So, we had included Pelling travel in our short Sikkim tour itinerary along with Kaluk. As this beautiful town is one of the most visited places in West Sikkim, it's not difficult to find a great Pelling travel guide, which details the hotels, homestays, and places of attraction. We went through some of these Pelling Travel Guides on the internet and planned our trip based on them.
History of Pelling
The Pelling travel guides say this town and Yuksom, which is not far from here and is considered as one of the major attractions, are among the major historical places in Sikkim. Pelling was established during the British rule in India by a person named Freddie Pelling. Yuksom was established as the first capital of Sikkim in 1642. At that time, Pelling was considered the second capital of the state. The Rabdentse Ruins stand witness to the time when the royal family used to spend their time there. The Rabdentse Palace was used until 1814 A.D., until the Nepalese invasion.
From Kaluk to Pelling
We started from the quaint and quiet village of Kaluk early in the morning. The journey from Kaluk to Pelling is not a long one. Although Kaluk to Pelling distance is 43 kilometers, you have to drive cautiously along the meandering roads of the mountains. So, the time taken to cover this distance usually ranges from one and a half hours to two hours. On the way, we visited some of the tourist attractions, which include:
- SDDPL Alpine Cheese Factory at Dentam
- Changey Waterfalls
After staying in the SDDPL Alpine Cheese Factory at Dantam and at Changey Waterfalls for a while, we moved on with our journey.
Best Time to Visit Pelling
While some people consider summer as the best time to visit Pelling, to many it is winter. Spring is also quite beautiful in this town in West Sikkim and is one of the best times to visit Pelling. The time of the Khangchendzonga Festival is also the best time to visit Pelling. This festival is celebrated in the town with grandeur from 24th December to 26th December every year.
During this time, you can enjoy multiple adventure sports, such as rafting and kayaking on the Rimbi river. Rafting in Pelling is, in fact, quite popular and a number of adventure-loving tourists love the experience of rafting on Rimbi river. However, the weather in this town offers different types of enjoyment during various months of the year. Therefore, any time can be considered to be the best time to visit Pelling. However, only monsoon is not the best time to visit Pelling, as there are chances of landslides during that time.
Summer
Summer in Pelling starts in March and continues till May. It is also considered the best time to visit Pelling. If you're planning Pelling travel, the weather will be on your side. The temperature remains between 7 Degree Celsius and 25 Degree Celsius, enabling tourists to go sightseeing during their Pelling travel and enjoy a few adventure sports.
Winter
Another best time to visit Pelling is Winter, which lasts from November to February. These months here are chilly and the town experiences low temperatures. There are strong winds that add to the cold weather. However, the weather remains clear, ensuring that Kanchenjunga and the other peaks can be viewed without any problem. There is also occasional snowfall in Pelling during winter.
Monsoon
The town experiences heavy torrential rainfall between the months of July and September. It surely looks amazing to stare at the rains on the mountains from inside a room. However, the rains result in a few landslides. Besides, it's difficult to go around sightseeing while it's pouring heavily. Therefore, most Pelling travel guides will also ask you to avoid monsoon in these mountains.
How to Reach Pelling
While planning how to reach Pelling from Kaluk, we booked a cab and traveled to this mesmerizing town in West Sikkim. However, if you're planning Pelling travel, you have to know how to reach Pelling. You can visit this town in West Sikkim from various places. When you're planning how to reach Pelling, you can visit a few major places from where this place is well connected. You can consult a few Pelling travel guides to find out how to reach Pelling.
Some of the places from which visitors come to this place are Darjeeling, Siliguri, NJP Railway Station, and Gangtok. So, even if you're planning a short trip to Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, you can always plan Pelling travel, if time permits.
How to Reach Pelling from Siliguri
Siliguri, the town in North Bengal, is one of the major points from where you can travel to different places in Sikkim.
Wondering how to reach Pelling from Siliguri?
It's not difficult at all. To reach this town from Siliguri, you have to hire a car either from outside Siliguri Bus Stand or outside the New Jalpaiguri Railway Station.
How to Reach Pelling from Gangtok
If you're looking for how to reach Pelling from Gangtok, you will find multiple options. Pelling is situated at a distance of 115 kilometers from the state capital of Gangtok. You can travel from Gangtok to Pelling by hiring a private taxi or a shared taxi from the taxi stand Gangtok. It takes around four hours to reach Pelling from Gangtok. It costs about INR 4000 to hire a taxi from Gangtok to Pelling. You can also get shared taxis from Gangtok to Pelling. These shared taxis from Gangtok carry 10 passengers and charge INR 350 from each of them.
How to Reach Pelling from Darjeeling
Darjeeling is another town in West Bengal from where you can plan your Pelling travel. Darjeeling to Pelling distance is a little more than 70 kilometers. If you are thinking how to reach Pelling from Darjeeling, you have only one option. You can hire a car from Darjeeling and drive through Jorethang and Legship. It takes about 3 hours to reach Pelling from Darjeeling.
Reaching Pelling
This town in West Sikkim is situated across three different levels:
- Upper Pelling
- Middle Pelling
- Lower Pelling
These levels refer to the altitude through which the town is planned. Although Mount Kanchenjunga is visible from various parts of the town, the Upper level, of course, offers the best views. We drove from Kaluk and moved from Upper Pelling through the middle and lower levels of the town to reach the homestay we had booked.
