Darjeeling, Sikkim and Kaziranga: 12-Day Tour of the Eastern Himalaya and Assam's Rhinos

Up into the tea hills of Darjeeling

Your driver meets you at Bagdogra airport on the plains of North Bengal. The road climbs steeply from the plains through sal forest and tea gardens, criss-crossing the narrow tracks of the toy train, via Kurseong to Darjeeling, spread along a ridge at about 2,000 metres. Kurseong, at roughly the halfway point, makes a good tea stop, with views back down to the plains on a clear day.

Darjeeling was developed by the British in the 19th century as a hill station and sanatorium, and its tea plantations were started in the 1850s. The town still has its Raj-era churches, bungalows and steep lanes, with Tibetan, Nepali and Bengali influences in the faces, food and temples around you.

Take the evening slowly with a walk along the Mall and Chowrasta, the town's main square, and tea at one of its old tearooms. Try a plate of momos or a bowl of thukpa, the Tibetan noodle soup. Evenings are cool even in summer, so keep a warm layer handy, and get an early night: tomorrow starts before dawn.

• ArrivalMeet at Bagdogra airport and drive to Darjeeling
• En routeTea stop at Kurseong
• EveningThe Mall and Chowrasta

OvernightDarjeeling, 3 nights, at a hill hotel with mountain views.

Sunrise at Tiger Hill and the toy train

Leave before dawn for Tiger Hill, at about 2,590 metres, to watch the first light turn the snows of Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain, pink, then gold. On a very clear day, Everest is visible as a small peak on the horizon. Views are most reliable from October to December and in spring; in the monsoon, cloud often hides the range. It is cold at the top before sunrise, so bring a warm jacket, hat and gloves.

On the way back, visit Ghum Monastery, with its large statue of Maitreya, the future Buddha. Return to the hotel for breakfast and a rest.

Later, ride the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, opened in 1881 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The toy train's joyride runs from Darjeeling to Ghum, the highest station on the line, and back, looping around the Batasia Loop with its Gorkha war memorial and mountain views. There is a stop at the small railway museum in Ghum. Watch how the line shares the road with traffic and runs past shopfronts close enough to touch.

• DawnSunrise over Kangchenjunga from Tiger Hill
• MorningGhum Monastery, then breakfast and rest
• AfternoonToy-train joyride to Ghum and the Batasia Loop

OvernightDarjeeling, at a hill hotel with mountain views.

A tea estate, the Mountaineering Institute and Tibetan crafts

Walk through a working tea estate with a planter or estate guide to see how the leaf is plucked by hand, withered, rolled, oxidised and dried. Then taste different flushes side by side: the light, floral first flush of spring, and the fuller, 'muscatel' second flush of early summer. Plucking runs from about March to November; in winter the bushes rest and factories are quieter.

In the afternoon, visit the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, founded in 1954 after Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary's ascent of Everest, with a museum of expedition history. Tenzing, who lived in Darjeeling, led its field training for many years and his memorial stands in the grounds. Next door is the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, known for its red pandas and snow leopards. The zoo is closed on Thursdays.

End at the Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre, founded in 1959, where you can watch carpet weaving and buy crafts. If you still have energy, walk back up to Chowrasta for sunset and try shapale, a crisp fried Tibetan pastry filled with meat or vegetables.

• MorningTea estate walk and tasting
• AfternoonHimalayan Mountaineering Institute and the zoo
• Late afternoonTibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre
• EveningOptional walk to Chowrasta

OvernightDarjeeling, at a hill hotel with mountain views.

Down to the Teesta and into Sikkim

Drive down through tea gardens to the Teesta River and up again into Sikkim, a former Himalayan kingdom that joined India in 1975. On the way down, a viewpoint above the river shows the meeting of the green Teesta and the Rangeet, a good place to stretch your legs. The road then follows the Teesta valley, warm and leafy after the cool of Darjeeling.

At the border, your free Sikkim Restricted Area Permit is checked or stamped; we arrange it in advance, but keep your passport and a couple of passport photos to hand. From here the road climbs again to Gangtok, Sikkim's capital, built along a ridge. Landslides can slow this road in the monsoon, so your driver may adjust the route.

In the evening, stroll along MG Marg, the car-free main street, where smoking and littering are banned and Sikkim's tidy, relaxed character is on display. Try Sikkimese food: momos, thukpa, gundruk (fermented leafy greens) soup and, if you like spice, the local dalle chillies.

