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How to get there:
Gangtok, the
capital of Sikkim is connected by all weather road to Darjeeling,
Kalimpong, Siliguri and also to all the District headquarters
within Sikkim. Two nearest railway station are at Siliguri (114 km)
and New Jalpaiguri (125 km) stabilizing link to Calcutta, Delhi, Guwahati, Lucknow and other important cities in India. Nearest
airport is Bagdogra in North Bengal( 124 km).
By Flight :The closest Indian Airport is at Bagdogra,124
km from Gangtok, where scheduled flights operates to and fro from Kolkata,
Delhi, Guwahati.
| Air Fare: |
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Indian Airlines |
Jet Airways |
| Bagdogra - Kolkata : |
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Rs. 4065 /- |
Rs. 4310 /- |
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Bagdogra - Delhi :
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Rs. 8570 /-
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Rs. 8570 /- |
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Bagdogra - Guwahati :
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Rs. 2445 /-
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Rs. 2445 /- |
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Click here
for the Air Timings |
Travel time from the airport to Gangtok is 4
hours by road. Bagdogra Airport is 11 km west of
Siliguri.
Indian Airlines,
Siliguri
(Phone : 431-509;
Fax: 431-495;
Airport: 450-666)
and
Jet Airways, Siliguri (Phone
:435-876; Airport : 450-589) A taxi from
airport to Siliguri is Rs.140.
From the airport you can get a taxi to Bagdogra Bazaar (Rs. 40,
3 km) and from there, you can get a local bus to Siliguri too.
From Katmandu, fly to Bhadrapur in the east
Nepal(1 hour), then drive to Kakarbhitta (Nepal-India border,35 km),
to Siliguri(37 km) and to Gangtok (110 km, 4 hrs). Or fly to Biratnagar also in east Nepal.
Helicopter Service: The Bagdogra airport
is connected to Gangtok by a helicopter service which takes
approx. 30 minutes to reach Gangtok.
Sikkim Tourism Development
Corporation(+91-3592-222634) operates this service daily at 11:00
AM from Gangtok to Bagdogra and at 2:00 PM from Bagdogra to
Gangtok at a price of Rs.1500/- per person. It is a five seater
chopper and mountain flights and other
such tours to North Sikkim are conducted.
By Rail : The closest Railhead is at New Jalpaiguri
which is around 148 km away from Gangtok. It is connected to
Kolkata(Calcutta), New
Delhi, Guwahati and other major Indian cities.
Click here for the Train Timings
From the station
you can hire and reserve a taxi and came to Gangtok. That will cost you
around Rs.1500/-. Or you can come in a pejo( jeep) on sharing
basis. That will cost you Rs.120/- per person.
By Road : Gangtok is at a distance of 110 km from Siliguri
and will take 4 hours from Siliguri to reach Gangtok . Gangtok is
connected by road with Darjeeling (4 hrs), and with Bhutan, Phuntsholing (6
hrs).
Foreigners Entry Formalities:
Visa & Permits : In addition to an Indian visa,
foreigners must obtain Inner Line Permit (ILP) to visit
Sikkim. The permits can be obtained from all Indian missions,
Tourism Office, New Delhi, Sikkim Tourism Office, Calcutta and
Sikkim Tourism Office, Siliguri on the strength of an Indian Visa.
Foreigners are issued a permit for initial
period of 15 days duration on the spot without any delay provided
photocopies of Passport and Visa details along with two passport
photos of applicants are made available then and there. It can be
extended for further 30 days of 15 days each. The extension of
permits can be obtained from Foreigners Registration Office(FRO), Gangtok
and Superintendent of
Police of North, South and West Districts.
The FRO is
located at Kazi Road, Gangtok. Phone no 223041
For those interested in going for trekking
in the interior regions of the state, you also require a
Restricted Area Permit (RAP) OR Protected Area Permit(PAP) which
is obtainable in Gangtok from the Police Check Post and Department
of Tourism which is available
for certain specified area for groups consisting of 4 or more
foreigners subject to the condition that the trekking program is
arranged through a registered travel agency.
NOTE#
This permit is issued
to LOCAL GOVERNMENT REGISTERED TRAVEL AGENTS ONLY. While
travelling in Sikkim don't forget to get your passport stamped at
all check posts.
Best Season to Visit : March to June and September to
December
Adventure Sports :
Trekking, mountaineering, rafting and yak safari
Where to Stay :
There are number of categories of hotels,
resorts, lodges and guest houses in Gangtok and in other
tourist destinations within the State to suit the taste and budget
of individual tourist. Click here for more
info.
Where to Eat :
To find out more about where to eat in Gangtok
click here...
Things to Do :
• Adventure
Sports
• Monastic & Pilgrimage Tours
• White
Water Rafting & Kayaking
• Bird
watching & Wildlife Tours
• Mountaineering
• Trekking
• Sight Seeing
• Speciality
and Indigenous Tours
• Fishing and Angling
• Yoga, Health & Rejuvenation
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