Villages few packages reach
Offbeat Sikkim in Sikkim
Okhrey, Hee Bermiok, Dzongu, Rolep, Kewzing, Uttarey and the new district of Soreng. Quieter roads, cheaper rooms, and places where you are a guest, not a number on a sightseeing list.
Okhrey, Hee Bermiok, Dzongu, Rolep, Kewzing, Uttarey and the new district of Soreng. Quieter roads, cheaper rooms, and places where you are a guest, not a number on a sightseeing list.
Most Sikkim packages repeat the same six stops. A day's drive from any of them are villages with homestays, monasteries and views that see a fraction of the traffic.
Offbeat means simpler rooms, longer drives on smaller roads and fewer ATMs. It also means you meet people. Carry cash and keep a buffer day.
Packages
Trips built around it
Sorted by price. Indicative per person, twin sharing.
Budget
Top1,700M
Rinchenpong weekend from NJP, budget
Rinchenpong
Budget
Top1,980M
Aritar weekend: lake, Mankhim and villages
Aritar
Budget
Top1,500M
Dzongu Lepcha village escape
Dzongu
Rolep riverside village stay, 3 nights
Rolep
Budget
Top4,100M
Silk Route from Gangtok on a budget, 3 nights
Zuluk · Nathang Valley · Aritar
Budget
Top4,100M
Old Silk Route on a budget, 3 nights from NJP
Padamchen · Zuluk · Nathang Valley
Budget
Top2,100M
Kewzing and Yangang homestays, 4 nights
Kewzing · Yangang
Budget
Top2,100M
Borong hot spring slow trip, 5 nights
Ravangla · Borong
Budget
Top2,300M
Uttarey and Hee Bermiok village escape
Hee Bermiok · Uttarey
Budget
Top4,100M
Full Silk Route loop on a budget, 6 nights
Aritar · Padamchen · Zuluk · Nathang Valley · Gangtok
Value
Top2,100M
Temi tea and Kewzing farmstay, 4 nights
Temi Tea Garden · Kewzing
Value
Top1,980M
Pakyong villages: Aritar, Mankhim and Rolep, 4N
Aritar · Mankhim · Rolep
Budget
Top4,000M
Sikkim by shared jeep: 9-night budget circuit
Gangtok · Lachung · Gangtok · Pelling · Yuksom · Ravangla
Value
Top5,183M
Dzongu homestay and North Sikkim
Gangtok · Dzongu · Lachen · Lachung · Gangtok
Value
Top5,183M
Lachen, Thangu and Chopta Valley slowly
Gangtok · Lachen · Lachung · Gangtok
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 offbeat sikkim
Cho La
The royal road to Tibet, open to Indians since 2025
Martam
Paddy terraces and family homestays an hour beyond Rumtek
pass
Nathu La4,310M
Nathu La
The India–China border pass at 4,310 m
village
Sang1,450M
Sang
A quiet Kagyu monastery village beyond Rumtek and Martam
town
Chungthang1,600M
Chungthang
Where the Lachen and Lachung rivers meet to form the Teesta
valley
Dzongu1,200M
Dzongu
The Lepcha reserve across the Teesta from Mangan
heritage site
Kabi Lung…1,300M
Kabi Lungchok
The stones where Sikkim's blood-brotherhood oath is remembered
monastery
Labrang2,130M
Labrang
A Nyingma monastery above Phodong with its original timber frame
Mangan
District headquarters above the Teesta, gateway to Dzongu
waterfall
Naga Wate…1,300M
Naga Waterfall
A roadside waterfall before Toong on the way to Chungthang
village
Phodong1,400M
Phodong
A Kagyu monastery town on the North Sikkim Highway
waterfall
Seven Sis…1,300M
Seven Sisters Waterfall
A roadside cascade in the Kabi forest on the way to Phodong
viewpoint
Singhik1,500M
Singhik
A Lepcha village above Mangan with a view up to Kangchenjunga
monastery
Tholung M…2,400M
Tholung Monastery
Upper Dzongu's relic monastery, opened every three years
Dentam
A farming valley on the road to Singshore Bridge and Uttarey
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
viewpoint
Singshore…1,600M
Singshore Bridge
Sikkim's highest bridge, 240 m across a gorge near Uttarey
village
