Bangalore to Gangtok

Air transport is the fastest means of reaching Gangtok from Bangalore. But Gangtok does not have an airport. Therefore, there is no direct flight connectivity between the two places. The aerial distance between the two locations is 2016 km.

Nearest Airport: The closest airport to Gangtok is in Bagdogra, West Bengal. It is 124 km away from Gangtok.

Flight Options: Since Gangtok does not have a functional airport, you need to book a flight ticket from Kempegowda International Airport (BLR), Bangalore to Bagdogra (IXB), West Bengal. This is a direct flight and takes almost 3 hours from Bangalore to Bagdogra. The cost of these direct flights ranges between INR 4000 to 5000. There are a few connecting flights too. These flights have layovers at Kolkata, Delhi, and Mumbai and can cost between INR 5000 to 15,000. However, these flights can take 5 to 27 hours.

Transportation from the airport: From Bagdogra Airport, one can hire a shared taxi or a private vehicle to reach Gangtok. This can take up to four hours. You will inevitably enjoy this drive because of the magnificent beauty of the mountains and the River Teesta. Besides this, you can also take a TSA helicopter from Bagdogra. This will get you to Gangtok in only 20 minutes. But these services entirely depend on the weather conditions and are often unavailable because of insufficient bookings.

This is the cheapest way to reach Gangtok from Bangalore. However, Gangtok does not have a railway station. The closest station to Gangtok is New Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. Hence one will need to book a train ticket from Bangalore to New Jalpaiguri. Note that trains between the two cities run on all days except Sundays and Mondays. The trains take almost 45 hours to reach New Jalpaiguri hence, people do not usually prefer this mode of travel.

Available Train Options

1. Train Name: Guwahati Express (12509)

Departure from: Bangalore Cant (BNC), Bangalore at 11:40 pm
Arrival at: New Jalpaiguri (NJP), West Bengal at 09:25 pm
Duration of journey: 45 hours 45 minutes
Total Number of Stops: 29
Running Days: Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays

Fare:

Sleeper Class- starts from INR 840
AC 3 Tier- starts from INR 2205
AC 2 Tier- starts from INR 3260

2. Train Name: Agartala Humsafar (12503)

Departure from: Bangalore Cant (BNC), Bangalore at 10:15 pm
Arrival at: New Jalpaiguri (NJP), West Bengal at 04:20 am
Duration of journey: 42 hours 05 minutes
Total Number of Stops: 19
Running Days: Tuesdays, Fridays

Fare:

AC 3 Tier- starts from INR 3735

Transportation from the station: New Jalpaiguri is 120 km away from Gangtok. Hence, one can hire a taxi or board a bus from the station to reach Gangtok. It should take approximately four hours to reach Gangtok from New Jalpaiguri.

For taking a bus, you need to reach the bus terminal at Siliguri from New Jalpaiguri which will take 10 to 15 minutes by an auto-rickshaw. From Siliguri bus terminal, Sikkim Nationalized Transport (SNT) operates Sikkim state run buses. These buses to Gangtok run at an interval of one hour, starting at 8:30 am till 3:30 pm. These buses will drop you at SNT bus stand at Deorali which is 2 km away from Gangtok town centre. These buses cost between INR 150 to 200.

Besides this, prepaid taxis are available at the New Jalpaiguri station. The small taxis cost INR 2700 and the large taxis cost up to INR 3200.