Goecha La trekking in Sikkim is a colorful experience of not only the stunning Kanchenjunga and views of Mt. Everest, but it also gives opportunity to explore Darjeeling- a place of tea gardens. The trek offers breath-taking views of the Himalayan range from Cho Oyo to Kanchenjunga. The Singalila range is one of the rare spots on earth where the view embraces five summits rising above 8000m, amongst them Everest, Makalu and Lhotse.
Route details & general observations
The Goecha La trek offers you the chance to get fairly close to the third highest mountain in the world- Kanchenjunga. It also offers great views of Pandim and Samity Lake. From the viewpoint you will be about two kilometers from the base of mountain which towers above. You will be at 4,900m and the mountain is over 8000m. If you make an early start and get there before dawn you will have the chance of seeing a most incredible sight of the sunlight illuminating the snow laden mountain. It’s just fantastic to be there and witness this at first hand.
- International airport to hotel in Delhi transfer by small coach/ medium or large cars as per the group size
- Sightseeing/ monument visits as per the itinerary
- Delhi to trek beginning point and back to Delhi transfers
- Transfer to international airport in Delhi after the trip
- Transportation of porters, cook, kitchen staff to trek beginning point and back to their places after the trekking
Accommodation – city hotels with breakfast & remaining on full board
- Hotels as per the program
- Trekking duration camps with all meals
- Gala dinner at Delhi with expedition mementoes/ souvenirs
Staff
- Porters for the trekking part
- Cook and kitchen helper (01)
- Trekking guide (01) from trek beginning point to trek end point
- Local sightseeing/ city/ monument guide
Equipment
- Trekking tents for the members
- Trekking tent for cook+ helper and trekking guide
- Ground mattresses
- Kitchen tent, chairs, tables, stools, utensils, crockery and cutlery
- Toilet tents and toiletries
- Medical kit
- Maps and directions
Administrative assistance to the expedition team
- Cargo Management for big groups
- Insurance of the staff and porters for trekking trips like Kangla Pass
- Inner Line permits/ restricted area permits
The cost doesn’t include
- Air tickets of the expedition members
- Any kind of insurance of the clients
- Personal expenditures of the clients
- Helicopter rescue
- Personal sleeping bags and sacs
- Cargo handling charges
Skiing supplement
- If you want to ski down from some point, you can write separately.
Day 01: Arrive Delhi: On arrival you will meet our office representative who will transfer you to the hotel for overnight stay.
Day 02: Visit Delhi – we are genuinely interested to show Delhi to our clients just with a one point reason that especially the first time visitors to India must experience the capital of India which has extremely rich culture & heritage. Your sightseeing includes the old Delhi, monuments of Mughal age and the New Developments in the capital with its museums and shopping malls.
Day 03: Delhi – Bagdogra (flight) – Darjeeling (2130m) by car: Morning we drive to the airport for the flight to Bagdogra and on arrival, we meet our trekking guide with the cars. At first we drive through flat rice fields and tea plantations where the famous Darjeeling tea is grown. The other attraction is the steam toy train whose track zig zags through the main road all the way to Darjeeling just crossing over Ghoom at an altitude of 2440 meters. Darjeeling itself is at the altitude of 2134 Meters with a majestic background of the third highest peak in the world. Mt Kanchenjunga. Overnight at hotel in Darjeeling.
Day 04: Darjeeling sightseeing: Early wake up for the jeep rides to Tiger Hill to see the sunrise over the Kanchenjunga and Everest. On the way back to the hotel we visit Ghoom Monastery. All this is before breakfast. After breakfast we visit the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, the Zoo and the Tibetan refugee Center. Afternoon free to relax and look around the colorful bazaars of Darjeeling.
Day 05: Darjeeling – Manebhanjan (2134m. 1h 30) by car – trek to Tonglu (3070m): It is a 26-Kms drive to Manebhanjan, the starting place for our trek on the Singalila ridge. After an early breakfast and interesting drive into the Himalayan foothills, we set off on the first part of our walk, which is a relatively short hike up to Tonglu. It is an unavoidable fact of trekking in the Himalayas that we must get up high to find the best views. Overnight at Trekker's hut/Camp.
Day 06: Tonglu – Gairibas (2620m): We start after breakfast and cover the distance in 4 hours to our campsite at Gairibas by a mossy paved path that snakes through a succession of forests and hamlets, giving way, from time to time, to spectacular mountain sceneries. The Trail leads one through bamboo glades and farmlands with quaint little villages habited by warm and friendly people. We stay at trekkers hut for the night.
Day 07: Gairibas – Sandakphu (3640m) - 4-5 hours: This morning, we steadily climb to join the ridge trail towards Kalpokhri (3170 meters), which is a continuous climb through the rhododendron forests. We stop in these forests for the lunch and afterwards we again take a long and steep climb onto the Singalila ridge that leads us to Sandakphu. A remarkable 360 ° view from the top. Overnight at Trekker's hut/Camp.
