Kathmandu or Gangtok?
 

I have 3 full days and 4 nights following a quick golden triangle trip.
I would love some feed back. A tour guide would say to do both but I would rather not since this is the end of the trip. Is Kathmandu really crowded and dirty?

I've been reading your previous thread. It seems nobody has pointed out the bleeding obvious. Getting there.

You'll finish your Triangle trip in Delhi.

Delhi to Bagdogra is a two hour flight. Add on two hours before that for transfers and security and then about seven hours drive to Gangtok where, in your search for a yak, you'll head off for another three hour drive to Tromso to sit on it before you drive three hours back to Gangtok.

Oh, then you can sightsee for a day, then drive the seven hours back to Bagdogra to wait then catch your flight back to Delhi...

Kathmandu is a two hour direct flight, visa on arrival. Yes, it's crowded and dirty. So is India. You can choose to concentrate on that - or not.

No, in three days you don't have time to wander down to Chitwan to see an elephant.

These are dramatically different destinations in terms of culture.

Yes, Kathmandu is really crowded and dirty. It is predominently Hindu, but has both Hindu and Buddhist religious sites.

Gangtok is predominently Buddhist, and has a number of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the area. It is remarkably clean.

It's easy to get to Kathmandu - you just fly in. It's more complicated to get to Gangtok. You fly into Bagdogra and it's about a 4 hour drive, much of it in the mountains with crumbling roads and hairpin turns.

I've been to both places and I've loved both places for entirely different reasons.

I have trip reports on both places - click on my name and you will find them. Take a look at some of our photos at www.marlandc.com

I found this description of the drive from Bagdogra to Gangtok.

<i> We set out on our long drive. The books say the drive is 4 hours, it took us 5 and a half, with a half an hour stop to get our Sikkim permits in Rangpo. It took the first half hour just to get out of Bagdogra, the traffic was so bad. Roads were terrible, and many of the traffic jams were caused by vehicles needing to proceed one at time over broken pavement.

Once we began to ascend slightly, traffic thinned out, but the roads continued to be unpredictable. There might be a mile of lovely pavement, followed by several miles of pavement so broken and rutted that the vehicle had to slow to a crawl. Add to that the increasing number of hairpin turns, and the going was very, very slow. Many places the road had been washed out by monsoon rains, or swept away by rock or mud slides. There is perpetual road re-construction and repair going on.

This is not a trip for someone prone to motion sickness. The roads are very rough, and the route in the mountains consists of one hairpin turn after another... </i>

Can't remember where I saw it.

Personally travel time expense will result in your touring

mostly the inside of various vehicles make more time or

just fly into Kathmandu it is a little dodgy dirty so is India.

virtualtourist.com good insider info from locals.

dogster, I completely agree, I dont want to spend the entire trip "getting there or home". I have gained and extra day. With 4 nights for this "excursion", Gangtok is more "do-able".

I did get my answer from both of you... Kathmandu is worth researching as an alternative.

Is there any other destination in this region which I should add to the "research list"?

From the pictures, the dirty-level didn't seem bad at all, even not close to overwhelming. Rivers seemed disgusting, but everything else appeared fine with trash in the corners as expected. I read a thread which said the locals wear masks in the city and she felt she got sick due to the poor air quality. That concerns me.

I have a ton of questions, but I will do my research first so I dont "wear-out my welcome".

lol, dogster. My prose seems more evocative when you quote it.

ventsoso, I got sick my first time in Kathmandu many years ago, but the air was cleaner my last visit. The air was clear enough that we could see the snow-capped Himalayas from the city. Still, Kathmandu is dirty - but fascinating.

Here's some background from vent's previous post that is apropos...

<i>I am planning a trip for March 2012 to India. This is our first trip to India. I am traveling with my husband and 11 yr old son. They are very outdoor people and both really want to experience the Himalayan mountains as well as the Golden Triangle. </i>

Bottom line, vent - forget about Gangtok. If you want mountains then go Kathmandu. If you REALLY want mountains and some outdoor stuff, sans dirt - as a complete wildcard, fly to Paro. Stay at Uma Paro, do their stuff. While Dad and the lad are bonding in the hills, you can hurtle off and see stuff.

http://www.uma.paro.como.bz/

If Kathmandu, stay here:
http://kathmandu.regency.hyatt.com/h...index.jsp?null

and don't believe a single word anyone says about the fabulous mountain views from Dhulikel, Pokhara or anywhere else with a crap tourist lookout.

Here's some background from vent's previous post that is apropos...

<i>I am planning a trip for March 2012 to India. This is our first trip to India. I am traveling with my husband and 11 yr old son. They are very outdoor people and both really want to experience the Himalayan mountains as well as the Golden Triangle. </i>

Bottom line, vent - forget about Gangtok. If you want mountains then go Kathmandu. If you REALLY want mountains and some outdoor stuff, sans dirt - as a complete wildcard, fly to Paro. Stay at Uma Paro, do their stuff. While Dad and the lad are bonding in the hills, you can hurtle off and see stuff.

http://www.uma.paro.como.bz/

If Kathmandu, stay here:
http://kathmandu.regency.hyatt.com/h...index.jsp?null

and don't believe a single word anyone says about the fabulous mountain views from Dhulikel, Pokhara or anywhere else with a crap tourist lookout.

March would be a bit early for Ladakh, but India has mountains in the west as well as east. You could consider Shimla, Dharamsala, Rishikesh... But there's certainly enough in and around Kathmandu for three or four days. After India it won't seem that bad....

Will you be flying out of DEL after your trip?Will you go back into the city, or jsut be "in transit"?

Make sure you can re-enter . There's been talk on other threads about that , though i am completely ignorant about the current rules and regs.

BTW, thanks Thurs, you took the words out of my mouth.

Ventoso what do you mean by "experience the Himalayan mts" ? View, easy walk or hike , or mt climb??