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JORETHANG
The most important town in Western Sikkim, Jorethang, lies in the very
south of the state, just across the river Rangit (also spelt as Ranjeet)
from Singla Bazaar in West Bengal and a mere 30-km north of
Darjeeling
, all but visible across the tea plantations.
Set on an extensive shelf, which makes it feel oddly flat despite the
huge hills that rise in every direction, it's a surprisingly pleasant and
well-ordered place, with a good market and a couple of decent budget
hotels.
LEGSHIP
Legship, in the deep Rangit valley 26-km north of Naya Bazaar, is the
first town one comes to if one is traveling towards to Western
Sikkim from Gangtok,
just under 100-km west. It's an important regional road junction. A police
checkpoint just beyond the main crossroads checks all permits.
HOW
TO GET THERE Jorethang: -
Road: Jorethang is well connected by bus with the rest of Sikkim, and
there are direct buses to Siliguri, but no buses cross the border due
south into West
Bengal , although jeeps make the extraordinarily steep 25-km journey
to Darjeeling
. Buses for Gangtok leave early in the
morning am and in the afternoon for Uttarey via Pelling,
and for Ghezing in the morning and at
noon, connecting with the 2.00 pm departure for Tashiding and Yoksum. Few
jeeps also leave Jorethang after 1.00 pm.
Legship: -
Road: Jeeps and buses connect Legship with
Gangtok, Ghezing and Yoksum via Tashiding,
and also with Jorethang.
PLACES TO STAYThere are quite decent budget hotel accommodations available at Jorethang.
NEARBY CITIESDarjeeling
: 30-km (From Jorethang)
Gangtok: 100-km (From Legship)