Day 08: Sandakphu – Phalut (3600m) - 6 hours: We walk to a prominent viewpoint for the magnificent sunrise over the Kanchenjunga, Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyo in the morning. Throughout the day, there are ever-changing views: yak herds, silvery pine forests, tiny lakes ringed with grass, and the snow-capped Himalayan range in the background. All together, this is an amazingly beautiful encounter with the various colors of nature this day. Overnight at Trekker's hut/Camp.
Day 09: Phalut – Raman (2560m) - 5 hours: Leaving Phalut, we are temporarily saying goodbye to the views of Kanchenjunga and the eastern Himalayas, as we descend for most of the day through forests of Rhododendrons and Magnolias with isolated patches of farmland to Ramam. Overnight at Trekker's hut/Camp.
Day 10: Raman – Rimbik (2280m)- 4 hours: Downhill again today to the crossing of the Siri Khola, passing through farmland and scattered villages. Then it’s uphill through largely forested terrain to the village of Rimbick. Overnight at Trekker's hut/Camp.
Day 11: Rimbik – Pelling by car- 7 Hours drive. We reach to Pelling by car this day and check into our hotel. Placid Pelling pulls most of the visitors for its representative status in history, nature and culture of the state. Situated at an altitude of 6,800 ft, including the Koktang, Kumbhakarna, Rathong, Kabru, Dom, Kanchenjunga, Pandim, Zopuno, Shimbho, Narsing, Siniyalchu and others.
Day 12: Pelling – Pemayangtse – Yuksam by car (2h): It is just 2.5 Kms from Pelling is the famous Pemayangtse monastery perched at 2800m. It is one of the oldest and most impressive Gompas in Sikkim. The Pemayangtse Monastery draws religious sustenance from the Mindoling Monastery in Central Tibet. About a century ago, batches of monks from Pemayangtse were sent to Mindoling for instructions in strict discipline and rites. The practice is, of course, now discontinued. The monastery contains numerous antique idols and objects of worship and is filled with wall paintings and sculptures. A stand-out feature of the Monastery is a seven-tiered painted wooden structure on the top floor portraying the Guru Rimpoche’s Heavenly Palace ‘Santopalri’ which was completed single handedly by the late Dungzin Rimpoche in a span of five years. We further drive to Yuksam after visiting monastery.
Yuksam has two sites very sacred to the Sikkimese; Norbugang Chorten, the site of the first Chogyal's coronation, and Dubdi Monastery, the second oldest monastery in Sikkim built around 1701. We stay in the hotel for the night at Yuksam.
Day 13: Yuksam – Tsoka (3030m)- 6 hours: The trail leads up the Rathong valley through thick, semi-tropical forests. Afterwards a steep climb takes us to the tiny Tibetan village of Tsoka. We get excellent views of the entire Himalayan range and Kanchenjunga.
Day 14: Tsoka – Dzongri (4020m) – 5 hours: The day begins with a steep start and we stop for Picnic lunch after 3 hours of walking. The view of Pandim, Narshing and Joponu is fantastic. Another hour and half of steep climb takes you to Deorali and a ridge walk of up and down for 45 minute takes you to Dzongri. The place is set in a natural bowl on the ridge. Overnight at camp /hut.
Day 15: Dzongri – Thangshing (3930m)- 4 hours: Morning we start descending through rhododendron forest towards the glacial PREK river. We establish our campsite on the grassy pastures of Thangshing. The southern ridge of Kanchenjunga and the Onglakthing glacier are visible directly ahead and there are close-up views of Pandim. Camp for the night.
Day 16: Thangshing – Samiti Lake (4984 m)- 3 hours: A pleasant walk below the west side of Pandim, through dwarf azaleas and rhododendrons takes us to Zemathang. We take our first footsteps on the Onglakthing glacier, and climb up to the shores of the Samity Lake, reputed to be the sacred source of the Prek River. Ringed by prayer flags, the lake reflects Forked Peak, Kabru North, Gocha Peak and other snow-capped peaks. Overnight at camp.
Day 17: Samiti Lake-Goecha La- Samiti Lake (4984m): An early start today to beat the inclement weather conditions that is common during the latter part of the day. Set off in the early morning climbing the hill behind the Lake before traversing the moraine and then descending to the sandy bed of an empty lake. The whole area above Samiti Lake is called the Zemathang Plateau. You cross this under the shadow of Pandim and then ascend moraine to a height of about 5090 meters, where you rest above a glaciated lake mottled with snow and icy pinnacles. The Goecha La Pass is another hour away. We traverse the lake and proceed across a slope, and then on a well-trodden path to our objective, which is festooned with brightly colored prayer flags. The views of the east flank of Kanchenjunga and the mountains and valleys in the distance are stunning. We then return to our campsite at Samiti Lake.
