Visits to SHILLONG( The Scotland of the East), GANGTOK (The Gateway to the Sikkim)& DARJEELING (The Queen of Himalayas)

Posted byDhirendra S ChauhanPosted inUncategorized
  • SHILLONG
  • GANGTOK
  • SEVEN SISTER FALLS
  • NATHU LA PASS
  • HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINEERING INSTITUTE
  • DARJEELING HIMALAYAN RAILWAY

We undertook a 10-days family tour to Shillong,Gangtok & Darjeeling from 28/09/06 to 07/10/06thoroughly enjoying the panoramas of their spectacular& alluring views .

(I)DAY-1&2: SHILLONG TOUR –

Shillong is nestled between the paradisaical Garo & Khasi hills. It is the abode of clouds with sparkling waterfalls, lakes. Visited the 7 sisters falls symbolizing the 7 north- eastern sister states. Went to the Mawsynram village of Khasi hills having the max rainfall recorded at 11,872mm in peak monsoon in India followed by Cherrapunji recording 11,430mm in peak season.Also visited the Elephant falls,Don Bosco museum, Golf course, Shillong peak & the exciting Mosmai caves .

  • SHILLONG
  • ELEPHANT FALL
  • MOSMAI CAVES ,SHILLONG
  • SEVEN SISTER FALLS

About SHILLONG.

SHILLONG is a very cool and pleasant hill station,the capital of Meghalaya and H/q of Khasi hills district often referred to as Scotland of the east.It is located between the Brahmputra and Surma valleys. SHILLONG was the capital of undivided Assam till creation of new state of Meghalaya on 21.1.72 with its capital SHILLONG. Assam then shifted its capital to Dispur. SHILLONG lies on the SHILLONG plateau 100 KM from Guwahati. Nearest airport is Umroi at 30 KM but has limited flights including Calcutta. It is well connected by road: NH 40 to Guwahati and NH 44/44A to Tripura and Mizoram. Religion: Christian- 46.5%, Hinduism – 42%, Islam 4.5% and Sikkim/Buddhism and Jainism – 6.9%. View Gangtok from nearly Ganesh tok point. Sports: Golf. Education: IIM, NE Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Medical Sciences. NIT, NIFT, SHILLONG Law college, newspaper in English and Khasi. Important location: Indian Air Force and Police bazar, very populous territory .Important personalities – Amita Malik, Anwaruddin Chaudhary, Arundhati Roy. Incidentally Dr APJ Abdul Kalam passed away in SHILLONG on 27.7.2015.

(ii ) GANGTOK Visit :

Most popularly known as Hill Top, the beautiful hill station is the Gateway to Sikkim .Gangtok is very alluring ,pleasantly boisterous covered with clouds ,gives a spectacular view of Mt Kanchengjunga near Zemu glacier at an altitude of 8598mts.It is also the base for trekkers to Himalayan ranges. It has mesmerizing prismatic beauty with winding hilly roads if seen from a birds view or in a cable car .River Teesta is one of the best location for water rafting in the NE.

  • MAA KAMAKHYA DEVI, GUWAHATI
  • TSHANGU LAKE
  • TSHANGU LAKE
  • TSHANGU LAKE

DAY-3&4–

Travelled from Shillong to Gangtok via Guwahati visiting Mata Kamakhya devi mandir !At Gangtok we visited the local spots such as MG Road , Namgyal Institute of Tibetology. DAY-5

Visited Nathula pass ,Tshangu lake, Baba mandir , Tsomgo lake ,Tashi view point, Rumteck monastery. DAY-6&7

Took a fabulous & breathtaking tour of Lachung valley,Yungthang valley ,Seven sisters lake & Zero Point.

About GANGTOK:

It is the largest town &capital of Sikkim& headquarter of East Sikkim distt at 1650 mts altitude.It has mild temperatures all around the year. Populated with different ethenicities -Bhutias,Lepchas,Indian Gorkhas.It is center of Sikkims tourism Industry. Official language are English Bhutia, Lapcha, Nepali. In 1975,after after integration with Union of India, Gangtok was made India’s 22nd state capital .Most popular monastery is Enchey monastery built in 1840.River Teesta is the lifeline of Gangtok.MG Road is main shopping & cultural centers of Gangtok .Ecotourism is new theme generating crores of revenue. The cottage industry & Agriculture offer new opportunities for Agritourism. TRANSPORT: cable car,NH 31A,nearest railhead is -New Jalpaiguri. Pakyong Airport isa greenfield Airport near Gangtok. CULTURE : Namgyal Institute of Tibetology ,State museum. MAJOR festivals: the new year Losar with devil dances in Jan-Feb, Nepali festivals are Chotrul Duchen . Buddha Jayanti is celebrated apart from birthdays of other Gurus. Popular food are Momos ,wai wai, Thupka , chowmin,Thenthuk, Fakthu, Gyathuk, wonton. SPORTS: Football, cricket ,Archery. Thangka ,handicraft ,Chhaams are costumed monastic dances on ceremonies & festive season especially on the Tibetan new year.

Day 8 –

Travelled from Gangtok to Darjeeling which is popularly called the Queen of Himalayas. Visited the famous rock garden and Ganga maiya .

