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How safe is it to travel alone to Gangtok Q&A

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How safe is it to travel alone to Gangtok

Posted by Amrita | Tue May 05, 2009 11:10 am

Hi,
I am travelling to Gangtok ALone. how safe is it to travel alone (for a woman).

How should I go about the transport bit? should I take the car from the Hotel( which is slightly expensive) or is it safe to take the Jeep or shared cars...

I am not quite sure about the local transport for siteseeing...will be thankful you if some one could share their experience and advise.

Thank u

Amrita

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Re: How safe is it to travel alone to Gangtok

Posted by AK | Tue May 05, 2009 12:14 pm

Well, Sikkim is probably one of the safest places for women. And this is no exggeration. When you go there you will be pleased to find this one place in India where u see more women then men and in every walk of life too!

That being said, I guess the standard rules of safety such as, being cautious of strangers or avoiding hanging out at deserted places would apply.

In Sikkim I was lucky to find a sweetheart of a Gurkha driver right from siliguri, who was very interesting company, reasonable, safe and knew everything around. He helped me understand and delve into deeper layers of Sikkim culture rather than just the the superficial and touristy one. So this guy would typically pick me up from my hotel during the morning and we would go for half day/full day sighseeing options. My hotel was not too pleased with him as they were missing out on their 'cut' which they would have pocketed at my expense, had I arranged for a taxi thru them.

Alternatively, there are shared taxis available which have fixed rates for fixed distances, within Gangtok, or for excursions from Gangtok to nearby towns or villages. Unless u land up on a crook of a driver who charges u excessively owing to your lack of information.

The rest of the places require permits and if u were to hire a taxi the driver would acquire those permits for you. Carrying ID maybe a good idea. One such place that requires a permit is Tsomgo lake and Nathula pass (and if you are lucky Baba Mandir too, but that I cant put here If you know an officer in the Indian Army /ITBP posted there, it helps and you can see places where typically civilians are not allowed)

At the MG road in Gangtok is a tourist beareau office where you can obtain additional info on places to see and getting around.

Though this is not a very nice thing to say but I found that the local sikkimese people were really nice (Bhutias, Lepchas, Gurkhas), however, the people of the plains who go there to work, operate hotels/drive taxis etc are generally not too reliable and tend to sweet talk, overcharge, and indulge in all the usual indian stuff.

I hope this helps, my drivers name was Saran Subba (+91-9733391552). Give him my regards if u meet him or happen to use his services.

Cheers!
Abhishek
Bombay

Re: How safe is it to travel alone to Gangtok

Posted by AK | Tue May 05, 2009 12:33 pm

By the way one more thing:

There is central taxi stand for private cabs just above the MG road. And drivers have fixed tariff cards for common places. Cops are availble to help tourist, though the need doesnt usually arise.

There is a central shared taxi stand just below the MG road, here armadas/boleros carry upto eight ppl per ride and here to per pax rates are fixed for common destinations. Watch out and keep away from reckless drivers. (sikkim has some trecherous roads and a safe driver is imperative, not trying to scare ppl but when I was their I had the unfortunate experience of seeing a reckless driver fall over the cliff with a fully loaded Bolero, so I cant harp on this point enough)

Any other difficulty, remember the MG Road tourist office as yr central place for guidance. My cabbie is based out of Gangtok and he was kind enough to educate me in all these areas, though I did not have the need to use all these facilities.

Re: How safe is it to travel alone to Gangtok

Posted by Amrita | Tue May 05, 2009 2:44 pm

Hi
Thank you.. for the detailed mail;
will chalk out the details with the tourism office.

Regards
Amrita

Re: How safe is it to travel alone to Gangtok

Posted by anuraag | Tue May 05, 2009 3:18 pm

hi,
sikkim- safe- yes it is!reaching there from NJP there r all sorts of transports available- personal cabs, shared jeeps, buses n even helicopter facilities- all r considered to b safe but do avoid night travelling.
consider staying at hidden forest resort ( cn visit it on net ) practically run by a lady, excellent facilities n u cn b helped by her for anything required at gangtok.
go ahead n enjoy t expirience of one of t most beautiful natural places!
anuraag

Re: How safe is it to travel alone to Gangtok

Posted by raj | Thu May 07, 2009 12:51 pm

Dear amrita
I also visited sikkim along with my family during first week of december 2008 for a period of 10 days..
the highlights of the sikkim is the behaviour of the people.

Mr.Abhishek, Bombay given the reply. It is absolutely right.

happy journey for u.

rajendran, cochin.

Re: How safe is it to travel alone to Gangtok

Posted by Krishna Kumar | Sat May 09, 2009 1:37 pm

Hi,
I agree with what our other freinds have shared that Sikkim is safe. gangtok is a great place to stay and tour around Sikkim. If you are travelling alone, then i would advice you to take a hotel in Gangtok town itself and not in any other remote areas. There are quite a few hotels in Gangtok town , though its a little crowded in the town, I feel this will be more safe as you are staying alone.
As rightly pointed out earlier by our freinds, Gangtok has the shared sightseeing jeeps/4x4s which will take you to almost all the sightseeing spots...especially when you are travelling alone, this will be the more economical and safer option. Special permits are required for Tsongmo lake which will be taken by the taxi drivers( if you meet them the previous day evening and give your name and few other details, the permit will be made ready the next day morning).
If you can, take a trip upto Nathula pass. Its supposed to be awesome.

How are you reaching Gangtok? from Siliguri railway station or from Bagdogra Airport? its about 4 hrs drive from Bagdogra Airport... check for bus timings to gangtok from Siliguri or Bagdogra. I dont think there are lot of buses , even if there are, they may not be at frequent intervals. You can call the Sikkim tourism at Gangtok and get more info on bus services upto Gangtok.

Have a safe trip !
Regards
Krishna