Where Okhrey is and why people come
Okhrey spreads across a steep, terraced slope at about 2,200 m in the south-west of Sikkim, in Soreng district. The road climbs to it from Jorethang through Sombaria, and continues another 10 km, about 30 minutes, to Hilley, where the walk into the Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary begins. From NJP the drive is about 130 km and 5–6 hours.
For most of the year Okhrey is a quiet farming village. In spring it fills up: from mid-March to the end of April walkers, photographers and botanists come for the rhododendrons that colour the forest above the village, and many of the homes along the road have opened as homestays to look after them. Outside those weeks you may be the only guests, which is when the village is at its best for slow travel.
Many of Okhrey's families are Sherpa, and the village is one of the easier places in Sikkim to spend time in a Sherpa home. The prayer flags on the ridges, the small monastery above the road and the kitchen with its butter-tea churn all come from that heritage.
Who the Sherpa are
The Sherpa are a Tibetan Buddhist people whose best-known homeland is Solukhumbu in north-eastern Nepal. Their name is usually explained as shar-pa, people from the east, and Sherpa tradition, summarised in the Wikipedia article on the Sherpa people, holds that their ancestors came from Kham in eastern Tibet several centuries ago. Over time Sherpa families settled across the eastern Himalaya, including Darjeeling and Sikkim. Many Sherpa families in western Sikkim trace their roots to eastern Nepal; ask your hosts and you will hear their own family history, which is more interesting than any summary.
In Sikkim, Sherpa are recognised among the communities listed under Bhutia in the Scheduled Tribes order for the state, alongside groups such as the Yolmo and Tromopa. The 2011 census figures summarised on Wikipedia show Sherpa as the mother tongue of about 3.5 percent of people in today's Soreng district, while Nepali is the common language everyone uses. Most hosts speak Nepali and Hindi, and younger people often speak English.
The monastery and the village walk
A long flight of steps from the road climbs through a small rhododendron park to Okhrey's monastery. It is modest in size and follows the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism; travel writers who have visited report it was built around 1950. Walk around the building clockwise, take your shoes off before entering the shrine room, and ask before taking photographs inside. If a lama is present, a small donation is welcome.
Beyond the monastery, take an hour to walk the village paths. You will pass terraced fields of maize, potato, cabbage and cardamom, stone and wooden houses with flower-filled balconies, mani walls and chortens. Keep to the left of mani walls and chortens so that you pass them clockwise, as local people do. Dogs are friendly but sometimes loud; walk calmly and they lose interest.
We turn this into a priced, day-by-day plan for your dates.
Sherpa food in a homestay kitchen
Homestay food in Okhrey is mostly the everyday Sikkimese meal of rice, dal, vegetables and pickles, with chicken or pork on some nights. Ask your hosts, a day ahead, whether they would cook something from their own kitchen. Depending on the family and the season, you might get a thick Sherpa stew of hand-pulled dough with potato and vegetables, tsampa (roasted barley flour), salted butter tea churned in a wooden cylinder, or dried cheese.
Millet beer, served warm in a tall wooden or bamboo vessel and sipped through a bamboo straw, is common across Sikkim's hill communities and you may be offered it. It is entirely fine to decline. Be gentle with refusing food generally: hosts will keep refilling your plate, and leaving a little on it is the polite way to say you have had enough.
What to do around Okhrey
Two nights is the right stay: one day for the Barsey walk and one for the village and its surroundings. The table below shows the main outings, all indicative.
| Outing | Distance or time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hilley to Barsey walk | Car to Hilley 10 km · 30 min, then 4 km walk each way | Peak bloom late March to late April |
| Okhrey monastery and village walk | 1.5–2 h on foot | Go early for light and birds |
| Birdwatching on the Hilley road | Half a day | Mornings are best, take binoculars |
| Sombaria bazaar | ≈ 40–60 min by car | Weekly market, ATM, simple restaurants |
| Day trip to Rinchenpong and Kaluk | ≈ 50 km · 2.5 h each way | Better as its own two-night stop |
Homestays, costs and the best months
Okhrey has around a dozen homestays and small lodges, among them Sherpa Lodge and Kyilkhor Inn, plus smaller family homes. Most quote about ₹1,300–2,200 per person a night with dinner and breakfast in 2026, a little more in April. Rooms are simple and clean, usually with an attached bathroom and a geyser. Signal is patchy and power cuts happen, so carry a power bank. These figures are indicative; check current status before you travel.
Mid-March to the end of April is the rhododendron season and the busiest time; book April weekends a month ahead. October to December brings clear views of Kangchenjunga and cold nights. January and February can be close to freezing at night, with snow possible at Hilley. June to September is wet, leechy and quiet.
- Bring warm layers in every season; nights are cool even in May
- Carry cash; there is no reliable ATM in the village
- Ask before photographing people, especially elders and lamas
- Dress modestly near the monastery
- Tell your hosts your meal times and food needs in advance
Being a good guest in a Sherpa home
A homestay is someone's house, not a hotel with a family attached. Hosts in Okhrey are generous and relaxed, and a little care on your side goes a long way. When you arrive you may be offered tea straight away, sometimes butter tea; accept at least a sip. Shoes usually come off at the door of the main house and always at the kitchen and the family altar room. Do not point your feet at the altar, and do not step over people sitting on the floor.
The calendar matters here. Losar, the Tibetan and Sherpa new year, falls in February or March by the lunar calendar, and families visit each other, cook special food and hang fresh prayer flags. If you happen to be in Okhrey then, you may be invited in; bring a small gift such as fruit or sweets from the plains. Prayer flags, butter lamps and offerings are religious objects, so do not touch or move them, and ask before photographing a puja or a family ceremony.
Evenings are early. Dinner is often served around 7 pm and the village is quiet by 9. Keep music and voices down, especially on the roads after dark, and switch off lights and geysers when you do not need them: power is precious in the hills.
Getting there
By private car, NJP or Bagdogra to Okhrey takes 5–6 hours via Melli, Jorethang and Sombaria. The first stretch uses NH10 along the Teesta, which closes after landslides in the monsoon; drivers then come round through Darjeeling to Jorethang. By shared jeep, go from Siliguri to Jorethang (3–3.5 hours), then on to Sombaria, and reserve a local car for the last stretch, about ₹700–1,000. From Pelling, the road via Dentam and Hilley is about 75 km and 3.5 hours.
Rules, fees, fares and road status change often. Check current status before you travel.
