Solo Female Travelogue To Darjeeling & Sikkim From Delhi By Priya | To The Zero Point

A Solo trip story of  Priya. This is when she decided to take her first solo trip to Sikkim & Darjeeling which left her with some awesome memories. Enjoy her adventurous experience & story with your cuppa of tea/coffee.

---

Before You Go (October 2026)

North Sikkim reopened in September 2026 after a landslide: Lachen and Gurudongmar on 11 September, with every vehicle to pass the Toong check post by 4 pm. Permits are given only through registered tour operators, applied for at least a day ahead, for three to six days. NH10 from Siliguri to Gangtok closes at night (9 pm to 6 am) between Sevoke and Rangpo from 26 October to 5 November 2026. Hotels in Sikkim collect a visitor fee of ₹50 a person.

The Quick Answer

You are asking	The answer
How many days?	Priya took seven: a day on the train, two in Darjeeling, one in Gangtok and three in North Sikkim, then a flight home from Bagdogra.
What did it cost? (Sonia asked us in 2018)	Priya's prices, May 2016: ₹300 for a shared car from Darjeeling to Gangtok, ₹1,400 for a day's taxi in Gangtok, ₹3,500 for the three-day North Sikkim tour with hotels and food. In 2026 expect ₹300 to ₹600 a seat in shared jeeps, ₹2,500 to ₹3,500 for the Gangtok taxi, and ₹3,000 to ₹8,000 a person for North Sikkim, the most in the October holidays.
Can a woman do North Sikkim alone?	Priya did, by joining a shared tour: the operator arranges the permit and gives you a seat in a shared vehicle. Some operators say they cannot get a permit for one person on their own, so ask before you pay.
Is North Sikkim open?	Lachen and Gurudongmar reopened on 11 September 2026 after a landslide, and Lachung, Yumthang and Zero Point were open in September. Roads close at short notice in the hills, so check with your operator the day before.
How high is Gurudongmar?	About 5,430 m (17,800 ft). Each breath there holds about half the oxygen it does at sea level: walk slowly, and do not stay long.
What is the fastest train from Delhi?	The Dibrugarh Rajdhani: it leaves New Delhi at 4.20 pm and reaches NJP about 20 hours later.
What do I need for the permits?	An original photo ID, copies and two photographs, given to a registered operator at least a day ahead. Foreigners cannot go to Gurudongmar or Zero Point.

Solo Northeast Travel Story From Delhi

I always wanted to go on a solo trip but never had the courage to do so. And one day out of nowhere, I booked a train ticket from Delhi to Jalpaiguri(NJP) and a return flight from Bagdogra to Delhi.

I started googling about Sikkim to make a good itinerary for the trip (though I did not really follow that). A day before my journey, when I was all set to go I started panicking and was thinking to scrap the whole plan but thinking about the cost and efforts involved, I decided to take the chance.

First Day, 8th May-2016: Delhi to Darjeeling

I boarded the train around 9:30 in the morning from the NDLS Railway Station(Delhi) and reached NJP(Jalpaiguri) in the next morning around 11(24 hrs). (2026: the fastest, the Dibrugarh Rajdhani, leaves New Delhi at 4.20 pm and reaches NJP about 20 hours later.) From there I got a shared Jeep for Darjeeling. The journey was full of scenic views and I observed that every house in Darjeeling had a small garden of beautiful colorful flowers in their balconies which give a cute peculiar look to every house.

Second Day, 9th May: Darjeeling- The Tea Estate

Darjeeling is sort of 4.5 hours away from NJP station. (2026: about three to three and a half hours by shared jeep, ₹300 to ₹500 a seat.) I already booked one room for a day in Hotel Tower View near ChowRasta. I freshened up quickly to walk for a little while nearby. In the market, I met a girl (who later became a good friend), Alex who was travelling solo from Spain. And from there on we roamed around in the market together.

We enjoyed the sunset, ate some good Momos, pau bhaji, aloo paratha with the special Darjeeling tea(must try once). After that, we walked back to our respective hotels saying goodbye and deciding to meet once before leaving the city. Being the lucky ones, I got a good room which showed a mesmerizing view of the whole city surrounded by the beautiful mountains.

I met some fellow travelers at dinner in my hotel and after that, we sat till midnight talking about all the topics in the world.

Third-Day, 10th May: Darjeeling – Early morning ride to Tiger Hills

I woke up early in the morning around 4:30 to see the sunrise at Tiger Hills. A guy from the hotel accompanied me and we took a shared jeep to Tiger Hills. I didn’t like it much, I think it is just hyped. (2026: cars to Tiger Hill now need a coupon issued the day before in Darjeeling, and self-drive and rental cars are not allowed; shared jeeps still go.) After that we went to a Monastery and a war memorial museum, both were good. Outside the war memorial, we had yummy chotu Samosas and Pakodas.

