Delhi to Gangtok With a Dog
Roughly 1640km by road, which is around 23 hours of driving. Almost nobody does this by car with a dog. Train or plane is the sensible route.
One page for both legs. The return from Gangtok covers identical ground, usually with a more tired dog.
Do not drive this one
Around 1640km each way. Almost nobody does this by car with a dog, and the ones who do wish they had booked the train. Railhead: New Jalpaiguri, 120 km and roughly 4 to 5 hours away.
Leaving Delhi
Gangtok lies east of Delhi, roughly 1640km by road. Leaving Delhi is the first hour of any trip and the worst. Aim to clear the city before 6am or after 10pm, because the ring roads and the NH exits are where a seven hour drive becomes nine. In winter, fog on the northern highways delays departures more reliably than traffic does.
Where to break this journey
The only humane way to drive this is in stages, and these are the stages.
- Varanasi , heritage in Uttar Pradesh, around 61% of the way
- Auli , hill in Uttarakhand, around 27% of the way
- Mukteshwar , hill in Uttarakhand, around 22% of the way
Of the 57 destinations we cover, Gangtok is the 34th closest to Delhi.
Closer from Delhi, if this is further than you wanted
- Delhi to Khajjiar , about 14 hours, hill in Himachal Pradesh
- Delhi to Jaisalmer , about 13 hours, desert in Rajasthan
- Delhi to Varanasi , about 13 hours, heritage in Uttar Pradesh
Gangtok in one paragraph
Clean, cool and walkable in parts. Several high-altitude permits in Sikkim have their own conditions, and higher passes are a genuine altitude risk for dogs.
The full Gangtok guide has the detail on what is walkable, what is off limits to dogs and what the season does to the place.
Veterinary access at the far end
A government veterinary hospital in Gangtok and limited private options. Anything specialised means Siliguri, which is four to five hours down.
Know where the nearest twenty four hour option is even if the local one looks fine, since local ones close. Emergency vets by city.
Timing it from Delhi
Delhi is the hardest climate in this list for a dog. Summer runs past 45C from May, and heatstroke cases climb through it. Winter smog is genuinely difficult for flat faced breeds and older dogs with any respiratory weakness.
Diwali is the busiest week of the year for Delhi emergency clinics, between firework injuries and dogs who have bolted. May and June are the heat months.
Set that against Gangtok, where the advice is to go march to may, october to december and avoid June to September. The overlap between those two windows is your actual travel season, and it is usually narrower than either one suggests on its own.
Doing this journey with your dog
At around 23 hours of driving this is two days each way, which is the argument for the train. Secure the dog properly. A crate strapped down or a harness clipped to a seat belt point, never loose on a lap or hanging out of a window. In a sudden brake an unrestrained dog becomes a projectile, and over 23 hours the odds of one sudden brake on an Indian highway are close to certain. On a run this long they will settle far better in a defined space.
Our breed climate checker scores how your breed copes with the conditions at Gangtok, and the travel hub has the other 56 destinations if this one turns out to be the wrong fit.
Questions people ask
How far is Gangtok from Delhi?
Roughly 1640km by road, east of Delhi, which is around 23 hours of driving. At that distance almost nobody drives it with a dog, and the figure is an estimate rather than a looked-up number.
Should I fly or take the train from Delhi to Gangtok?
Flying is faster and harder on the dog. Airport handling, the noise, the hold if they are over the cabin limit, and a crate they cannot leave. A train is longer in hours and easier in every other respect, and you can walk them at station halts.
Can I drive from Delhi to Gangtok with a dog if I want to?
You can, over two or three days. Varanasi, Auli, Mukteshwar sit broadly along the corridor and make sensible overnight stops.
What is the best time to visit Gangtok with a dog?
March to May, October to December. Avoid June to September, because monsoon landslides.
Do I need to book pet friendly stays in Gangtok ahead?
Yes, and confirm by phone rather than trusting a listing. Properties marked pet friendly frequently turn out to mean small dogs only, or specific rooms, or an undisclosed fee. Get the size limit in writing.
What should I pack for Delhi to Gangtok?
Water and a collapsible bowl, their own food rather than a new one, the physical vaccination card, any medication, a spare lead, poo bags and an old towel. The vaccination card is the item people leave behind and then need.
These figures are estimated from geography rather than read off a map service. They hold up well enough for deciding whether a trip is a day or two, and less well for deciding what time you arrive.
Get a day by day version
Enter your dates and the planner lays out the journey, the stops and the return in order.
Plan it outMore on Gangtok: the full destination guide.