[bblost]

Honda has been conducting the "Drive to Discover" series for more than a decade. I have been on a couple of these multi-day drives.

But this year, there was a shocker, when the invite said:

This year, the drive will explore the beautiful landscapes of Sikkim while letting you enjoy the unparalleled performance, comfort, and drivability of Honda cars.

I read this line multiple times to let it sink in.

Honda has the Amaze, City and Elevate in its product portfolio. While the Elevate at least looks like it can climb mountains, the City, especially the older version, was notorious for its issues with speed breakers.

Just a few weeks back, Sikkim had experienced a terrible catastrophe. Heavy rains had overwhelmed a dam and it failed. The resultant floods had washed away many roads and bridges.

The cars would have to ply on broken roads. The already difficult terrain was going to be a challenge for both, the cars and the drivers.

In January 2023, I had ridden my motorcycle to Nathu La. Driving on these mountain roads was going to be very interesting and I was eagerly looking forward to it.

[bblost]

It was a relaxed flight from Hyderabad to Bagdogra. We were quickly rushed to a hotel in Siliguri and allotted the cars.

The Honda City HEV was launched in 2022:




This was my first time driving a hybrid. It was a different experience. I liked the relaxed nature of the car and was never able to figure out if the car was using the petrol engine or the battery pack. The transitions between the two were barely perceptible.

A large part of the route was adjacent to the Teesta river. The floods in October had destroyed a lot of the road infrastructure. Most of the roads have been repaired, but there are a lot of bottlenecks that restrict the amount of traffic that can pass over them. The roads in West Bengal were significantly worse than those in Sikkim.

We spent a lot of time simply staring at the vehicles in front of us. Sometimes, more than fifteen minutes would elapse before we would start moving again:




The Teesta river looks extremely calm. But it hides an extremely strong undercurrent beneath its relaxed facade. There are a lot of river rafting facilities set up around its shoreline:




The Adiyogi blesses all the travellers coming to his adobe in the clouds.

[bblost]

When I rode up Nathu La back in January, my biggest concern was the cold weather. But when driving up those mountains inside the safe cocoon of a car, the concerns are very different. Luckily, we were driving up in the Elevate (Honda Elevate Review)with a manual transmission.

I was quite confident that the car would not have any issues with ground clearance. It also has adequate power on tap. I'm not a fan of its rear seat, but it's not bad. The small camera under the left-hand side ORVM is such an under-appreciated device. It takes away a lot of pressure while judging the edge of the road. Very useful on mountains and extremely practical while parallel parking as well. The high seating position gives a nice commanding view of the world outside.

The Elevate looking fine at a hotel:


But it looks much better in the mountains. It has a very stoic appearance that makes it look very relaxed and at home on the open road:


After experiencing the hardcore nature of a bike ride, the comfort of the car allowed me full freedom to sit back and enjoy the landscape. It was like watching a painting that is both alive and vibrant. The Elevate is a good car for relaxed driving. It has a very good suspension setup and it deserves a more powerful engine.

Once we started climbing towards the mountain pass up in the skies, we were quickly enveloped by the clouds.

Open the car door and you are welcomed by the white mist:


Buddhist prayer flags dot the landscape:


The roads are beautiful but one must be extremely careful. A lot of vehicles disregard traffic rules on these roads as they want to complete the climb as fast as possible. Imagine coming down the blind curve and encountering this grey tourist vehicle with no space to manoeuvre around it:




Nathu La is a big tourist attraction. Check out the crowds on the steps leading towards the edge of India. Photography from there is strictly forbidden. They have a gift shop and an army canteen that sells tasty snacks:
















The Elevate handled the climb quite well. We were 3 of us in the car. At no point did the car feel sluggish or lacking in power. It lacks outright performance but can gobble up the miles very comfortably.

I am very sensitive to body roll in cars. So I always make it a point to sit in the front. The Elevate did not trigger any motion sickness even as I was driven up the many hairpin bends:












Our neighbour to the East watches us just as we watch it from here:


Gangtok is a sweet city with a decent amount of nightlife. The people are extremely warm and friendly:

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Pelling is at an altitude of more than 7,000 feet. It has an awe-inspiring view of the Himalayas with the star attraction being the Kanchenjunga peak.