I took a small nap after coming back and then, decided to say goodbye to the beautiful city to leave for Gangtok(Sikkim). As decided earlier to meet Alex before leaving the city, we met and decided to see the Happy Valley Tea Estate together. It was drizzling when we reached the Tea Estate, small droplets of water on tea leaves were giving it an artistic look.

We saw ladies plucking the tea leaves into the Basket just like we see in the T.V. advertisements. I didn’t want to leave the Tea Estate but had too, so I took leave from the Tea Estate and Alex to explore the next city. I went to the bus stand to look for any shared jeep till Gangtok.

I shared a car with a couple, the driver charged me 300 bucks. The ride was 4.5 hours long (2026: shared jeeps leave from the Chowk Bazaar stand, ₹300 to ₹600 a seat, four to five hours; landslides on NH10 can add hours), I reached Gangtok late in the evening. I was tired, went directly to the hotel, and slept like a pig.

Fourth Day, 11th May- Exploring beautiful Gangtok

I woke up around 4:30 in the morning, got ready and went out to see the places around. I saw the calm market area where people were taking morning walks. So, in Gangtok, there were two roads, out of which on one the only vehicle is allowed and on the second vehicles were strictly prohibited.

I felt like I wasn’t in India as there was a small garden maintained in the middle of the road and benches were also there for the people to sit and relax. I had breakfast in one of the sweets shops; I had puri-chole which was the normal breakfast there.

I met few oldies who were having kachodis after our morning walk. They told me about the places to go around and they also, didn’t allow me to pay for my breakfast, they said: “you have to see our city, enjoy child.” After that, I went to a nearby taxi stand and asked for booking a taxi for a day for sight-seeing in Gangtok. The driver agreed for 1400. (2026: a day's sightseeing taxi now costs about ₹2,500 to ₹3,500 for a small car.)

We left for Rumtek Monastery, in the route we found some cute school walking to their schools, the driver stopped and gave a lift to 2 girls. He told me that here the drivers of Taxis normally do such things. I was so happy to see such a nice gesture of the taxi drivers. The Rumtek Monastery was radiating some peaceful vibes. (2026: carry an original photo ID for the security check.)

I met many monks from the age of 5 to the age of 50; they were all dressed in their traditional attire.

The kids can be admitted from different places of India, Bhutan, Tibet, Nepal, etc. to the Monastery at any age and according to their age, they are either admitted to a school for basic education or college. The subjects taught in college are related to philosophy.

I went to the reading room of the small monks, and they all were making noise and hopping here and there just like the normal school kids.I played with them for some time and took leave thereafter. Next, we covered Hanuman tok; it was a temple, and you could see the view of the whole city from the top.

Next, we went to a Flower show, which was blooming with beautiful different kinds of flowers. I sat there for quite a time to hold the beauty in my eyes of that place forever. Next, we went to a Museum where the life of the Buddha was briefly explained through the handmade paintings by great artists. They had a collection of different types of idols, jewelry, pots, etc. of Buddha’s Era.

The next stop was a Zoo, which was a mini Jungle maintained for the animal there. I saw the cute Red Panda, Leopard, Bear. (2026: the Himalayan Zoological Park is closed on Thursdays.) After that we stopped at a small but nice waterfall, I found a bunch of schools sitting there and I grabbed the opportunity to talk and play with the kids. The kids were so smart; they were climbing the rocks like a pro.

The last stop was Tashi Point; it’s a point from where you could see the Kanchenjunga mountains on a clear sunny day. I could not see, but I wasn’t sad as I saw the same in the morning but yes, I enjoyed the scenic beauty there with a good cup of Tea. I returned to the market after that to book a 3 Day-2 Night Package for the North Sikkim.

After roaming around for some time, I found a travel agency who had a seat for the next morning, they agreed on a price of 3500 inclusive of everything(hotel, food, etc.). (2026: shared three-day tours now cost about ₹3,000 to ₹8,000 a person, the most in the October holidays; the operator arranges the permit, at least a day ahead, with your original photo ID.) I had Thukpa(famous cuisine of Tibet) as dinner after the long tiring Day and slept early.

