New circuit -Kolkata - Sikkim - Bhutan - Shillong - Guwahati

     When you think of long biking or driving tour.. everyone will recommend you only one circuit, thats Manali - Leh - Srinagar circuit.. It is undoubtedly the best circuit to ride, but what if you have already completed that, or you want to try something else.. Here is one more circuit, from very beautiful north eastern states of sikkim - assam & meghalaya + our neighboring Bhutan, which doesn't ask us, Indians to do any Visa formalities.

   So my friends, here is the amazing route which you can travel..

Journey can started either from Kolkata or Siligudi.

If your starting point is Kolkata, You will take one day of riding to reach Siligudi.

So start very early from Kolkata, thats before 5am & you stand better chance to reach Siligudi by 9 pm. or stop midway & continue till Siligudi on day 2.

From Siligudi, You can visit Mirik, where you can enjoy scenic lake nestled in a small saucer shaped valley surrounded by Shivalik range of Himalayas. Mirik is only 20 Kms of derive from Siligudi. After visiting refreshing Mirik, you can visit Darjeeeling.

Darjeeling is another 4 hours ride from Mirik, but trust me its amazing ride. Distance from Mirik to Darjeeling is not much.. may be 120 kms. but you are on climb continuously, so it takes time. Enjoy Darjeeling market 7 have bamboo beer.. and not to mention Darjeeling tea.

Tea Factory - Darjeeling

Next day, dont miss Darjeeling sunrise.. according to me, its most beautiful sunrise which can be seen in India.If its not cloudy, you will get amazing view of Kanchandzonga.

After Darjeeling head straight to Gangtok, which is capital of Sikkim. It will take 3-4 hours of ride to reach Gangtok from Darjeeling. Gangtok is amazing & one of the best hill stations in India. One can cover changu lake, guru Dongmar, & many other places of north sikkim from here, but bikes are not allowed at most of the places.  

Dont miss Chhangu lake & Nathula pass. You need to take inner line permit from Gangtok if you want to visit Nathula.

Nathu La -Indo Chinese border

Beautiful Gangtok

After Gangtok, You can visit beautiful monestry of kalingpong & then head to jaigaon, which is last village in India before entering Bhutan. From Jaigaon, you can enter Bhutan town called Phutsoling. Indians can go with their vehicles, so dont worry, you can take your bike to Bhutan. Just with your Indian passport you will get entry Permit for Thimphu & Paro. Reach jaigaon on any day except Sunday at 9 am. get permit in few hours & you are all set to enter Bhutan.

After entering Bhutan, You can visit Paro, Thimphu & do tiger's nest Monestry trek. This entire trail is amazing & you will really enjoy Bhutan. People there are very nice & welcoming. You can spend 3-4 days in Bhutan & explore the country.

Tiger's Nest

Start your return journey to India via Bogaigaon. Try to reach Bogaigaon in daylight. Though Bhutan is very safe to travel even at midnight, once you enter India, there are some security concerns, so reach Bogaigaon early which is 30-40 Kms after entering India.

From Bogaigaon, you can head to Tejpur. Now you have multiple options based on no. of days you have. You can visit Tawang which will consume 3 days. Tezpur - tawang - Tezpur - Guwahati.

or you can visit Shillong & cherrapunjee & return to Guwahati in two days.

or you can visit Kaziranga & majouli Island & come back to Guwahati in two days.

From Guwahati, you can send your bikes to you origin, or come back to Kolkata & send back your bikes to your origin..

This circuit is not as challenging as Leh, but its beautiful.. Roads are very well maintained by BRO & you can take pride of doing international ride.

If you have a 2-3 extra days, you can also visit Nepal. Or if you can spend 3-4 hours before visiting Darjeeling, you can visit Pashupati market in Nepal & come back & then go to Darjeeling..

So Enjoy your trip.. If you want us to arrange it for you, call us at +91 9820031162 

Thanks & congrats to my wonderful friends, who did this wonderful circuit even when I had to drop out at last moment..

Travellers:

   Mayur patil

   Navin Mayekar

   Prabhakar kanoje

   Pasad Kargutkar 

   Vikram More