For today, our car was the Honda City. My fear of the car being unable to traverse the broken roads was completely unfounded. The City comfortably flew over the broken sections and did not bottom out anywhere. The twisties restricted the speed but increased the amount of fun as the car gripped the lovely curves. There is adequate power to climb and cut across the mountains.

Gangtok to Pelling is a little more than 100 km. There is a bird sanctuary on this scenic route. With a nice chill in the air, the road was like a fairytale. Some of the bridges on this road can only support one vehicle at a time. It is very important for everyone to be patient and relaxed. This is also important for the passengers in the car. But this meant that we reached Pelling quite late in the afternoon. So all plans to go sightseeing were shelved.





Lots of new bridges are being constructed across the Teesta river. These will help cut travel times in future as they connect the small towns and villages that dot the landscape:


I can never get over the feeling of awe that these gigantic trees create in me:












An idyllic life right in the middle of nature with a river flowing:


The rains have washed away half the road, but thankfully, traffic was sparse and we did not get stuck. However, the place was just so beautiful that we parked and listened to the singing birds and the flowing streams:




Maggi and Momos are the staple food in this region. But I also liked the local vegetarian fare. This soup was amazing:

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I had checked into the hotel quite late in the evening. So in the morning, as I opened the door, I was greeted by this amazing view of the majestic Kanchenjunga:


At 8,586 meters, this is the third-highest peak in the world:


After a quick breakfast, we took off for the Chenrezig statue and the skywalk:


A Bodhisattva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi awakening. Chenrezig is a Bodhisattva who looks with unwavering eyes. He is the embodiment of all the Buddhas' infinite compassion:




This statue is 42 meters tall and very imposing:


There are golden prayer wheels on both sides of the stairs leading up the statue:


The skywalk in this complex is the first skywalk in India:


Shoes are not allowed on the glass surface:


It's very cold without shoes in the open. I am terrified of heights. So from the time, I knew about this skywalk, I was motivating myself to walk on this bridge. The only way to conquer fear is to do exactly what scares you the most. So I took off my shoes and walked straight without looking in any direction but forward. At the halfway point, I realised that the exit on the other side was locked. I promptly turned around and went back. But mission accomplished!


We had a lunch planned at a tea estate in Darjeeling:


We were driving an Elevate CVT:


The roads were broken and extremely steep:


With a lot of repair work going on, a delay was inevitable:


I found the Elevate MT more fun and engaging to drive than the CVT variant. A wrong turn led us down a path, which was more like a cattle path. The ground clearance of the Elevate helped a lot on that non-existent road.

The traffic in Darjeeling is insane. There was a big traffic jam on the main road. Turned out that some poor car had suffered a flat tyre. It was stuck in the middle of traffic and changing the tyre in the middle of the chaos. The police were trying to help, but they were woefully inadequate.

It was quite late by the time we reached Kalimpong. The headlights of the Elevate are adequate. However, things would have been much better with cornering lights. I hope Honda adds them sometime in the future.

[bblost]

The last day of the drive was in the Amaze CVT from Kalimpong to Gangtok. I like the Amaze. It's a cute little car with a deep boot. It was launched in 2018 and got a facelift in 2021. But now, it needs a serious revamp. The sub-4m compact sedan market in India is huge and the Amaze deserves a more serious push from Honda.

It was an uneventful drive back to the airport. I was so happy that my initial assumption of the vehicles being mismatched with the terrain was proven totally wrong. Honda did well in showcasing their cars on these mountains and I will not question the ground clearance of the City again.

