सिक्किम – आवारा मुसाफिर

Brand Welcomhotel forays into North East at Gangtok

March 14, 2024471 Views

ITC Hotels has announced its foray in the North East with the signing of Welcomhotel Gangtok. The 60 keys property showcases breathtaking views of Mount Kanchenjunga, the highest peak in India and the third highest mountain peak in the world, from every room. Backed by the cuisine expertise of ITC Hotels, Welcomhotel Gangtok will offer two Food and Beverage outlets: ‘Mayal’ the all-day dining restaurant, a pool cafe and bar. The 150 covers ‘Mayal’ brings diners the much popular and loved Sikkimese delicacies. The restaurant is spread both indoors and outdoors, giving guests a picture postcard view of the valley! This local cuisine is already a big favourite with food enthusiasts and travelers who choose to travel to the North East for its immense scenic beauty and food. Ideally ...

खबरनामाघटनाएंसिक्किम

Ropeway operations resume at Gangtok

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

January 4, 20231054 Views

Normal ropeway operations resumed at Gangtok on the 11th of December for half of the day and became fully operational from the 16th of December, Damodar Ropeway said in its release on Wednesday. It was shut down for 16 days for scheduled annual maintenance from the 25th of November to the 15th of December, 2022, with a few trial runs. Since the reopening, the response of the public has been overwhelming, and the ropeway has been operating at its peak capacity. The ropeway provides an easy connection between two parts of the city and offers a panoramic view of the Himalayan vista. It is used both by the local population and tourists. Gangtok Ropeway starts from Deorali Bazar in the city's heart and goes to Sikkim Legislative Assembly. It was erected in 2003 by India’s leading com...

खबरनामाघटनाएंसिक्किम

SpiceJet to suspend only flight to Sikkim

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

October 22, 2022902 Views

Only flight to Sikkim is going to be suspended. SpiceJet, the only carrier that runs daily flights to and from the greenfield airport in Sikkim's Pakyong, will suspend services in the hill state from October 30 due to "operational constraints". In layman’s language it can be translated into huge losses. Therefore, tourists willing to go to Sikkim via flight in winter vacations and during Christmas and New Year holidays might have to resort to old route of landing in Bagdogra and then take an arduous yet beautiful road journey to Gangtok. Pakyong is just about 30 kms from capital Gangtok and thus provides a closer connectivity to tourists and local people. It hardly takes an hour to reach Gangtok from Airport while Bagdogra to Gangtok takes more than 4 hours of trave time. A spok...

खबरनामाघटनाएंसिक्किम

Tourism back on track in Sikkim

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

July 24, 2022947 Views

Tourism industry, the mainstay of Sikkim's economy, has got back on its feet since the lifting of the COVID 19-induced lockdown late last year, officials said. According to tourism department records, as many as 3.08 lakh domestic travellers visited the hill state between October last year and March 2022, with January being the most profitable month for various stakeholders of the sector at 98,456 visitors. "We have seen a massive growth of the tourism industry with the arrival of large number of visitors from across the country since late last year after the lockdown was lifted by the state government, a tourist department official told PTI. As far as foreigners' footfall is concerned, 6,055 people visited Sikkim during the period, he said. In 2019, the Himalayan state ha...

खबरनामाघटनाएंसिक्किम

Blue Duke state butterfly of Sikkim

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

June 5, 20221351 Views

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on the occasion of World Environment Day on Sunday declared Blue Duke the state butterfly. He made the announcement at a function held here. Of the 720 species of butterflies found in Sikkim, Blue Duke was selected as the state butterfly securing 57 per cent votes in a recent online poll conducted by the Forest Department. Blue Duke, which goes by the scientific name Bassarona durga durga, is unique to Sikkim and the eastern Himalayas. It was discovered in the state in 1858. Blue Duke falls in Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and is a protected species in the Himalayas. Krishna Peacock (Papilio Krishna) secured 43 per cent of votes in the online polls to secure the second position. (PTI) ...