Fifth Day,12th May- Journey to the numerous natural waterfalls

There were three families and a group of 3 guys I was sharing my rented Jeep. We started around 11 in the morning. The views in the journey to Lachen was magnetizing. There were so many natural waterfalls in the route. I was just thinking that we used to see man-made waterfalls near Pune and used to feel so happy seeing them and now I can see hundreds of waterfalls.

In fact, the roads were always good; I have to praise Sikkim’s government for such a great infrastructure. (2026: since the Teesta flood of October 2023, landslides close the North Sikkim roads every monsoon; check before you book.) We reached Lachen around 7 in the evening.

It was chilling cold out there as we were at about 9000 feet above the ground level. Seeing the view outside my hotel’s, it looked like I am living in a castle in clouds. I had simple dinner which included rice, Egg curry with pickle and green chili cooked in an open hearth, so was yummy. I sat outside for a while to feel the cold breeze with melodious sound of water falling from waterfalls and slept after some time.

Sixth Day, 13th May- All the way to 17,000 ft into the thin air

We left the place early in the morning to see the famous Gurudongmar Lake. The Lake was at 17000 feet height so, only about 4% oxygen was present there. (2026: it is about 17,800 feet, 5,430 m. The air there is still 21% oxygen, but thin: each breath holds about half the oxygen it does at sea level.) But it’s worth visiting the place. You would just spellbind seeing the beauty of the place.

I could hear my heartbeats clearly as oxygen was less there but couldn’t forget the scene there ever in life. We also saw Army bunkers there as the place was the border between India and China.

My respect multiplied ten times for Indian Army for living in such an area where we couldn’t stay for more than 10 minutes and protecting us. Salute guys. Seeing the hypnotizing view, we stopped at Thangu to had tasty Maggi at a place. It was the tastiest soupy Maggi I could ever have in my life. After that, we came back to Lachen and had our lunch.

We left for Lachung in the evening after having Tea and Popcorn at an Army Camp. I am again mentioning the view in the route as it was so enthralling that I could ever imagine it to be.

We reached Lachung in the night. I had my dinner and had a chit-chat with a servant serving in the hotel and he was deaf and dumb. But, he was a sweetheart. He was working since childhood there and was taking care of his little sisters’ education whom he has adopted. He knew driving, cooking food, was good at calculations and a real sweetheart.

He had plans of owning a hotel someday; I wish his wishes come true come someday. It’s lovely to meet such people; you realize people are living so happily with minimum wages out there.

Seventh Day, 14th May- To Zero Point- with snow all around

I got up early in the morning and was just roaming around the place. I saw Buddhist temple, pretty waterfalls and had a brief chit-chat with some locals. After that, I had my breakfast, and we left for the next place called Zero Point to see the snow. (2026: Zero Point is usually an extra charge paid to the driver, about ₹3,000 to ₹3,800 for the vehicle, shared by the group.) We stopped at Yumthang to have breakfast and left for Zero point.

We reached Zero point in the afternoon, and I was the happiest among all to see the snow after so long. There was a beautiful lake near that mountain filled with snow. It was just so captivating view which I used to see in photographs or T.V. I played with the snow for a while, and then we started coming back. We had lunch at a place and then started the journey back to Gangtok.

It started raining, and it was multiplying to the beauty of the place. I was enjoying every view as I knew I am going to miss everything later.

The driver was driving well in such dangerous terrain that too when it was raining. We were so thankful to him that he got us safely to Gangtok. I booked a room for the night at Gangtok and in the morning I took a sharing cab to Bagdogra Airport saying goodbye to the most awesome city I have ever visited.

Tips and learning from my solo trip experience:

Just roam around by yourself as much as possible, you will enjoy much more.Take toffees like Hajmola, Pulse with you for the journey. Also, keep eating popcorns when on heights, you will feel much more comfortable.Ask when in doubts.Talk to locals; they will tell you stories you would love to listen.

---

P.S. I am so so proud of myself for making the solo trip. Now, I have the confidence to anything alone. :) . Please like, share, comment to spread the word if you liked my solo trip journey to the farthest and tallest region in India. Over to you!

After, my solo backpack trip to Sikkim, I went for an adventurous Spiti trek. The whole trip was too good and so I documented another blog of my solo trip to Spiti

---

Did you like my solo post on northeast India? Please rate my article by clicking the stars.

More on This Route

• Priya's Sikkim travelogue: her longer journey across Sikkim, on a budget and alone.
• North Sikkim from Kolkata: Jhumka Bandyopadhyay's own solo journey, to Dzongu, the Lepcha valley near Mangan.
• Darjeeling travel guide: the town, its tea and the toy train.
• Bhutan, Sikkim and Darjeeling: all our guides to the hills reached from Bagdogra.