Darjeeling, Sikkim & the Singalila Ridge

Enjoy a classic trek from the Darjeeling tea hills to the highest mountain range on Earth

Tucked in a corner of the beautiful Indian Himalaya mountains are Sikkim and Darjeeling. In recent years, Sikkim has become more accessible for those looking to explore its unique beauty. Journey from the plains of India to Gantok, the capital of Sikkim, and onto the delightful Martam village. From here, we travel through beautiful tea plantations to Darjeeling, with its colonial hill station and Unesco World Heritage toy train. Trekking up to and along the Singalila Ridge, which divides India and Nepal, we move through thick forests of rhododendron and are rewarded with views of the great Himalaya peaks. Kanchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world, dominates the horizon and on a clear day we see majestic Makalu, Lhotse and Everest.

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips that improve life for the people and places we visit and look after the planet we explore. Find out more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice here, and find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation here.

Some sustainable travel highlights of this trip include:

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

• The use of a local guide means our customers will be well informed about local traditions and cultural-social sensitivities.
• This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels and restaurants, the emphasis on eating locally produced food, and by supporting other local enterprises.
• The hotels we stay in are dedicated to hiring local staff, this helps to benefit the surrounding community by providing employment opportunities and income alternatives where they may be otherwise hard to come by.
• Our local partners share a commitment to projects that benefit their communities.
• This tour encourages guests to visit local cafes and restaurants and use markets to purchase traditional crafts.

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

• Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels.
• By travelling in a small group, led by a local guide, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
• We visit national heritage sites and the entrance fees included generate income used to upkeep and develop these important monuments and nature parks.
• Our trips adhere to ABTA’s industry-leading animal welfare guidelines to ensure the best possible practices with regard to working animals and wildlife viewing. Our animal welfare policy can be found here.
• We work with our partners on the ground to proactively eliminate or reduce waste, for example eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles and instead providing refills for reusable bottles.
• Where possible on this trip paper bags are used as an alternative to single-use plastics.

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

• Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.
• Accommodation and restaurants in the itinerary use locally sourced food, which has not been transported long distances.
• In some restaurants there is the option to have plant-based meals.
• This trip favours locally owned and run accommodation.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

• Leave no trace: We do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish behind in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, we’d ask you to consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
• Plastic waste reduction: Please bring your own reusable water bottle on this trip; filtered water will be provided where tap water is not drinkable.

Cultural respect

• Best to ask before photographing people, ceremonies or sacred sites.
• It’s polite to use only your right hand when eating something without cutlery and when handing money and small objects to someone else.
• Before entering a holy place, remove your shoes and give them to the shoe minder. When you collect your shoes again, give the minder a few rupees. You’re permitted to wear socks in most places of worship.
• Religious etiquette advises against touching the heads of locals even children or directing the soles of your feet at a person, shrine,or image of a deity. You should not touch a carving of a deity.
• When visiting religious sites, dress and behave respectfully, don’t wear shorts and sleeveless tops – this applies to both men and women. A head cover for women and sometimes men is required in some places of worship.
• Generally, it is best to dress modestly throughout your time in India as a sign of respect.

Is this trip for you?

This trip is rated Activity Level 4 (Moderate & Challenging). For more information on our trip gradings please visit the Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip please do not hesitate to contact us.  

There are six days of fully supported point-to-point walking plus one day walk, with an average of four to six hours of walking per day. The trek is on a full-service camping basis. Previous experience of hill walking is required, this is a a good introduction to trekking at altitude but worth noting if you are not used to walking distances over consecutive days, this can present a challenge for some.

The activity level is assessed and based on the general lower altitude limit (relatively) and the overall duration of the trekking days. The maximum sleeping altitude is 11,715ft (3,570m) with a walking maximum altitude of 11,929ft (3,636m) and an average of 9,701ft (2,957m).

Walking hours stated within the itinerary are given as approximates only and vary depending on the group’s pace. They include normal rest stops but not a longer lunch break. Driving times given are approximations and do not include stops for photos, lunch, toilets etc.

On trek, temperatures can get very cold at night and a good 4 season sleeping bag and liner are recommended. The campsite will be set-up by your Porters including dining tent and toilet tent. Please note, the toilet facilities are basic "wild camping", a tent is placed over a hole dug in the ground and the excess dirt is used to cover any waste after each use.

Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as generally not suitable for persons of reduced mobility. However if you are a regular traveller on such trips, please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.

Vaccinations and Health

India

There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for tetanus, hepatitis A, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, rabies and tuberculosis. The risk of malaria is slight, but you may wish to consult your doctor or travel clinic for further advice.