Here’s a list of the previous Drive to Discover events that Team-BHP participated in:

• 2012 (In a Honda Brio : Kochi - Munnar - Thiruvananthapuram)
• 2013 (Amazing Discovery Drive: Thiruvananthapuram to Chennai in a Honda Amaze)
• 2015 (Honda Mobilio Drive: 36 Hairpins, Bandipur Tiger Reserve & Namdroling Monastery)
• 2016 (Honda Drive to Discover: To Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Longewala and Tanot)
• 2017 (With Honda: 4 National Parks in Madhya Pradesh...and Khajuraho)
• 2017 (In the land of the thunder dragon - Driving Hondas from West Bengal to Bhutan!)
• 2019 (Driving through the North-East with Honda (Civic & CR-V))
• 2021 (Honda Drive to Discover : Bangalore -> Chikmagalur -> Mullayana Giri -> Kundapura)
• 2022 (Honda Drive to Discover | Bangalore - Coorg - Wayanad - Kochi | Spice, coffee and tea route)

Disclaimer: Honda invited Team-BHP for the Drive. They covered all the expenses for this driving event.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Dieseltuned]

Hi Team,

This would have been an exhilarating ride. The I-VTEC would have been a hoot to drive on the twisties. I am interested to note how the city held up on uneven roads being a low slung sedan ?

Regards
Diesel

[bblost]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

Hi Team,

This would have been an exhilarating ride. The I-VTEC would have been a hoot to drive on the twisties. I am interested to note how the city held up on uneven roads being a low slung sedan ?

Regards
Diesel

It behaved remarkably well. I will not question it's GC issues anymore.

[sam264_2000]

Originally Posted by bblost

It behaved remarkably well. I will not question it's GC issues anymore.

Glad to note that. I am not much surprised though given that I have put my 5th Gen City through some tricky situations which would test it's GC under full load conditions during my first 6 months of ownership. Apart from instances (2 may be) where it was my mistake, the City came out clean. On the 2 instances when it did scrap badly, I was speeding a bit (over 40kmph) or a bit late in applying the brakes. Over the last 2 years of my ownership, I have learnt how to tackle potholes or tall speed brakers /when to brake and never have I had a repeat of scrapping in the last 1.5 years.

Great write up! Must have been an enjoyable ride.

[rroy92]

I had the pleasure of driving to Sikkim from Durgapur

day 1 : Durgapur -> Mirik






Road to Siliguri: Mostly dual carriageway after Morgram, except for Raigang. The Bypass road is not open yet.

day 2 : Mirik -> via the steep scenic route to Rangpo









day 3 : Rangpo -> Gangtok and local site seeing


day 4 : Changu Lake and Baba Mandir via hired cab







day 5 : Gangtok -> Durgapur (16+ hours due to congestion at Siliguri along with the Gangtok highway issues cause by the flood)



On the way back google maps took us to take the bypass road (as shown on left) but we found it to be closed. With the advice of locals, navigated through the railway crossing as depicted on the right.

[rajarshi94]

Originally Posted by bblost

I had checked into the hotel quite late in the evening. So in the morning, as I opened the door, I was greeted by this amazing view of the majestic Kanchenjunga:

My eyes are pleased to see the Honda City on these mountain roads. I could not buy it because I was scared to scrape the belly. Seems I was terribly wrong

Wonderful region to explore. Darjeeling - Sikkim works as painkillers to us.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by rroy92

I had the pleasure of driving to Sikkim from Durgapur

Its such a beautiful place with amazing people. I love everything about that slice of heaven on earth.

Originally Posted by rajarshi94

My eyes are pleased to see the Honda City on these mountain roads. I could not buy it because I was scared to scrape the belly. Seems I was terribly wrong

Wonderful region to explore. Darjeeling - Sikkim works as painkillers to us.

I completely understand the feeling. I have rarely been so happy to be proved wrong. The new one is very good with regard to its ground clearance.

[rroy92]

Originally Posted by rroy92

On the way back google maps took us to take the bypass road (as shown on left) but we found it to be closed.

Any way to get notified when the Raiganj bypass road will open?

[benbsb29]

Enjoyed reading this travelogue, bblost. The scenery in these places is truly mind blowing, and for someone who has never been to this part of India, definitely a treat for my eyes.

Good to see Honda continuing with the Drive to Discover series.