Uttarey2,000M
Uttarey
A forest village on the Singalila Ridge by the Nepal border
Borong
Farm village above the Rangeet with a winter hot spring
Kewzing
A Bhutia village where homestay income is shared
Maenam Wildlife Sanctuary
Red panda forest and a summit of medicine plants above Ravangla
Melli
A two-state river town where South Sikkim begins
village
Yangang1,500M
Yangang
Lepcha, Bhutia and Nepali farms below Maenam's Bhaleydhunga
lake
Kupup3,940M
Kupup
Elephant Lake and the Yak golf course below Jelep La
village
Lingtam1,500M
Lingtam
Warm river village just above Rongli
valley
Nathang V…3,750M
Nathang Valley
A high yak valley where the 1888 campaign was decided
village
Padamchen2,200M
Padamchen
Forest village halfway up the Old Silk Route
town
Rangpo333M
Rangpo
Gateway town where the Teesta meets the Rangpo
town
Rhenock1,040M
Rhenock
Old crossroads town between Kalimpong and the Silk Route
Rolep
Riverside farming hamlet for slow days
town
Rongli1,585M
Rongli
Permit town and old market at the foot of the Silk Route
Rorathang
River junction where the Silk Route road turns
Daramdin
Flat farmland, Limbu and Lepcha villages and a tower of clay pots
viewpoint
Hilley2,750M
Hilley
The road-end checkpost where the Barsey forest walk begins
Mangalbarey
A subdivision bazaar and the way to Rahuney Cave
village
Okhrey2,300M
Okhrey
A Sherpa village of homestays below the Barsey rhododendron forest
village
Rinchenpo…1,650M
Rinchenpong
A ridge village with a 1730 monastery and a full Kangchenjunga view
town
Sombaria1,500M
Sombaria
The last bazaar on the road to Okhrey, Hilley and Barsey
town
Soreng1,315M
Soreng
A farming district town with a sunrise hill above the bazaar
Tharpu and Mangardzong
The fort site of the last Mangar raja, in a warm paddy valley
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
Escorted visit to the Cho La battlefield
Drive up from your Silk Route homestay with an escort from Kupup to Cho La at about 4,593 m, the site of …
A night in a Silk Route homestay
The Cho La permit requires a night in an approved homestay at Kupup, Gnathang, Zuluk or Padamchen. It is cold and simple, …
Adventure
Cho La and Doklam on one trip
Cho La and Doklam (Doka La) opened together in autumn 2025 on two-day vehicle permits. With a night on the Old Silk …
Photographing the Chola range
The Chola range above the Silk Route offers some of the widest high-altitude views in Sikkim: bare ridges, frozen lakes, snowfields and …
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
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 …
Hotel Tamarind
A Jain Group hotel on the North Sikkim Highway at Mangan, one of the few larger hotels in the district headquarters. Useful as a …
Budget
Mayal Lyang Homestay
A Lepcha family homestay at Passingdang in Upper Dzongu, run by Gyatso Lepcha and his family, one of the first in Dzongu. Wooden rooms, …
Budget
Dzongu Lepcha homestays
Lepcha families across Dzongu villages such as Lingthem, Lingdong, Passingdang and Hee Gyathang host guests in traditional homes. Homestays began here around 2006–08 as …
Budget
Uttarey village homestays
Family homestays in Uttarey, the cool village at about 2,000 m on the Singalila Ridge near the Nepal border, beyond the Singshore Bridge. Simple …
Borong village homestays
Family-run rooms scattered across upper Borong, about 5 km beyond Ralang Monastery at roughly 1,770 m. Simple, clean, home-cooked food, and a front-row view …
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 offbeat sikkim 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