Darjeeling Gangtok
6 DAYS | EX KOCHI · GANGTOK AND DARJEELING
EXPERIENCES:
Return Flights via Bagdogra | Entry Tickets at All Monuments | 5 Nights on Twin Sharing | All Meals on Fixed Menu | Xylo · Innova · or Scorpio Vehicles | Fortune Tour Manager
The tea and the snows
Darjeeling Gangtok: Kanchenjunga at Dawn
Stand on Tiger Hill at first light, drive to a sacred lake high above the clouds, and walk the ridges where the world's most famous tea grows. Fortune's 6 day escorted tour runs ex Kochi into Bagdogra, with flights, entry tickets, and all meals inside the price.
Why this journey
Two Hill Queens, One Booking.
Gangtok and Darjeeling sit a morning's drive apart and belong to different worlds, which is exactly why they pair so well. Sikkim's capital brings prayer wheels and mountain calm: the Institute of Tibetology, the Do-drul Chorten, hilltop toks, and the ropeway above the town, with the high road climbing to Tsomgo Lake at 12,400 feet. Then Darjeeling answers with the British-era hill station at its best: the 4 AM pilgrimage to Tiger Hill for sunrise on the Kanchenjunga range, the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Tenzing Rock, and tea gardens rolling to the horizon. Fortune runs it escorted end to end, permits briefed and papers processed before you fly.
The tour route
Four Chapters in the Clouds.
The stops on the plan, in the order the hills deliver them.
Gangtok
Three nights in Sikkim's capital
With the flower show as available, the Cottage Industry and Handicraft Centre, the Institute of Tibetology, Do-drul Chorten, Gonjang Monastery, Hanuman Tok, Ganesh Tok, and the Gangtok Ropeway.
Tsomgo Lake and Baba Mandir
The high excursion day
To the sacred lake at 12,400 feet and on to the New Baba Mandir at 13,200, with a packed lunch on the mountain.
Darjeeling
Two nights in the tea capital
Opening with Tiger Hill at dawn, then the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, the P.N. Zoological Park, Tenzing Rock, the Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre, the tea gardens, and the Japanese Temple.
Nathula Pass, the Optional Frontier
The famous border pass can join the Tsomgo day as a supplement when Sikkim's limited permits allow
With the honest rules stated before anyone pays.
Before you go
The Hills, in brief.
Six days across Sikkim and Darjeeling, with one high altitude day, one very early morning, and winding hill roads throughout. The quick read before the climb.
The four o'clock that pays for everything
Sunrise on Kanchenjunga From Tiger Hill.
Tiger Hill
The Mountain Lights Up Before the World Does
The alarm rings at four, the cars climb in the dark, and then the reason arrives: from Tiger Hill, as the sky pales, the Kanchenjunga range catches the first sun and burns gold above the sleeping valleys, one of the great sunrises on earth. Entry runs subject to the day's permit and token, as the hill's rules require, and the group is back at the hotel for a proper breakfast before Darjeeling's full day begins. Cold hands, hot tea, and a photograph your family will frame. That is the trade, and no one has ever regretted it.
Ask for the Dates
Worth the altitude
The Lake at Twelve Thousand Feet.
Out of Gangtok, the road climbs two hours into another world: Tsomgo Lake at 12,400 feet, sacred, still, and ringed by peaks, with the New Baba Mandir another hour higher at 13,200. This is real altitude, so the day runs on a packed lunch, warm layers earn their place, and the pace stays gentle. One rule surprises everyone and matters most: the permits here accept Passport, Driving Licence, or Voter ID with passport photos, while PAN and Aadhaar cards are not accepted, so the right papers travel in your pocket. If the mountain closes the road, alternate sightseeing steps in, plainly promised.
The Fine Print, Made Simple
What the Hills Ask First.
Sikkim permits need two passport photos and a Passport, Driving Licence or Voter ID, carried in original. PAN and Aadhaar are not accepted. Nathula is an optional add-on on limited permits, closed Mondays, refunding only if the permit or weather fails. Tiger Hill means a 4 AM start. Warm layers matter on the high day, insurance is not included, and payment runs 50 percent at booking with the balance 15 days before departure.
Twenty Years of Getting Groups There
Trusted by More Than Just Us Saying So
Two decades of escorted trips from Kerala, built into every detail below.
One Booking, Start to Finish
Flights, hotels, meals, entry tickets, and transfers sit inside one confirmed booking, so nothing is left for you to sort on arrival.
Someone With You Throughout
A Fortune tour manager travels with the group from Cochin, right through to the flight back home.
Planned Before You Pack
Every ticket, every transfer, and every hotel night is confirmed before you leave Kerala, so no day is spent in a queue.
Offices Across Kerala
Branches in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, and Kannur, so help is always close by.
The Fortune Departure
The Set Journey to the Hills.
The full hill pairing in one booking: three Gangtok nights with the monasteries, toks, and ropeway, the high day to Tsomgo Lake and Baba Mandir, then two Darjeeling nights with the Tiger Hill dawn, the Mountaineering Institute, Tenzing Rock, and the tea gardens, before the drive down to Bagdogra. Flights, entry tickets at all monuments, all meals, and a Fortune tour manager run through the price, with the optional Nathula supplement quoted on request.
FAQ
Questions with useful answers
Six days ex Kochi via Bagdogra: three Gangtok nights with the local circuit and ropeway, the high excursion to Tsomgo Lake and Baba Mandir, and two Darjeeling nights with the Tiger Hill sunrise, the Mountaineering Institute, the zoo, Tenzing Rock, the Refugee Centre, tea gardens, and the Japanese Temple. The complete day-wise plan sits on the itinerary page.
A valid photo ID for the flights, and for the Sikkim permits, specifically a Passport, Driving Licence, or Voter ID with two passport photos, because PAN and Aadhaar cards are not accepted at the permit counters. Children under 18 carry a birth certificate or school ID, and originals travel with you.
Nathula is an optional supplement on the Tsomgo day, entirely subject to Sikkim's limited permits, which need at least 72 hours to process, and the Army's 11:00 to 12:30 visiting window; it stays closed on Mondays. If the permit or weather fails, the supplement refunds after the tour; if the permit is issued and the visit is skipped, it does not. We state all of it before anyone pays, which is how it should be.
Tsomgo sits at 12,400 feet and Baba Mandir at 13,200, so proper warm layers matter even when Gangtok feels mild, and any special snow-point attire is carried at your own cost. Darjeeling mornings, especially the 4 AM Tiger Hill start, reward a good jacket.
It is the plan's crown and worth every yawn, subject to the day's permit and token. Travellers who prefer the bed can skip it and rejoin at breakfast, and the tour manager sorts both comfortably.
Yes. An extra tea-country night, a private departure for your own group, a different set date, or the Nathula supplement quoted with your booking all sit within reach. Tell the desk what fits, and the fresh plan comes back priced for approval.