hour or so. My younger kid played with some ice due to thunderstorm last night. Entry Fees: Rs20 /pp
The next was the Tashi View point visit. Good stairs to
climb, the point had quite a crowd but enjoyable. Few snaps and souvenir shop
was order of the day. Despite sunny day, view was very hazy but nice point to
spend some time.
After high altitude points we
drove to lower hills and visited our next point Banjahkri Waterfalls and was magnificent. Though parking chaos was there but we got down
early and saw the waterfall’s phenomenal gushing water, lots of place for snaps & wonderful views. Adventure activities , small pond for boating and big face masks idols
absolute picture perfect. We enjoyed a lot and ate some momos and rested for some time. Entry Fees: Rs50 /pp + Car Parking+ Camera Fee
(Rs 10)
The furtherst point for sightseeing was Ranka Monastry which was one of biggest and oldest as we heard. Enroute we saw Paragliding point and big landing ground down the valley and lots of shops which offered the same. Our family was not much fan of heights, we skipped the same. Also enroute was the Khangchendzonga tourist complex but it was closed due to some reason so we went straight to Ranka Monastry. Just before monastry the roads(2-3 kms) were non-existent and was quite a bumpy ride.
We reached Ranka Monastry at
around 1 PM and Voila it was big. Kids were hungry so we went to restaurant
within Monastry premises (in front of Car parking). It was good restaurant and
served everything, cold drinks, momos, noodles, basic north Indian etc. Once done we roam around the monastery, which
was huge. Went to main prayer complex, and other places. Purchased some souvenirs from shop as well.
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| Ranka Restaurant |
Ranka Monastry
After spending an hour or so in monastry, and driving for 30-35 mins back, we went to next sightseeing points within GGTK City i.e Cable Car ride. It was chaotic and crowdy but we managed to ride (short ride of 10 mins) after some waiting moments. Fees: Rs110 /pp + 70 for Child, Total Rs 400
Adjacent was Namgayal Institute of Tibetology and was a nice complex to visit.
Tickets given was just like picture postcard and was nice concept. We spent
some time in complex and was nice to see museum with old Buddhist artefacts.
A few meters away was steeeeep walk to Do Doral Chortan Stupa and a small prayer hall. Spent some time there and monks were nice to offer Coffee to everybody. This was our last sightseeing point for the day.
It was 4 PM, we asked our driver to drop at M G Marg. We tried several Café like Baker’s Café and restaurants (Dragon Wok etc.). But rain poured heavily in evening which let us to abandon our Lal bazar walk. We went to Apt and prayed for permit issue tomorrow and retired for the day.
Todays's Expense:
1. Gangtok Sightseeing (10 points) : Rs 2000 / WagonR
Tips:
1. Start Early as Hills have early sunny mornings & sudden rainy evenings.
2. Decide you points to visit & rates upfront .
Important Links
1. Gangtok Weather Update
http://14.139.247.11/citywx/city_weather.php?id=42299
2. Tsomgo/ Nathula Permit update by Karma ji
https://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowTopic-g297673-i11193-k10303166-o500-Road_Status-Sikkim.html
3. Shared Taxi Booking (Bagdogra - GGTK)
https://www.wizzride.com/index.php
4. Wealth of Planning Info About GGTK/Darjeeling
https://www.darjeeling-tourism.com
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