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Temi Tea Gardens Pelling was the last leg of our journey and we were already sad that this awesome trip was soon coming to an end. Pelling is a small but beautiful town in Western Sikkim. On the way to Sikkim we saw the magnificent Kanchengunja Waterfalls, Temi Tea Gardens & the Chaar Dhaam Temple. The  Temi Tea Garden , is located in and is the only tea garden in Sikkim. Tea from here is considered one of the best in India and in the world and is in demand in the international market. The garden is laid over a gradually sloping hill. The tea produced here follows the organic methods issued by the Institute of Marketology (IMO) of Switzerland  and is marketed under the trade name “Temi Tea”. This organic tea is gaining demand in many foreign nations like China & Japan.

First Snowfall of our lives,,, Zero point/ Yumesamdong is  further 1.5 hours ride from the Yumthang Valley. Zero point- as the names suggests, is the place where the road ends-is the last outpost of civilization and there is no road after this. It is situated at an altitude of 15,300 ft. The place very close to the Indo Chinese border & hence special permit is required in advance to visit this place. Again your tour guide will help you with the same. Zero Point is also the place where three rivers meet with snow-clad mountains in the vicinity offering some thrilling views. The ride between Yumthang valley & zero point is just 25 kms but still takes more than an hour due to the difficult terrain & unpredictable weather. Due to the high altitude of Zero Point, oxygen in the air is low and there can be breathing problems for few. There is hardly any vegetation in Zero point as it remains snow covered for the most of the year but still, you can s...

Sikkim has always been on my wishlist and it was wonderful. It took me long to finally go there as it takes at least 10 days to cover this place & a lot of effort to coordinate leaves with others in the group :P After my delivery, I had tried planning this trip many times but kept on delaying it as I wasn’t sure of Viraaj’s altitude sickness and hectic schedule in hilly terrains. Finally came the time I could tick off this beautiful destination off my bucket list as I had 10 day block leave (bankers can relate) to be utilized & also because my Mom & Sister accompanied me which made handing Viraaj very easy (this time Viraaj and I were the baggage they were carrying :P). Tip: Group trips are good when you travel with kids because you have others to help you manage the baby You can book your tour through the famous travel websites, but their charges are exorbitant. I would highly recommend you guys to book your tours through any of the local travel agents ...

Enroute Yumthang Valley The Yumthang Valley also known as Sikkim Valley of Flowers sanctuary, is a nature sanctuary with river, hot springs, yaks and grazing pasture on rolling meadows surrounded by the Himalayan mountains in the North Sikkim. It is at an elevation of 11,700 ft. During its bloom season from Feb-June, it is home to twenty-four species of the rhododendron. Yumthang valley is generally closed from December to early March due to heavy snowfall, but is gorgeous & covered with rainbow colours from Feb to May when countless flowers bloom to carpet the valley in multi-coloured hues of rainbow. All covered up Piping hot tea & maggi tastes the best in such a weather We had to start our day at 6:30 am as we were supposed to be leaving for Gangtok by afternoon. You can keep another day for Lachung if you want a more relaxing trip, however there are no markets or shopping places here but you can still walk to the village by yourself ...

Lachung is a small village in north Sikkim & your base camp for overnight stay if you want to visit the Yumthang valley & the Zero point. Most of Lachung’s inhabitants are of Lepcha, Tibetan descent and the languages spoken here are Nepali, Lepcha, and Bhutia. You can easily explore the town by foot, as it is a minuscule village filled with amazing people and serene surroundings. The same has to be however done by 5 p.m. because Lachung gets dark really early & there are rarely any street lights. The life in these villages is tough. Locals here doze off really early as they have to travel long distances to open their shops for tourists the next day. Kids have to walk for hours to reach their schools. However it is these kind & trustworthy locals of Sikkim that make you feel comfortable & welcome even in such harsh climate & terrains. The government has discontinued the sale of plastic bottled water in this region to reduce the pollution & the...

The road journey from Gangtok to Lachung is something that is difficult to be described in words. Big green mountains along the sparkling blue Teesta river & no trace of pollution! You seriously get those “Highway movie” vibes when you travel through this magical landscape. On the way you get to witness eye-catching waterfalls like Seven Sister Waterfalls, The Twin waterfalls, The Naga waterfalls, The Bhima & the Amitabh Bachhan falls (because of their tall height), which adds to the charm of the journey. The ride from Gangtok to Lachung takes good 7 hours (yes too long), so start your day on time.  Due to Lachung's proximity to China and the military presence, entry to North Sikkim is only possible on a guided tour, and a travel permit must be organised in Gangtok  1-2 days prior to travel. Your travel agent will help you with the same.  To be frank, the drive was beautiful for us adults, but a little boring and tiring for Viraaj, so I let him p...

We started our day a little early around 9:30 a.m. as the journey to Nathula pass takes around 2 hours of travel round the mountains and in the clouds (literally). The view is breathtaking and you get to pass through the clouds as soon as you take some height. The weather here is super chilly so don’t forget to take your woolens. Carry enough woolens with hand gloves & cap for your baby as the temperature drops pretty quickly. In case you forget them, you can also buy it from the small shops on the way that sell these for a very reasonable price. On the way to the Nathula Pass you get to visit Baba Mandir &Tsomgo (pronounced as Changu) Lake. The Baba Mandir is built in memory of Major Harbajan Singh who was an Indian Army soldier. It is believed that his spirit protects every soldier in the inhospitable high altitude terrain of the Eastern Himalyas. Tsomgo Lake located at an elevation of 12,300 ft, remains frozen during the winter season. The lake surf...

Beautiful & colorful Ganesh Tok temple Ganesh Tok Temple- a small & colourful Hindu temple built amongst the sweeping hilltop views. Here we posed in the traditional Sikkimese dress Bakhu.  I so wanted Viraaj to be a part of this photo-op, but he started wailing at the top of his voice and made a huge scene ! Thankfully the cute street dogs diverted Viraaj's attention :) There is a small souvenir shop at the Tok from where you can buy handmade wall hangings & Feng Shui home decor. In Bakhu :) And yes, that's a street dog ! Vacations should not be time bound & we 3 ladies made sure that happens :p We ran short of time & missed a monastery we were supposed to visit on Day 1. However our guide was sweet & promised us that he would take us there the next day.  We then got down at the mall road at around 6:30 p.m. (which actually felt like 9 p.m.) for shopping where we ate hot chicken momos & pizza for dinner, bought some wool...

Happy Me The Botanical Garden is best during February to April when the flowers are in full bloom and the garden looks like a rainbow surrounded by mountains. Even though flowers are rare in October, we could still manage some really good photographs over here. Grumpy baby :P This place like the other places in Gangtok is at a height & it was a little struggle for us to carry Viraaj till the top (so we didn’t :P). Kids generally tend not to cooperate when it comes to walking. The terrain in hills isn’t good to carry stroller, so either brain wash your kid to walk (mission impossible)  or keep yourself energized (what other option you have). One thing that might be helpful is to carry bare minimum luggage for the spots (which means only the water bottles) & leave the rest (like diapers & extra clothes) in the travel vehicle.