  • YUMTHANG VALLEY

  • TEA PLANTATION IN DARJEELING
  • PEACE PAGODA
  • GHOOM
  • SUNRISE AT TIGER HILL
  • VIEW OF KANCHENJUNGA PEAK FROM TIGER HILL

(iii)Day-9 DAJEELING TOUR –

Visit to the Tigerhill (Sunrise point- with a panoramic view of Mt. Everest & Mt . Kanchenjunga together ),Tea plantation, ropeway cable-car, Darjeeling war memorial, Himalayan Mountaineering Institute .Tigerhill is the summit of Ghoom- the highest railway station of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

About DARJEELING

At 2050 Mtrs altitude, it is HQ of Darjeeling district located in lesser Himalayas known for tea industry, views of Kanchenjunga , Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (a UNESCO world heritage site). It is partially autonomous state of WB and a popular tourist destination. LANGUAGE :Bengali and Nepali. Until 19th century Darjeeling was controlled by Sikkim. Its history is intertwined with sikkim, Nepal, British India and Bhutan. Darjeeling was settled through Suhauli treaty-1816.RELIGION: Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity. FESTIVALS :Dashain, Tihar ,Losar, Buddha jayanti ,Christmas, new year called Losar in Jan/Feb. CULTURE: Peace Pagoda-1962 built by Japanese-Buddhist organization, Tibetan Refugee Self Help centre. Many Nepali Hindus & various Buddhist and other ethnic groups such as Lepchas ,Bhutias etc. have their own languages and culture and yet share a largely harmonious co-existence.

LOCAL CUSINE :

Momos,thugpa,soyabin bambooshoots,rice-roti,butter tea&Tongpa-an alcoholic drink.

Day 10 – Darjeeling to Jalpaiguri

Travelled by toy train popularly called the Darjeeling Himalayan Rail (D.H.R). It was a fantastic & exciting joy ride equally enjoyed by children & the grown ups. We concluded our memorable& mesmerizing tour on a very happy and joyous note.

Published by Dhirendra S Chauhan

I am a travel enthusiast from Jaipur, India always full of curiosity to explore new places marked by some cultural, geographical & historical significance around the globe. Also I love visiting places full of adventure/mystery & have undertaken many amazing trekking expeditions to difficult locations needing toughness of body, soul &the spirit. I have explored most of Indian states/UTs to learn about their culture,had cultural exchange with people & learnt to respect their religious beliefs/customs.In September 2019, we went on our first foreign trip(50 days)to Netherlands, France, Belgium& Switzerland.Again in July 2022 ,we got a chance to visit Europe & have visited(75-day trip)Italy ,Portugal, Germany,Spain & Vatican city. The trips were full of amazing monuments,natural landscapes & places of great scenic beauty.Enjoyed the visit enormously.Having traveled so much I felt like travel blogging & here I am doing just that !Apart from travel-blogging I also like poetry. Basically I am an Electrical Engineer retired recently from Central Govt. Service after serving for 38 yrs. Meanwhile I have completed my Master of Social Work degree to pursue my Social obligations towards my fellow beings & am engaged in rendering Social Services to the needy &the disadvantaged ! Also I will like to pursue my new-found interest/hobby of writing Travelogues to benefit my readers by providing max. details like statistics, demography, historical origin, way of life , professions , languages spoken & the culture/customs associated with any place. While enjoying any tourist place, I simply advocate that one must also try to learn about the place. I travel and then share the collected information with the potential traveler .Hence the name of my site - Travel and share.😊

32 thoughts on “Visits to SHILLONG( The Scotland of the East), GANGTOK (The Gateway to the Sikkim)& DARJEELING (The Queen of Himalayas)”

  2. Enjoyed reading the article above , really explains everything in detail,the article is very interesting and effective.Thank you and good luck for the upcoming articles

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    1. Exactly! I have tried to be a bit realistic with personal photos posted alongside the beautiful locations to enhance the imagination of the reader!As the story goes ” The beauty lies in the eyes of the onlooker though the spots are normal

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  10. Well described bewitching views of Andaman islands. It inspires us to travel and feel the bliss of being to places with rich history.

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  11. It feels so lively to read such simple, yet beautiful descriptions of Gangtok as if I ‘m already part of those little described moments.

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    1. Thanks beta for your encouraging nice comments! If you undertake one tour per year cutting off from the daily monotonous routines then you feel rejuvenated to perform a lot better thereon !It is an accomplished fact! So keep following/commenting on my blog and inspire me to write better!

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  14. Very well written blog!
    Your trips all over India and abroad have been simply marvelous.
    May the travel bug take you to other parts of this world!

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  15. Thanks Chitra for the marvelous comments! Without friends’ wishes and blessings, it would not be possible for me to venture into the field of travel blogging! I request you to keep following/ commenting on my blog!Thanks again!

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  16. No doubt its beautifully documented but restoration is much more daunting task as compared to travelling. Appreciate your efforts. It was a memorable trip. Cherapunji’s funnel shaped topography was most interesting place to visit responsible for highest rainfall.

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    1. Ya ,it was a daunting task but accomplished nicely! For that matter anything in life can be daunting unless you immerse yourself fully in the task at hand! You yourself have done it and you know better!Of course it was a memorable trip! Keep commenting, keep encouraging ,dear!

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  17. Fantastic blog !! So well written . Encourages readers to step out and see the world . Also the pictures speaks of the fun and joy you have while travelling as a family .

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thanks Aakanksha for the lovely comments !A family trip facilitates all round enjoyment(internal as well as external enjoyment )while the solo tour provides only internal happiness!External enjoyment comes from seeing someone happy! Thats my personal opinion and not binding on anyone! The only drawback in family tour is that the manager enjoys the scenic landscapes the least being immersed in ticketing,time schedules and financial implications !But then there are ways out! Everyone has to be sensitive and alert! And that is what is called family !Happy Reading !

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  19. ya , you are damn right in pointing out about the realistic approach of a writer and the intent of the reader to visualize a particular scenario with closed eyes and an open mind.Thanks &keep following pl

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  20. Very well written sir. Such beautiful pics and detailed information. Your blogs are so informative and makes me realise that we have so many beautiful places to explore in our country. Thank you.

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  22. Minutely described things are certainly going to help me plan my trips and help me know so much more before I travel.Very nice

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