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This is the most detailed and honest review of Sikkim Trip by etripto. If you are North Indian this may be the must read for you.
I decided to gift my wife trip to sikkim as 1st anniversary gift after watching multiple videos about beauty of Sikkim. So, to eliminate the hassle, I decided to book a package so I don't have to do everything myself. After much browsing, I found etripto as local operator with good reviews on YouTube.
To give you some background, I have travelled extensively in mountains of Uttarakhand and Himachal. Every North Indian or someone residing in Delhi NCR visits Uttrakhand and HP frequently. Places like Rishikesh, Chopta, Manali, Kullu, Jibhi, Badrinath etc etc. I have also done a few treks.
After booking the package of 8 days (costing 80k) through etripto, I came across some bad reviews of their sikkim package and some scam going on there so I got tensed and asked my agent (Monidipa ji) regarding this. She pacified me and promised me everything will be good. They charge 25% in advance and rest on day 1 of trip(though they demanded remaining amount on day 3 from me). No refund though if you cancel the trip for any reason. Monidipa ji was quite polite, courteous and responsive throughout the entire trip.
The service provided was good. All drivers arrived on time, contacted me well in advance, all were polite and helpful. The hotel in gangtok was sikkim Continental which was decent. The hotel in Lachung was lachung continental which was below average and the one in Pelling was outstanding, hotel sonamchen, all hotel belonged to Jain group and were pure vegetarian.
The problem I faced were something which is very wrong with sikkim tourism or etripto. The package did not include most important sights of the place. For ex- It did not include gangtok sightseeing (which should be top on the list). In Lachung they include yumthang valley (which is stinky as hell from yak excreta and too much cold and there is nothing very enjoyable or scenic about it) but left zero point which they told me to pay extra 4k. Similarly in peeling, they included useless points but left Skywalk which is the main attraction. The driver told me that company had told him to demand 1000 from customer (for 2km distance, really?). I pissed off the driver by hiring another taxi for 400(one way) and returned on foot. I didn't understand why the most important sights were excluded from the package. It is clearly their way to siphon off money from tourists no matter how expensive the package is. It is something wrong either with etripto or Sikkim Tourism I don't know. Some fellow travelers told me that Paradise includes such points in the package.
Gangtok is a beautiful city and being a capital has every amenity. If you want to see snow, Nathula pass is a great option but don't forget to carry warm clothes unless you will Freeze and will not be able to enjoy the view. The views depend on whether which is often not clear. Instead of renting jackets and shoes from shops there, carry your own, you will need them for entire journey. Lachung is not a tourist place in my view, there is no electricity, no internet, road is cut off for most part of the year, it is too cold and most tourist don't feel well in yumthang valley and zero point. People go to zero point for snow. If you have seen it in Nathula pass or anywhere else, there is no point. I couldn't not visit lachen as the road leading to it is broken. Ravangla has beautiful buddha park which I found the most important place of my whole trip. If you are interested in Buddhism, a must visit place. Namchi and skywalk of pelling are overrated. I talked to many fellow tourists and most had the same feeling. A guy from Pune told me that there is nothing much to see. A guy from Odisha told me that Odisha is much more beautiful than Sikkim. All people told me that taxi is very expensive and not justified in any way.
This is something about sikkim. If you have seen mountains and valleys in Uttarakhand and Himachal, you can skip Sikkim. There is nothing special or extraordinary. For North Indians, trip to Uttarakhand and Himachal is much more convenient and economical. The food here is subpar, tea is bad, weather is uncertain and everything is expensive. Everything is far. You need whole day to travel to someplace and there is not much to see there. And the most important place will not be included in your package. The government is supporting locals in extorting money from tourists. Everything requires permit and only local tour operators can apply for it (you are punished for being Indian outside of sikkim, dichotomy huh!). They will charge you 1000 for 200 Rs permit. Everything is monetised, simple riverbed seeing will have a ticket of 50, you will be stopped on the way and told to pay 20/30/50 per person by random person standing on road for god knows what. They claim to collect garbage and charge you for that but I saw locals throw whole truck of garbage down the mountain. Even after charging hefty amounts for taxi, they will tell you to pay parking everywhere (which etripto refunded). Sikkim is not a tourist state and I think former CM Pawan Chamling realised this and initiated projects like Buddha Park, Namchi, Skywalk etc.
Summary-
If you are North Indian and solo traveler or a couple, skip sikkim altogether and visit Uttarakhand and Himachal, you will miss nothing in your life. You will get better food, better places/scenary with much less price.
If you do want to visit sikkim, rent a bike and arrange permit through bike renter.
If you are visiting with family, do not visit North Sikkim as whether is inhospitable and most children get sick. Visit Gangtok, Ravangla, pelling by arranging trip yourself. 04 days are enough. Do not book package. They will charge you hefty money, they will not include important places in the itinerary and you will not be able to modify anything if you suffer inconvenience. Nothing has a refund and every minor change has a steep price. Save you hard earned money for the foreign trip you have been dreaming about.