• MorningDrive down through tea gardens to the Teesta
• MiddayPermit check at the Sikkim border
• AfternoonClimb to Gangtok and check in
• EveningMG Marg

OvernightGangtok, 3 nights, at a hotel with valley views.

Rumtek Monastery and the monasteries of Gangtok

Drive to Rumtek Monastery, built in the 1960s by the 16th Karmapa after he left Tibet, and a major seat of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Its main hall is painted in vivid colours, and the young monks' study and prayer bring it to life. Behind it, a golden stupa holds the relics of the 16th Karmapa. Security checks are in place; carry your passport. Walk clockwise around the buildings and ask before photographing monks.

In the afternoon, visit the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, with one of the finest collections of Tibetan manuscripts, thangkas and ritual objects in the world, the Do Drul Chorten with its 108 prayer wheels, and Enchey Monastery above the town. Opening days vary, so your guide may reorder these stops.

If the sky is clear in the late afternoon, drive to one of the viewpoints on the hills above Gangtok, such as Ganesh Tok, for a view over the town to Kangchenjunga. Otherwise, spend a quiet evening near MG Marg.

• MorningRumtek Monastery
• AfternoonNamgyal Institute of Tibetology, Do Drul Chorten and Enchey Monastery
• Late afternoonGanesh Tok viewpoint, weather permitting

OvernightGangtok, at a hotel with valley views.

Tsomgo Lake in the high mountains

Drive up the Nathu La road, through forest and then above the tree line, to Tsomgo (Changu) Lake, a glacial lake at about 3,753 metres, sacred to Sikkimese Buddhists. The road passes the Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary, with rhododendron and fir forest. In spring, rhododendrons bloom around the lake; in winter it may be frozen and the slopes white with snow.

Foreign nationals need a Protected Area Permit for Tsomgo, issued for groups of two or more, which we arrange. Nathu La itself, on the border with Tibet, is closed to foreigners. The road can close after heavy snow or landslides, so this day stays flexible. Leave early: cloud usually rolls in by late morning.

You are more than 2,000 metres higher than Gangtok, so walk slowly, drink water and keep your time at the lake to an hour or so. Dress warmly. Stalls by the lake sell hot tea, momos and noodles, and yak rides are offered along the shore.

Return to Gangtok for a quiet evening.

• Early morningDrive to Tsomgo Lake
• MiddayTime at the lake
• AfternoonReturn to Gangtok

OvernightGangtok, at a hotel with valley views.

West to Pelling via Ravangla

Drive west across Sikkim on winding roads through cardamom plantations and forest. Sikkim is one of the world's largest producers of large cardamom, and you will see the plants growing in the shade of alder trees on the slopes.

Near Ravangla, stop at Temi Tea Garden, Sikkim's only tea estate, whose neat rows of bushes run down a steep hillside. Then visit the Buddha Park at Ravangla, with its giant statue of the Buddha, more than 40 metres tall and consecrated in 2013, set against the mountains. It is a peaceful place for a walk around the gardens and a pause for lunch.

The road then drops and climbs again through small towns and terraced fields to Pelling in West Sikkim, the old heartland of the Sikkim kingdom. This is a long day of mountain driving, so take a travel-sickness tablet if you need one. On a clear evening, Kangchenjunga and its neighbouring peaks seem close enough to touch from the town; the best light on the mountain is usually at dawn.

• MorningDrive across Sikkim
• Late morningTemi Tea Garden
• MiddayBuddha Park at Ravangla
• EveningKangchenjunga views from Pelling

OvernightPelling, 2 nights, at a hotel facing Kangchenjunga.

Pemayangtse, Rabdentse and Khecheopalri Lake

Rise early if the sky is clear, when Kangchenjunga is usually at its sharpest from Pelling. Then walk to Pemayangtse Monastery, one of the oldest and most important in Sikkim, founded in the early 18th century by the Nyingma school. On its top floor is an extraordinary seven-tiered wooden sculpture of the celestial palace of Guru Rinpoche, carved by a single lama.

Follow a forest path to the ruins of Rabdentse, the capital of the Sikkim kingdom from 1670 until the early 19th century, with views across to Kangchenjunga. Little more than stone walls and chortens remain, but the setting on a forested ridge explains why the kings chose it.

