Momo, churpi, gundruk and Temi tea
Food and tea in Sikkim
Sikkim cooks Bhutia, Lepcha and Nepali food side by side: momo and thukpa, phagshapa and sel roti, fermented gundruk and kinema, yak churpi. Add Temi's organic tea and a fully organic state since 2016.
Photo: Subhrajyoti07 · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Sikkim cooks Bhutia, Lepcha and Nepali food side by side: momo and thukpa, phagshapa and sel roti, fermented gundruk and kinema, yak churpi. Add Temi's organic tea and a fully organic state since 2016.
Sikkim was declared India's first fully organic state in 2016. You taste it in the vegetables at Lal Bazaar, the buckwheat and the millet, and in Temi's tea.
The best meals are at home tables and small cafés, not hotel buffets. Tell us about allergies and diets when you enquire.
Packages
Trips built around it
Sorted by price. Indicative per person, twin sharing.
Budget
Top1,500M
Dzongu Lepcha village escape
Dzongu
Budget
Top2,000M
Gangtok monasteries and food, 4 nights
Gangtok · Martam
Budget
Top2,100M
Namchi and Ravangla on a budget, 4 nights
Namchi · Ravangla
Budget
Top2,100M
Kewzing and Yangang homestays, 4 nights
Kewzing · Yangang
Value
Top2,100M
Temi tea and Kewzing farmstay, 4 nights
Temi Tea Garden · Kewzing
Value
Top2,100M
Easy South Sikkim family trip, 5 nights
Namchi · Ravangla
Value
Top2,100M
Pilgrim circuit for seniors, 5 nights
Namchi · Ravangla · Gangtok
Value
Top2,200M
Gangtok, Namchi, Ravangla and Pelling, 7N
Gangtok · Namchi · Ravangla · Pelling
Price your own route
Tell us dates, people and budget. We send a day-by-day plan with every cost shown. StartNot sure where to start?
We match districts to your month, your budget and the people travelling with you. StartAsk the Gangtok desk
An itemised quote within one working day. No payment to start. StartWhere to go
Places for food and tea
town
Gangtok1,650M
Gangtok
Sikkim's capital on a ridge at 1,650 m
Martam
Paddy terraces and family homestays an hour beyond Rumtek
Mangan
District headquarters above the Teesta, gateway to Dzongu
Darap
A Limbu farming village 8 km from Pelling, with homestays
Gyalshing
District headquarters and the transport hub below Pelling
village
Hee Bermi…1,950M
Hee Bermiok
Limbu heritage, cardamom farms and forest walks west of Pelling
town
Jorethang300M
Jorethang
Warm river town on the Rangeet, gateway to West Sikkim
Melli
A two-state river town where South Sikkim begins
tea garden
Temi Tea …1,500M
Temi Tea Garden
The Chogyal's tea estate, organic since the 2000s, above the Teesta
Pakyong
District town below Sikkim's airport on a ridge
town
Rangpo333M
Rangpo
Gateway town where the Teesta meets the Rangpo
town
Rhenock1,040M
Rhenock
Old crossroads town between Kalimpong and the Silk Route
Rorathang
River junction where the Silk Route road turns
village
Kaluk1,550M
Kaluk
A breezy bazaar village and the comfortable base below Rinchenpong
Price your own route
Tell us dates, people and budget. We send a day-by-day plan with every cost shown. StartNot sure where to start?
We match districts to your month, your budget and the people travelling with you. StartAsk the Gangtok desk
An itemised quote within one working day. No payment to start. StartThings to do
Experiences on the way
Culture
Namgyal Institute and Do Drul Chorten
A morning at Deorali seeing the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, opened by Nehru in 1958, and the white Do Drul Chorten above …
Food
MG Marg and Lal Bazaar food walk
A walk from the clean, car-free MG Marg down to Lal Bazaar, Gangtok's main market, tasting momos, thukpa, sel roti and churpi …
Nature
Ropeway ride from Deorali to Tashiling
A short cable-car ride across the steep face of Gangtok, from Deorali near the Tibetology institute to Tashiling beside the Secretariat. Under …
Craft
Workshops at the Handicrafts Directorate
Watch young artisans paint thangkas, carve and paint wooden choksee tables and weave carpets and Lepcha loin-loom cloth at the government Directorate …
Village life
Walking Martam's paddy terraces
Walk the field bunds and village paths of Martam with a local guide, through rice terraces, bamboo groves and hamlets. Green in …
Food
Cooking and eating in a Martam kitchen
Join a farming family in their kitchen for a meal of home-grown rice, dal, local greens, gundruk or pickles, and perhaps chicken …
Craft
Large cardamom fields and drying kilns
Visit a shady cardamom plot under alder trees with a farming family, see the red pods cut from the base of the …
Wildlife and birds
Morning birding around Martam
The mix of fields, bamboo, cardamom and forest edges around Martam draws a good variety of common Himalayan birds. An early walk …
Price your own route
Tell us dates, people and budget. We send a day-by-day plan with every cost shown. StartNot sure where to start?
We match districts to your month, your budget and the people travelling with you. StartAsk the Gangtok desk
An itemised quote within one working day. No payment to start. StartWhere to sleep
Stays that fit
Budget
Mintokling Guest House
A long-running, family-feel guest house on Bhanu Path, just below the Secretariat road and about 10 minutes on foot from MG Marg. Quiet garden, …
Budget
Hotel Sonam Delek
A small Tibet Road hotel that has been running since the early 1990s, a 10-minute walk from MG Marg. Rooms have balconies facing the …
Martam village homestays
Family homestays and small village guesthouses in Martam, a farming village of terraced paddy and cardamom about 29–34 km from Gangtok via Rumtek. Home-cooked …
Value
Netuk House
A family-run heritage house on Tibet Road built in the late 1950s for Gellong Netuk Lama, a counsellor to the Chogyal. Traditional Sikkimese rooms, …
Value
The Hidden Forest Retreat
A family-run guest house in Middle Sichey, about 2 km from central Gangtok, set in roughly three acres of garden built around an orchid …
Value
Hotel Tibet
An established mid-range hotel on Paljor Stadium Road, a few minutes' walk from MG Marg, decorated in a traditional Tibetan style. Suites and deluxe …
Price your own route
Tell us dates, people and budget. We send a day-by-day plan with every cost shown. StartNot sure where to start?
We match districts to your month, your budget and the people travelling with you. StartAsk the Gangtok desk
An itemised quote within one working day. No payment to start. StartGet my price
Plan a food and tea trip with us
Who is travelling, when, and roughly what you want to spend. The Gangtok desk replies within one working day with a day-by-day plan and an itemised price.
- No payment to start
- Permits handled through registered partners
- Every hotel, car and fee listed