Pelling is a small town with magnificent views of the Kanchenjunga Himalayan mountain range – when it is not obscured in clouds, which happens a lot in Sikkim. We were lucky. Our first morning we looked out of the window of our hotel to a perfect view of the mountains.

We noticed a definite drop in temperature in Pelling; the Sikkim winter is on its way. Our hotel was very comfortable with plentiful hot water and a big luxury – an electric blanket on the bed, which we made full use of.

We headed off to the ‘skywalk’ early the first day so we could ensure that we fully appreciated the Mountain View before it inevitably disappeared behind the clouds again. Most people visit on tours of the area, but we decided to walk up and were glad that we did. It was a pleasant (although quite steep uphill) walk and the road was empty of cars at that time in the morning. We arrived just before the monument opened and had it to ourselves for the first hour, except for a handful of about six older Indian tourists from Kolkata, who had also made an early start.

The ‘Skywalk’ is a glass sided and floored walkway, but we found this less of an attraction than the Gompa/ temple that we had to ascend many steps to enter. With views of the mountains on all sides and piped Buddhist chants, the atmosphere was very calming and elevating.

On the terrace at the Gompa/ Temple

On the ‘Skywalk’ below the Gompa

After our visit we had a breakfast of ‘Thukpa’ which is Tibetan/ Nepali noodle soup at a little cafe favoured by the taxi drivers at the foot of the Skywalk. We then spotted a small monastery called Sang Ngag-Choling tucked away nearby. Apparently the name means ‘Place of Occultism’. It is associated with Vajra/ Tantric deities. This was one of my favourite monastery visits. It was very small and quiet and nobody else but a few monks were around. There were fantastic views of the surrounding countryside and it felt very meditative.

Sang Ngag-Choling Monastery

That evening we were planning what to eat in a local cafe when we were approached by a young Indian man. He gave us advice on the best local dishes to choose. It turns out that he makes short videos of travels around the world which he posts on instagram, where he has an impressive following (53.1k as opposed to my 48). We had a sociable time sharing travelling tales over dinner and later made a (very brief) appearance in one of his videos (instagram – foodreviewonline).

The next day we walked to another local monastery and lake. There are lots of sacred lakes associated with monasteries in Sikkim. This one, like others we have visited, are tranquil places to sit a while. I wished I could have photographed the inside of the Pemayangtse Monastery, in particular an amazing creation made by a monk that took him five years to complete. It is a seven-tiered painted wooden model of Padmasambhava’s Zhangdo Palri or heavenly palace. It contains tiny intricate figures of demons, Boddhisavas etc.

From the Pemayangste Monastery it was a short but steep walk along a road and through some tranquil woods to the Rabdentse ruins of the original capital of Sikkim. We met some Punjabi lads having a good time and they persuaded Tim to let them film him dancing to a Bollywood type tune. I took a video too. Very impressive Dad dancing, Indian style (see my Facebook and instagram for the video). We called into a posh hotel on the walk back for tea and cakes and admired their beautiful gardens.

Pelling is a big tourist centre for both Indian tourists and foreigners in season, although while we were there it was quiet. There are lots of agencies who will organise taxis and tours. We talked to a husband and wife run agency who agreed to arrange a taxi to take us to Yuksom the next day and stop off at local attractions during the journey.

We also spent some time planning the rest of our trip, booking various hotels, coaches and train rides. We decided to organise a taxi from Yuksom to Kalimpong in West Bengal as an alternative to relying on the shared jeeps, which would involve three changes and a very squashed and rough full day of travel. I booked up a treat – the Elgin Silver Oaks Hotel in Kalimpong, which sounds like a beautiful heritage hotel where we will stay for four nights before heading back to Siliguri and a night bus journey from there to Kolkata.