You will also require a yellow fever vaccination certificate if arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Proof of a polio vaccination may also be required by some travellers. Please confirm all requirements and recommendations with your doctor or travel clinic.

Additionally, dengue, a viral disease spread by mosquitoes, is a known risk in India. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available, so we strongly recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

Some of our India trips spend time at altitude. In regions over approximately 6,560ft (2,000m), there is little risk of mosquito-borne diseases. For trips above 9,840ft (3,000m), there is a risk of being affected by acute mountain sickness. Our itineraries are designed to enable everyone to acclimatise to these altitudes, but you should be aware that it is still possible for you to be affected. Please see the Trip Notes for further information.

Visa

To avoid possible problems at immigration, make sure your passport is valid for a minimum of 180 days at the time of entry into India.

Travellers from the UK, US, CA and EU normally need a visa to enter India. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.
Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/asia/india
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/india
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/india/entry-requirements
• USA: www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/India.html

Travellers eligible for an e-visa, which includes those from the UK, US, CA and EU, can apply at www.indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html.

For more information on applying for your Indian Visa, including details required for your start hotel and local reference contacts, please click on this link: Indian Visa Information

Please note: If your trip visits Sikkim in the northeast or Ladakh, in the very north of India, do not mention this on your Indian visa application. This can sometimes slow down or even cause the embassy to reject your visa.

Food & Drink

All breakfasts, seven lunches and 10 dinners are included.

Allow at least 1,600-2,000 rupees (approximately US$20-US$25) per day for lunch and dinner (where not included). You can eat out cheaply in India, but if you go to the more expensive restaurants most of the time, you will spend the upper limits of the suggested amount. Please note, service in restaurants can be quite slow. Tea and soft drinks are reasonably priced. A (large) bottle of beer is approximately 400 rupees (approximately US$5).

While camping, we have a cook and assistants who prepare simple but plentiful nutritious food. Breakfasts will be porridge, cereals, eggs and toast with plenty of tea, coffee or hot chocolate. Lunches will usually be a picnic lunch with soup, various kinds of local breads, cheese, eggs, tinned fish, and meat and fruit where available. There is afternoon tea and biscuits on arrival at camp followed later by dinner, which is usually soup, a pasta, rice or potato-based main course with fresh vegetables, followed by dessert, tea, coffee or hot chocolate.

Drinking water

Staying hydrated is important when undertaking any physical activity. However, we strongly encourage you not to buy bottled water as this contributes to the growing problem of plastic pollution in India

On trek, the cooks collect and boil drinking water from the mountain streams and fill up your water bottles for you, but you may need to collect water during the day and may wish to use your own water purification treatment as well. Purification tablets can be an economical way to treat your water, most taking between 30 minutes to one hour to purify one litre of water and are easy to used in water bladders/hydration packs. Purification tablets which contain chlorine dioxide are reported not to leave an obvious taste as other tablets may.

We suggest you may like to bring a reusable bottle with a wide opening and use a Steripen to treat any non-boiled water. A Steripen is a handheld UV water purifier – small, lightweight and battery powered, so easy to pack. It’s quick to use, far more effective than purification tablets, and the water is ready immediately. It’s fine to use a Steripen on non-boiled water so long as it isn’t cloudy or full of sediment (which is uncommon in these regions).

Steripens are widely stocked on Amazon, outdoor shops and other online retailers; look for the latest models but avoid USB charging ones. Models that take lithium batteries are best as they last longer, especially in cold conditions.

Weather

As Sikkim has a pretty wet climate, even by Himalayan standards, our departures are carefully timed to take advantage of the likely best weather conditions (within reason). Delhi is hot in the daytime, especially on spring departures (highs of mid-30 degrees Celsius), and reasonably warm at night (cool on the October departure). Darjeeling and Gangtok is warm during the day with cool to cold nightly temperatures. Weather on trek will vary with the altitude but is generally comfortable for walking during the day (it can be really quite hot when the sun is out, particularly on the spring departure). At night on trek, it can get very cold with temperatures down to as low as -5C (23F). In late October, please bring warm clothes for the evenings. Frost must be expected at night above about 9,845ft (3,000m) on spring departures, and above about 6,560ft (2,000m) on October departures.

Although the departures are timed to coincide when the weather is normally good, in any mountain area the weather is never wholly predictable and you should be prepared and equipped to deal with any differences in weather beyond the conditions described above. The Singalila Ridge is quite exposed and strong wind and rain cannot be discounted at any time of year. You need to carry waterproofs and warm clothes for the evenings.