Hilly Heaven Homestay at Phadamchen

Hilly Heaven Homestay is a family-friendly homestay in Phadamchen, also spelt Padamchen, a forest village on the Old Silk Route in East Sikkim. Eight rooms sleep up to 25 guests, and rates start at ₹1,080 per person with all meals, tea and evening snacks included.

Phadamchen sits at roughly 8,000 ft, below Zuluk and the high passes. Many Silk Route travellers find a night here easier on the body before they climb towards Nathang and the zig-zag road. The village is quiet, wooded and full of birds, and it makes a sensible base for the upper circuit or two slow days on their own.

There are three room types, all priced per person with meals:

• Himalayan Family Room (four of these): sleeps 4, ₹1,080 per person
• Misty Valley Trio (one): sleeps 3, ₹1,150 per person
• Misty Valley Double (three of these): sleeps 2, ₹1,200 per person

The family rooms are the best value for a group of four. The Misty Valley Doubles suit couples.

Everything is included: breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea and evening snacks. Breakfast, tea and snacks are vegetarian. Lunch and dinner come in vegetarian and non-vegetarian versions, so say what you prefer when you arrive. After a cold day on the high road, a hot dinner by the bonfire is half the reason to stop here.

• Eco Nature Park: a pine forest about 4.3 km away, roughly 10 minutes by car. It is good for a short morning walk.
• Zig-zag road, Silk Route: the famous loops of the Old Silk Route above Zuluk, about 23 km away, roughly an hour's drive.
• Nathang valley: a little over an hour's drive further up. You can see it on a day trip and come back down to sleep.

Around the homestay itself, the hosts can arrange bird watching and a village walk. Padamchen is known for its birdlife, including laughing thrushes and pheasants.

All of these distances are by road to Phadamchen:

• From NJP (New Jalpaiguri) railway station: about 144 km, 5 to 6 hours
• From Siliguri bus stand: about 141 km, 5 to 6 hours
• From Gangtok: about 80 km, around 3.5 hours

Bagdogra is the nearest airport, and from there the road joins the Siliguri route. The Silk Route is a protected area, so every traveller needs a Protected Area Permit. It is issued at Rongli on the way up, so carry photo ID and start early enough to finish the paperwork. Roads near the village are narrow and winding, and a local driver who knows the route is worth having.

March to May and roughly October to November bring the clearest weather and the best mountain views. Snow can fall from December to February. It is beautiful, but heavy snow sometimes closes the higher roads, so keep a spare day. Avoid the monsoon months, when heavy rain on these slopes can bring landslides.

• Check-in from 12 PM, check-out by 10 AM
• All meals, tea and snacks included in the rate
• Pets are welcome
• Suits families and senior citizens
• Free parking at the property
• Bonfire in the evening
• Mobile and internet signal in the village is limited, so download what you need before you leave Gangtok or Siliguri