After lunch, visit Khecheopalri Lake, sacred to Buddhists and Hindus, set in forest. Prayer flags line the walkway, and it is said birds keep the surface clear of leaves. Keep your voice low and do not feed the fish. On the way back you can stop at the Kanchenjunga Falls, at their fullest after the monsoon.

• DawnKangchenjunga views from Pelling
• MorningPemayangtse Monastery and the ruins of Rabdentse
• AfternoonKhecheopalri Lake and the Kanchenjunga Falls

OvernightPelling, at a hotel facing Kangchenjunga.

Down to the plains and fly to Assam

The longest travel day of the trip. Leave Pelling after an early breakfast and drive down from the mountains through the valleys of the Rangeet and the Teesta, where the air turns warm and the forest becomes subtropical. The road then runs out onto the flat plains around Siliguri and Bagdogra airport. We build in time for traffic and roadworks, and pack a snack for the car.

Fly east to Guwahati, the gateway to India's north-eastern states, on the banks of the Brahmaputra, one of the great rivers of Asia, which rises in Tibet. The flight is short, and from the right side of the plane you may see the Himalaya to the north on a clear day.

If your flight lands in time, see the sunset over the Brahmaputra from the riverfront. For dinner, try an Assamese thali, with masor tenga, a light, sour fish curry, and khar, a dish made with an alkaline extract from banana peel. Guwahati's Kamakhya Temple, an important Hindu shrine, can be visited early tomorrow before the drive.

• MorningDrive to Bagdogra
• AfternoonFlight to Guwahati (included)
• EveningBrahmaputra riverfront and an Assamese dinner

OvernightGuwahati, 1 night.

Along the Brahmaputra to Kaziranga

If you would like to, start with an early visit to Kamakhya Temple on Nilachal Hill, one of the most important shrines of the Hindu goddess, before the queues build. Then drive east along the Brahmaputra valley, past rice paddies, bamboo villages and Assam's tea gardens, to Kaziranga National Park. The last stretch runs along the park's southern edge, and you may spot rhinos or deer in the grass from the highway.

Kaziranga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of tall elephant grass, marshes and forest on the floodplain of the Brahmaputra. It holds about two-thirds of the world's greater one-horned rhinos, more than 2,600 at the last count, as well as wild water buffalo, swamp deer, elephants and tigers. The park's safari ranges usually open from about October or November to April and close in the monsoon, when the river floods the plain.

After lunch, take your first jeep safari in the Central Range at Kohora. Wear muted colours, keep your voice down and bring binoculars and a scarf against the dust.

• Early morningOptional visit to Kamakhya Temple
• MorningDrive along the Brahmaputra
• AfternoonJeep safari in the Central Range

OvernightKaziranga, 2 nights, at a wildlife lodge on the edge of the park.

Grassland and wetland safaris

Take a morning jeep safari in the Western Range at Bagori, often the best range for rhinos, with open grassland and beels, the shallow lakes where buffalo wallow and birds gather. Kaziranga is an Important Bird Area, with pelicans, storks, fish eagles and, in winter, migrant waterfowl. On winter mornings, mist often lies over the grass and lifts as the sun climbs, which makes for good photographs.

Spend the middle of the day at the lodge, or take a short walk through a nearby tea garden or a village of the Mising people, who build their houses on stilts above the flood level. Lunch might be Assamese duck curry, fish with mustard, or bamboo-shoot dishes.

Then take an afternoon safari in another range, the Eastern Range at Agaratoli for birds or the Central Range again. Your naturalist will explain the park's conservation story: from a few dozen rhinos a century ago to one of India's great wildlife successes. Tigers live here in good numbers, but the tall grass hides them, so treat a sighting as a bonus.

• MorningJeep safari in the Western Range
• MiddayRest at the lodge, or a tea-garden or village walk
• AfternoonJeep safari in another range

OvernightKaziranga, at a wildlife lodge on the edge of the park.

A last safari and drive to Guwahati airport

Take an optional dawn safari, when the grasslands are at their quietest and animals are most active, or simply enjoy a slow breakfast at the lodge with the sound of birds around you.

Then drive back west along the Brahmaputra valley to Guwahati airport, about five hours with a stop for lunch on the way. Book a flight leaving after about 4 pm. Guwahati has direct flights to Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and other Indian hubs for your connection home. If you have time to spare, Assam tea makes a light, easy gift to carry.

• DawnOptional safari
• MorningBreakfast and check-out
• DepartureDrive to Guwahati airport