Gangtok is different from most Indian hill cities. Clean. Well-planned. Litter is fined; smoking on MG Marg is illegal. Your first impression is of a city someone has actually tended to.
Morning: Rumtek
Leave your hotel at 6:30am with a thermos of coffee. Drive 23 km across the Ranipool valley to Rumtek Monastery — the seat of the 16th Karmapa. The 7am morning prayer is open to silent visitors and is one of the most profound things you can witness in the eastern Himalaya.
Mid-morning: cable car & MG Marg
Back in town, take the ropeway from Deorali to Tashiling. The 20-minute ride gives you the cleanest overview of the city, the ridge, and the valley. Walk MG Marg when it reopens for pedestrians at 11am.
Afternoon: Hanuman Tok
Drive up to Hanuman Tok for the Kanchenjunga view. On a clear November afternoon, you will see the entire northern range.
Evening: momos & butter tea
Baker's Cafe for a pot of butter tea if the afternoon has been cold. Or Taste of Tibet (off MG Marg) for eight different varieties of momos. Local wisdom: the phagshapa (fermented pork belly) is the dish Sikkimese take most seriously.
Gangtok is not a destination you see. It is a destination you stay in, and then go somewhere north or west from.
