X

Get FREE Email Updates

Sign Up

Dave's Travel Corner

Seeing the World One Step at a Time

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Guides
  • Journals
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Links
  • Interviews
  • About

above the clouds

International Travel and Lifestyle Blog


Possible Himalayan Trek to Sikkim

November 27, 2012 by Dave2 Comments

Yak Tsangmo Lake I’ve been to India several times already; earlier this year I secured a 10 year multiple entry visa, for more exploring within this amazing country. We visited Chennai in July for my sister’s wedding – as expected, the weather was hot and humid – frequent dips in the pool made the weather more bearable. It was nice to visit Southern India for the first time – although we were missing the mountains.

A few years ago we got to experience the chaos of New Delhi – we flew in to the fog covered city at the end of January. Leaving the airport was such a challenge – you could only literally see a few feet in front of you due to the dense fog and traffic was backed up severely getting into the city. Needing to leave the chaos and challenges of navigating Delhi in a big way, we flew up to the culturally rich town of Varanasi.

From Varanasi we headed north to the Himalayas which brings me to the point of this post. We fell in love with McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala and the beautiful trekking in the mountains in this region. Our time in the Himalayas were one of the highlights of that trip. Recently my sister and her husband began planning what looks like an awesome trek to the Sikkim province nestled between Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet in far Eastern India. I’ve seen the pictures of the region – they cause immediate salivation – jagged ice covered peaks, the tallest mountains on earth tower to dizzying heights. This trek approaches Kanchenjunga (28,169′), the 3rd highest mountain in the world. Just do an image search on Google for “Sikkim trekking”!

Their planned trek (in March) is fairly accelerated reaching a maximum elevation of above 16,000 feet. I have a history of suffering from severe altitude sickness – carried down by a lady on her back all day in Nepal’s Himalayas, ending up in a HAP pressure bag near the top of Kilimanjaro, numerous times in the Andes so weak I couldn’t walk etc etc – the list goes on, not a pretty picture. So needless to say I have some reservations about this trek – however I may try to arrive early and spend 10 days acclimatizing in nearby Nepal. This weakness for altitude is not fun, and certainly not cheap either. The only way around it is to spend significant time ahead of a climb/high trek – going up to higher elevations slowly during the day and coming back down to sleep at the lower elevations.

We would fly into New Delhi. From there the domestic flights look fairly reasonably priced and we would catch a flight east to the closest commercial airport in India to Sikkim which is Bagdogra.

Here is a panorama photo my sister’s husband whittled together from his last trip to this region – about 20 years ago.

Related posts:

The High Life, McLeod Ganj Nepal Nepal – The Trek Nepal – The Flight Huaraz, Peru – Ishinca Trek

Filed Under: Asia · Tagged: Airport, Andes, Chennai, Himalayas, History, India, Mountain Climbing, Nepal, Traffic, Trekking, Visa, Walking tour, Wedding

Comments

  1. Arti says

    November 30, 2012 at 9:17 pm

    Sikkim is a place which has eluded me so far. Its a beautiful place from all that I have seen or heard.

  2. Todd says

    December 7, 2012 at 1:23 am

    This part of India looks beautiful. Especially, if somebody loves mountains, like me. But, I don’t know yet, whether I have problems with altitude…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Want an avatar to show with your comments? Get a free Gravatar

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow @DaveDTC

Get FREE Email Updates  I

Categories

Member, Professional Organizations

International Travel Writers Alliance
Travel Massive

Recent Comments

  • Brandy Garner on Gold Country, CA – Greeley Hill
  • Barry Burbidge on Colima, Mexico – Festivals
  • Robert L. Evans on The Taste At Koi Garden Cafe
  • Camille Winslow on San Luis Obispo, CA – More Info
  • Ayon on How to find escorts in London

Latest Posts

  • Russ Hedge, CEO of Hostelling International USA
  • Wine, Dine and Unwind this February During Walla W…
  • Cafe Artisanal Cirpes, Colombia – February 2…
  • A Most Memorable Experience: Swimming with Pigs in…
  • Wild Birds by Daniel Baylis

Explore

  • Above the Clouds
  • Guides
  • Highlight of the Month
  • Interviews
  • Journals
  • Press Releases
  • Videos

Prepare

  • Book Reviews
  • Pack List
  • Quiz: Geography
  • Quiz: Travel
  • Tour Booking
  • Travel Insurance
  • Travel Products

Share

  • Contribute
  • Forums
  • Links
  • Photos

About

  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Contributors
  • Email Dave
  • Media Coverage
  • Media Kit
Hi I'm Dave. After a life changing trip in 1996, I began this site as a creative outlet to educate, inspire and share travel experiences. Read more...
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Return to top of page
Copyright © 1996–2023 Dave's Travel Corner · All Rights Reserved · Log in

7ads6x98y