Where to Stay
For lodging, there are multiple options. You can find various hotels as well as homestays where you can book your lodging. The prices at these hotels range from low, reasonable options to high. You can select one of these hotels according to your budget.
We had booked a homestay - Martam Luxury Farmhouse, an enchanting farmhouse offering a wide range of amenities and fresh food.
While booking a hotel is not difficult, you can do a bit of research beforehand. Most of the hotels have digital presence. Therefore, searching for the hotels online will help you find some information about them. It will be really helpful if you can check out a few pictures and also ensure that the hotel that you're booking offers excellent view of Kanchenjunga and other mountains from the room.
Our Stay at Martam Luxury Farmhouse, Tikjuk
This spacious and delightful farmhouse is located at Tikjuk. The Martam Farmhouse offers a luxurious stay at an affordable cost. The hosts offer an extremely warm welcome.
The food offered at this homestay is derived from its own farm and hence, is extremely fresh and tasty. However, you won't be able to get a view of Kanchenjunga from the rooms of Martam Farmhouse. Nevertheless, if you're visiting this serene town in West Sikkim, booking Martam Luxury Farmhouse in Tikjuk for a cozy stay can be a great option.
Local Attractions
Pelling is one of the oldest places in Sikkim and also among the most beautiful ones. There is a plethora of tourist attractions here. We visited a couple of attractions while coming from Kaluk. After reaching, we hired a cab from there to visit the remaining tourist attractions.
We started early in the morning and went for local sightseeing. Almost all the places of tourist attractions in Pelling offer excellent views of the Himalayan mountain range and help you spend time close to nature. There are also several places of historical interest. Some of these include:
- Kanchenjunga Falls: A beautiful waterfall hidden from the roads behind the large mountains almost gives the joy of discovering something amazing once you reach it from the road. We alighted a plight of stairs of about 50 steps to reach the spot from where we could see this stunning, double-pronged waterfall. The sun's rays on the water formed a beautiful rainbow right on the waterfall. No wonder this waterfall is considered the highlight of Pelling travel along with the view of Mount Kanchenjunga in most of the Pelling travel guides.
- Changey Waterfalls: A smaller waterfall, which is almost equally beautiful, welcomed us after we had covered a really rough road.
- SDDPL Alpine Cheese Factory: We visited this cheese factory, which offers insights into cheese processing and creation.
- Sidkeong Tulku Bird Park: We had a quick look at this small park for bird lovers before going for the Rabdantse Ruins.
- Rabdentse Ruins: The ruins of the second capital of the erstwhile Kingdom of Sikkim. This place remained as the capital of the Kingdom from 1670 to 1814, until it was destroyed by Gorkhas who invaded Rabdentse from Nepal. Winter is the best time to visit Pelling if you're looking to visit Rabdentse Ruins, as you have to walk a distance to reach this place. It took us over half an hour of strenuous hiking on a trodden path to reach these magnificent ruins of the ancient palace.
- Sang-Ngag Choling Monastery: When we visited the Sang-Ngag Choling Monastery or the Sange Choeling Monastery, we were spellbound by the amazing history and the beauty of this place. Founded long back in 1697, this Monastery still holds the beautiful and enchanting clay statues that date back to the 17th Century.
- Skywalk Pelling: Love thrill? Then the Sangacholi Skywalk, which is India's first skywalk, is the perfect place for you. The Pelling Skywalk, located just beside the Sang-Ngag Choling Monastery, is a glass-bottom bridge to go to the 137-feet tall Chenrezig statue. We could view the gorge below us while walking on this Skywalk made of glass. The ticket to the Skywalk costs INR 50 for each person.
- Pemayangtse Monastery: We loved this monastery, which is one of the most important monasteries of the state, for the blend of history and natural beauty it offers.
- Rimbi Waterfall: This is an enchanting waterfall formed by river Rimbi.
- Rimbi Orange Garden: We had a great time in this orange garden located on the banks of River Rimbi, not far from the Rimbi Waterfall. There's also a small homestay, the Orange River Homestay, which can be booked to stay in this beautiful place.
- Khecheopalri Lake: This lake, one of the most beautiful lakes of the region, is sacred for both the Hindu and the Buddhist communities. The beauty of this lake and the surrounding ambiance felt like a welcome breeze after walking for about 20 minutes on a rock-paved road through a silent forest.
- Singshore Bridge: This bridge offers an amazing view of the deep gorge below it. This is Asia's second-highest bridge, located at a height of over 100 meters, on the way to Uttarey, Sikkim. We crossed the bridge on foot and enjoyed a plate of hot chicken momo and piping hot coffee in a shop on the other side, while enjoying the breeze and viewing the colorful mountain.
- Geyzing Market: We ended our sightseeing tour with a bit of shopping at the Geyzing Market before heading back to Martam Farmhouse for our night stay.
Bidding Adieu!
Early next morning, it was time to say goodbye to Pelling. So, we hired a car for the airport. It took us about five hours to reach Bagdogra Airport to catch our flight back to Kolkata.
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