Guwahati: As visitors from far areas have begun to arrive in the northeastern state of Sikkim, the state government has issued a notice alerting travellers to bogus travel agencies.
The advisory mentions, “Tourists visiting Sikkim are hereby advised that while booking tours online, they may kindly check the authenticity of travel agencies they are booking with, as the Tourism & Civil Aviation Department, Government of Sikkim has been receiving many complaints against online travel agencies that are operating fraudulently.
Further, it is advised that tours to Sikkim may be booked only through travel agencies registered with the Tourism & Civil Aviation Department, Government of Sikkim to avoid such complications.
The names of registered travel agents are available on the Departmental website www.sikkimtourism.gov.in.”
On January 3, tourist vehicles in Sikkim arrived at Tsomgo Lake, which had previously been blocked owing to significant snowfall. The tourists were finally able to approach the lake after being cut off by the heavy snowfall for five days.
Since the Himalayan state has been continuously receiving snowfall since December 27, the Sikkim Police on December 30 decided to stop issuing permits to tourists for visits to Tsomgo and Nathu-la, an official said.
The official announced that the already-issued tourist permits would also be revoked. Since December 27, Sikkim has had significant snowfall, blocking access to the state’s top tourist attractions, Tsomgo Lake and Nathu-la, he said.
The official stated that although permits for the North Sikkim district’s popular tourist sites Lachen, Lachung, Gurudongmar Lake, and Yumthang are still being issued, they will cease if significant snowfall closes the roads leading to those locations. Lachung and Lachen have recorded a minimum temperature of 3 degrees Celsius in the last two days while the state capital Gangtok recorded the lowest temperature of 5 degrees Celsius.