Day 18: Samiti Lake –Tshoka (3800m)- 5 hours: It’s worth getting up early to take a short hike to the ridge behind the camp. From here there are fantastic views of Kanchenjunga and one can look back up to the Goecha La. Leaving Thangsing, you take a different route, avoiding the long climb to the Dzongri Plateau. Descending to the Prek Chu, you contour around jungle to emerge at Phedang. Continue to Tshoka along another steep descent. Here there is a new trekking lodge we passed on our way up that we shall hopefully use this time. This, of course, saves a day on the return march, but does involve quite a long day. Overnight at Tshoka.
Day 19: Tshoka-Yuksam- 6 hours: Today we descend to the Prek Chu following the route taken up on the first day, and then contour gradually downwards to reach the village of Yuksam our starting point.
Day 20: Yuksam-Bagdogra-Delhi: Morning drive to Bagdogra on time to catch flight for Delhi. On arrival, you will meet our representative in Delhi airport to take you to your hotel.
Day 21: Fly back home, we will drop you to the international airport.
Getting there: Your nearest international airport is Delhi where you will meet with our expedition manager. After essential visits to IMF and cargo (if required), you will be escotrted towards the initial point of your adventure as per the program details.
After the expedition/ adventure journey, you arrive back to Delhi. After de briefing (in case of expedition) and farewell ceremony, you will be driven to international airport to board flight back to your home.
Airtickets: We have our partners in almost every foreign countries, so if you need any assistance in your air tickets bookings, you are always welcome to speak to us to know about our partner close to you.
Cargo Management: We have strong tieups with the cargo management companies to get your consignments clear timely in Delhi. In maximum cases, you will only need to spend just 2 hours for getting your consignmwent delivery. Once you send the documents and the boxes details, we start locating them in India.
Insurance : It is a condition of joining our trips that you must be adequately insured. All persons are expected to arrange their own insurance. Polices should cover any potential risks involved in such adventure.
Our hotels and camps: We offer you best economy hotels in cities and towns and till base camp we provide you very comfirtable tents with maximim possible faciltiies in the mountains. For the trekking, Jeep Safaris, MTB and other adventure journeys, we provide the most luxurious camps fitted with dining areas and modren toilet facilities.
Adventure India briefing: We have excelent maps, images and movies of majoriety of our adventure expeditions/ joiurneys and sports. A short briefing in our offices is highly recommended so the team understands logistics, forecarst problems and know where the solutions would be. We stress on planning, planning and planning in any adventure expediton and till now we have remained successful in all of our expeditions just because of our planning. So we need you to be an active part of it.
Rescue and helicopter evacuation: if the expeditons are well planned, rescue operations can be avoided. In the history of 14 years, we didn’t encounter any seviour requireemtn of rescue but still we can tie up with the agencies to provide helicopter evacuation on your request and willingness to pay the charges.
Peak booking formalities: already mentioned in detail in our mountaineering formalities in India link. For necessary applications either you can check the website of IMF or speak to us.
Ground transportation: We provide the ground transportation compriseing of best available cars/ copaches in fine roads and rough trucks in remote areas of the Indian mountains.
Porters and ponies: We provide ponies till base camp and HAP/ LAPs as per the requirement of the expedition.
Fuel and gases: Fuel (aftwer BC) is not a part of cost included section, but we will manage Butane / Butane propane gases for you on your timely request.
Trek & BC food : We offer a mixture of Vegetarian and Non vegetarian food till BC including the several herbs we have individually discovered with the medicinal values and capacity to keep the body warm. We have cooks who make Korean, Japnese and Continental food along with Indian food.
Our guides & instructors: Our guides are basically trained till BC trekking and support to establish BC. But our instructors do have good experience of mountaineering who can join the expeditions to higher levels too.
Ground Support system: We have fantastic ground support system developed in collaboration with the local people of nearest villages, army camps, porters and local guides. We have re discovered the use of traditional communication system also along with the setellite phones to stay in touch with the groups after BC. Our BC staff is trained to keep information of the groups at ABC and between and act as per the situation.
Cost Includes & not: The cost includes all hotels, guest houses, camps till BC, food till BC, ponies, porters, LAP/ HAP, food & tents for the porters, cooks and staff at BC, insurance of our permanenet staff, food for LO, cargo management, all transportation, all sightseeing, liasioning and coordination, trekking guides and BC management. The cost doent include IMF fees and environment levies, State Government fees and environment levies, porters insurance, clients air fares, helicopter evacuation, extra porters requirement from the BC, extra days at or above BC and any expenditure on personal level including clients insurance/ visa etc.
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