Journey through Eastern Himalayas

Fly from London

Depart London Heathrow on your overnight Emirates flight to Calcutta via Dubai.

Arrive Calcutta

Met upon arrival and transferred to your hotel. Stay two nights in Calcutta.

Calcutta

Today enjoy the guided tour of the major sites of Calcutta including the Botanical Gardens, Victoria Memorial and India Museum. You will also have a Glenburn experience boat cruise. [B]

Darjeeling via Bagdogra

This morning take a flight to Bagdogra. On arrival in Bagdogra, you will be transferred (3 hrs) to Darjeeling for your three night stay. Darjeeling was created by the British as a military and administrative centre to escape the heat of the plains and retains a special ambience to this day. The views of the Himalayas are stunning and there are many local attractions worthy of a visit. Darjeeling, famous around the world for tea, is also known as the ‘Queen of Hill Stations’. [B]

Darjeeling

Sightseeing tour including Tiger Hill for spectacular views of the Himalayas and the Kanchenjunga. Also visit Ghoom Monastery, the Zoological Park, Tibetan Refugee Centre and Himalayan Mountaineering institute.

After breakfast proceed to visit Tiger Hill [2590 metres] to view the sunrise and reflection on Kanchenjunga and Mt. Everest. This will be followed by the famous toy train ride upto Ghoom monastery.

Upon arrival at Ghoom you will visit the Ghoom Monastery and see the Yiga-Choling Gompa, a Yellow Hat sect Buddhist monastery. The 19th century Gompa, one of the oldest in the area, enshrines an enormous gilded statue of the Maitreya Buddha and also houses valuable Tibetan manuscripts.

In the afternoon, you will be taken for a half day sightseeing tour of Darjeeling – visiting Himalayan Mountaineering Institute. After the successful ascent of Mount Everest on the 29th May 1953, by Late Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary, the mountaineering in India got impetus. Consequently the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute was established on 04th November 1954.

Wind up your day with a visit to the Tibetan Refugee Centre – started on 1st Oct. 1959. At that time, following the dramatic escape of His Holiness Dalai Lama, thousands of Tibetans leaving hearth and home, fled into the neighbouring countries to live as free human beings. You will also have a ride in the Himalayan queen. [B,L,D]

Darjeeling

Day at Leisure. [B,L,D]

Drive to Pelling

This morning drive through beautiful countryside to the small hamlet of Pelling (4 hrs). Afternoon tour of the awe-inspiring Pemayangste Monastery, the second oldest of its kind in Sikkim, the sacred Kheopalry Lake and Rabtense Ruins. Stay at Mount Pandim. [B,L,D]

Drive to Gangtok

Today you will be driven to Gangtok, en route you will visit the 18th Tashiding Monastery (6 hrs). Gangtok (meaning ‘High Hill’) is the capital of the Sikkim state and sits on a ridge overlooking the Ranipul River. At an altitude of 1750m, Gangtok became the state capital in the mid-19th century and has undergone rapid development since then. It is a bustling, lively, city with a population made up from Nepalese, Tibetans, Bhutea and Lepcha as well as migrants from West Bengal. Spend the afternoon at leisure. Stay in Gantok for two nights. [B,L,D]

Gangtok

Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim is situated at a height of 5500 ft. You will be visiting Rumtek Monastery, the seat of the Karmapa Rinpoche; the Enchey Monastery an important seat of the Nyingmapa order; and the Do Drul Chorten and Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, the most prestigious of its kind in India. [B,L,D]

Drive to Kalimpong

Drive to Kalimpong today. Kalimpong means ‘king's ministers strong hold’, a Bhutanese word. The guided tour will include visit to the town’s three impressive Buddhist monasteries - Tharpa Choling Monastery, headed by the Dalai Lama; Thongsha Gumpha, a Bhutanese monastery and perhaps the oldest in Kalimpong; and Zong Dog Palri Fo Brang Monastery. Overnight in Klimpong. [B,L,D]

Train to Calcutta

Drive to New Jalpaiguri for an overnight train to Calcutta. [B]

Calcutta

Arrive in Calcutta, spend day at leisure and overnight. [B]

Fly to London

Fly to London with Emirates via Dubai. [B]