Yuksom, a town that was the first capital of Sikkim, is the base point for Goecha La trek. It is one of the most scenic treks in India and Yuksom as the base point is like a cherry on the cake.
The town is beautiful and extremely well maintained. From lush green pastures, tall trees, a magnificent lake, to an ancient monastery, there are a number of places to visit in Yuksom that makes it a popular destination among tourists. This jewel of Sikkim seems to have been preserved by the Gods themselves.
Here's How to reach Yuksom, Sikkim
By Train
The nearest railway station is New Jalpaiguri (NJP) that's 150 km away from Yuksom. From NJP one must leave early morning and reach Siliguri to take the shared taxi. In case one wants to travel by reserved taxi, one can book the same from NJP or Siliguri. It is advisable though to book the same from Siliguri.
By Plane
The nearest airport is in Bagdogra, 12 km west of Siliguri and about 170 km from Yuksom. From here, one should move to Siliguri and use the road options as discussed below to reach Yuksom.
Siliguri/NJP to Yuksom
Road Journey
Backward Journey from Yuksom
This is comparatively easier to plan and implement. One can reserve a taxi from Yuksom till Bagdogra/NJP/Siliguri as required. Only advice is to start as early as possible.
As far as shared taxi options are concerned, the first one (and the only direct option) starts at around 5/6 am. The guy Ramesh (mentioned above as well) goes to Siliguri every day. One should come to the area in front of the Gupta Store in Yuksom and capture a seat as early as possible in this taxi because there can be many wanting to travel to Siliguri sometimes. Fare would be around INR 500 per person. Post this, there are 2-3 more taxis coming to Jorethang and the last one can be taken by around 8 or 9 am. There may be some going to Jorethang after that as well but then the onward journey from Jorethang to Siliguri / NJP / Bagdogra would become impossible on the same day. Fare would be around INR 250 to 300.
From Jorethang, one can get a taxi till Siliguri till 4 pm from the Jorethang bus stand. Take a ticket (with seat number and taxi number) from the counter in the taxi stand and board your taxi till Siliguri. These taxis would drop you at Payal cinema stand from where you can take a reserved auto or cycle rickshaw to move to Junction (TNBS) or NJP. Shared tempos can also be taken but none goes directly from Payal to Junction, one needs to change the tempo from a place in between. The fare would be around INR 150 to 200.
In case you have a flight from Bagdogra, you can get a bus from TNBS or junction till Bagdogra but the point where it drops is around 3-4 Kms away from the airport. One can take a taxi or auto rickshaw from here till the airport for around Rs. 50 to 150.
Hope the above info is good to solve your travel problems for Goecha La Trek. Now all you need to know is what would be the best time to do Goecha La, as this trek can be done in various seasons depending on how you want to see the trail - green or snow-laden.