East in May

Tea estates, the UNESCO toy train and sunrise over Kanchenjunga from Tiger Hill.

A quieter hill town of flower nurseries, monasteries and old colonial buildings.

Forest villages at the edge of Neora Valley National Park, with a canopy walk and birding trails.

A lake town ringed by tea gardens and orange orchards, near the Nepal border.

A hamlet of homestays on a ridge with a wide Kanchenjunga panorama.

A ridge trek along the India–Nepal border with Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Kanchenjunga in one view.

A shorter trek from Yuksom to the Dzongri meadow and its sunrise over Kanchenjunga and Pandim.

Sikkim's tidy hill capital — MG Marg, Rumtek monastery and Kanchenjunga on clear mornings.

The classic trek to a viewpoint at the foot of Kanchenjunga, through rhododendron forest and Dzongri.

One of the highest lakes in the world, sacred to Buddhists and Sikhs, on the Tibetan plateau edge.

A wooden village under sheer cliffs and a valley of rhododendrons and hot springs, with Zero Point beyond.

A ridge town facing Kanchenjunga, with Pemayangtse monastery, Rabdentse ruins and a glass skywalk.

A ridge town with the giant Buddha Park, tea gardens below and Kanchenjunga views.

A glacial lake at 3,750 m and the old Silk Route pass on the China border, a day trip from Gangtok.

Sikkim's first capital — a quiet village of prayer flags, Dubdi monastery and the Khecheopalri lake nearby.

The zigzag Old Silk Route road through Zuluk, Thambi viewpoint and Kupup lake.

A hill town with a large monastery, apple orchards and views over the Kameng valleys.

A river valley of Monpa villages, a stone dzong, hot springs and kiwi orchards on the Tawang road.

A remote valley near the China border with an old Buddhist monastery and the Siyom river.

India's largest monastery in a high valley near Bhutan and Tibet, reached over the snowy Sela Pass.

A wide valley of Apatani villages, pine hills and paddy fields, home to the Ziro Music Festival.

The glass-clear Umngot river on the Bangladesh border — boating, riverside camping and kayaking.

A turquoise-pool waterfall in the Jaintia hills where you can swim (with life jackets).

A grassy rim above huge green gorges, with steps down to the hidden village of Rasong.

A spotless Khasi village with a living root bridge and a bamboo sky-view tower over Bangladesh.

Often called the wettest place on earth, with a limestone cave and a natural Shiva-linga stalagmite.

A hill capital of pine ridges, cafes, live music and colonial-era lanes.

Plunging waterfalls like Nohkalikai, limestone caves and gorge views over Bangladesh.