खबरनामाघटनाएंसिक्किम

Sikkim eases norms for tourists

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

September 27, 20211063 Views

The Sikkim government has eased norms for tourists visiting the state by doing away with mandatory checking of documents like vaccination certificates and RT-PCR test reports at the border check posts with effect from Monday. The in-bound tourists will not be required to show the documents like being vaccinated with minimum one dose of COVID vaccine or RT-PCR test report done 72 hours prior to entering the Himalayan state to officials manning the border check posts at Melli and Rangpo, a notification issued by the state government said. Earlier, tourists were required to show vaccination certificate or RT-PCR test report at the check posts before being allowed entry into Sikkim as per an earlier notification. Instead of the check post officials, the onus has been put on t...

खबरनामाघटनाएंसिक्किम

Sikkim throws open Lachung for tourists

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

August 18, 20211045 Views

The Sikkim government on Wednesday threw open Yumthang Valley in Lachung village for tourists, a week after it allowed similar relaxations in other famous destinations such as Tsomgo Lake, Baba Mandir and Nathula, a notification said. Lachung Dzumsa, a local body that controls tourism activities in the North Sikkim village, welcomed the decision and said that strict adherence to COVID guidelines will be ensured. Lachung is often known as one of the most beautiful villages in the region. Tourists were seen thronging the East Sikkim destinations of Tsomgo Lake and Baba Mandir after those were opened for visitors last week. The state government will decide on opening up another much-visited destination of Gurudongmar Lake in Lachen village in North Sikkim for tourists after hold...

भारतसिक्किमसैर-सपाटा

लाजवाब लाचुंग

UPENDRA SWAMI

January 30, 20211608 Views

जो लोग बर्फीले इलाकों में नहीं रहते उनके लिए रुई के फाहों सी गिरती बर्फ में बड़ा रूमानी आकर्षण होता है। उत्तर सिक्किम में लाचुंग ऐसी ही जगह है, जहां जब बर्फ गिरती है तो उसका नजारा मंत्रमुग्ध करने वाला होता है। सिक्किम की खूबसूरती के चर्चे तो आम हैं। लेकिन यहां हम जिक्र कर रहे हैं उस जगह का जिसे सिक्किम के सबसे खूबसूरत गांव के रूप में ख्याति हासिल है। इस गांव का नाम है लाचुंग। इसे यह दर्जा दिया था ब्रिटिश घुमक्कड़ जोसेफ डॉल्टन हुकर ने 1855 में प्रकाशित हुए द हिमालयन जर्नल में। लेकिन जोसेफ डाल्टन के उस तमगे के बिना भी यह गांव दिलकश है। यह उत्तर सिक्किम में चीन की सीमा के बहुत नजदीक है। है। लाचुंग 9600 फुट की ऊंचाई पर लाचेन व लाचुंग नदियों के संगम पर स्थित है। ये नदियां ही आगे जाकर तीस्ता नदी में मिल जाती हैं। इतनी ऊंचाई पर ठंड तो बारहमासी होती है। लेकिन बर्फ गिरी हो तो यहां की खूबसूरती क...

खबरनामाघटनाएंसिक्किम

Tabletop Pakyong airport in Sikkim gets direct flight from Delhi

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

January 23, 20211278 Views

Direct flight services between Delhi and Sikkim commenced on Saturday with a SpiceJet aircraft landing at one of the most scenic airports in India, Pakyong airport in the Himalayan state with 57 passengers. Commercial flight services to the tabletop airport recommenced after nearly one-and-half years after the private airliner halted its operations between Kolkata and Pakyong in June 2019 due to bad weather conditions and technical problems. Commercial flight operations to the airport started in October 2018. In June 2019, SpiceJet, the airport’s sole airline providing commercial passenger service, ceased its once daily Kolkata-Pakyong-Kolkata flight due to “unpredictable weather in Pakyong which results in very low visibility.” It had already suspended the other daily servic...

खबरनामाघटनाएंसिक्किम

Sikkim to allow tourism activities from Oct 10

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

September 20, 2020579 Views

The Sikkim government has allowed hotels, homestays and other tourism-related services to restart operations from October 10, officials said on Saturday. The Himalayan state has also decided to open its border with West Bengal for unrestricted movement of vehicles from October 1, they said. Lachung village in the North Sikkim A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the hotels and the tourism sector is expected soon, they added. Bookings for hotels and homestays will start from September 27, officials said. While the odd-even road rationing rule for public vehicles will be lifted from October 1, it may continue for private vehicles, they said. The odd-even rule, which was first implemented in Delhi to tackle air pollution by limiting the number of cars as per the last digit...