I am from Mumbai and together with my cousins we want to go to Gangtok in Sikkim. We have two options to either go straight to Gangtok or go to Patna first meet up with some of our friends and take a car from Patna to Gangtok. It would be good going in a bigger group but we need to know how to reach Gangtok from the different destinations mentioned. We are open to the various modes of transport, and budget is not a problem.
Hello there, welcome to the forum! So first from Mumbai, here are your transportation options to reach Gangtok in Sikkim: 1. By Air - Gangtok doesn't have its own airport but the nearest airport is in Bagdogra. This is in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal and is known as the Bagdogra Airport. The major cities in India that it caters to are Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Guwahati. From Mumbai, here are some of its flights: Indigo 6E 321 - Departs at 9:15 and arrives at 14:45. Flight duration is five hours. Fare is at Rs. 8,654 per passenger. Air India AI 806 - Departs at 8:00 and arrives at 13:30. Flight duration is 5 hours and 30 minutes. Fare is at Rs. 9,904 per passenger. Jet Airways 9W 625 - Departs at 18:10 and arrives at 15:55. Flight duration is 21 hours and 45 minutes. Fare is at Rs. 11,004 per passenger. From Bagdogra, you can opt to ride a helicopter to reach Gangtok in Sikkim. You can book a ticket through the Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation or in the Bagdogra Airport counter. Fare is Rs. 3,500 per person. There are two helicopter flights daily to Gangtok. Here is the timing: Bagdogra to Gangtok - 11:00 am and 2:30 pm You can also ride a taxi to reach Gangtok from the airport. Fare may be between Rs. 2,800 to Rs. 4,200. Journey time is around 5 to 6 hours as the distance is 150 kms. There are also buses plying from Siliguri to Gangtok. They are in the SNT Terminus in Siliguri. To reach Siliguri, you can just ride a taxi from the airport. Here are the timings for the buses: 7:30 am, 8:30 am, 9:30 am, 10:30 am, 11:30 am, 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm. There are also shared taxis or jeeps from Siliguri to Gangtok. These shared taxis or jeeps cost slightly less but can be a more uncomfortable ride. 2. By Train - Gangtok doesn't have its own railway station. The nearest railway station is at Siliguri. Here are the timings for the trains plying this route from Mumbai to Siliguri: Mumbai LTT Kamakhya Express Train No. 12519 - Departs during Sundays at 7:50 and arrives at 20:55. Mumbai LTT Guwahati Express Train No. 15645 - Departs during Wednesdays and Saturdays at 8:05 and arrives at 1:00. Mumbai LTT Guwahati Express Train No. 15647 - Departs during Fridays at 8:05 and arrives at 3:30. Mumbai LTT Kamakhya Karmabhoomi Express Train No. 22511 - Departs during Wednesdays at 11:30 and arrives at 10:00. Pune Kamakhya Suvidha Puja Special Train No. 82505 - Departs during Thursdays at 13:05 and arrives at 7:45. Then, from Siliguri Railway Station, you can just ride a taxi to reach the bus stand and ride a bus or shared jeep going to Gangtok. The bus timings are already given above. I won't recommend going by just buses from Mumbai to Gangtok as the distance is quite long. It's better to ride a train to reach Siliguri and from there, just ride a bus to reach your main destination, which is Gangtok. 3. By Private Vehicle/Hired Taxi - The distance between Mumbai and Gangtok is about 2,400 kms and it can take you 2 to 3 days to reach the latter. Here's the route you have to take: Mumbai > Nashik > Dhule > Betul > Katni > Rewa > Varanasi > Ballia > Muzaffarpur > Siliguri > Darjeeling > Gangtok. Now, we go to your transportation options from Patna to Gangtok: 1. By Bus - From Patna, you can ride a bus going to Siliguri. Here are some bus timings I was able to find: Raj Bus Services (AC Seater Sleeper Bus) - Departs at 16:30 and arrives at 6:00. Naxalbari Himalayan Cooperative Transport Society (Non AC Seater Sleeper Bus) - Departs at 18:20 and arrives at 6:00. Mitruka Pushparaj (Non AC Seater Bus) - Departs at 18:20 and arrives at 6:00. From Siliguri, you can then ride a shared jeep or bus to reach Gangtok. The jeep stand and bus stand are located next to each other. The timings for the buses are given already but the timings for jeeps are not fixed. 2. By Train - There are many trains plying from Patna to Siliguri. Here are their timings: Sikkim Mahananda Express Train No. 15484 - Departs daily at 1:00 and arrives at 14:20. Bhagat Ki Kothi Kamakhya Express Train No. 15623 - Departs during Thursdays at 3:40 and arrives at 13:50. Bikaner Guwahati Express Train No. 25631 - Departs during Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:45 and arrives at 15:20. Barmer Guwahati Express Train No. 15631 - Departs during Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:45 and arrives at 15:20. Brahmaputra Mail Train No. 14056 - Departs daily at 15:11 and arrives at 5:00. Again, from Siliguri, you have the same options for jeeps or buses. 3. By Private Vehicle/Hired Taxi - The distance between Patna and Gangtok is about 580 kms and it can take you 12 to 13 hours to reach the latter. Here's the route you have to take: Patna > Muzaffarpur > Darbhanga > Forbesganj > Bahadurganj > Siliguri > Kalimpong > Gangtok. I hope this helps!
