Wake up from your bed and you are awestruck by the breathtaking view of the mighty Kanchenjunga from your balcony door. Wondering where this is?
This is Pelling and we were on a week-long trip to Gangtok, Pelling and Darjeeling. One can get a glimpse of the mighty Kanchenjunga's snow laden peaks from all these locations, but a much closer view of all the 4 peaks fills your eyes and heart, as you travel with them in Pelling.
We started our journey from Chennai and landed in Bagdogra airport in West Bengal, which is supposed to be the closest to Gangtok. It takes around 6 hrs travel from Bagdogra to Gangtok and most of your travel would be on bumpy roads. Teesta river flows all through the way covering Sikkim and West Bengal. The roads are completely damaged after the recent floods there. Mind you, if you have travel sickness, especially in hilly terrains, be prepared with imli candies or whatever that could save you from giddiness and throwing up. Welcome to the roller coaster ride in the hilly state of Sikkim for the next few days.
This is the month of December and the sun sets much earlier. It gets pitch dark at 5 PM and it seems like 8 PM. As you travel from plains to hills, a cold wave runs through your spine indicating that you have reached Gangtok. Shockingly, the hotel rooms were not equipped with heaters and we were given only a blower which was not sufficient for the room size. Notwithstanding the cold, we got ourselves into the duvet until we felt warmer.
Travel in Sikkim:
90% of Sikkim’s revenue is from tourism and only 10% goes for Farming and other industries. Needless to say, there are lot of travel agencies and you can pre-book any travel package based on the number of days and places to visit. Their itineraries are fixed and they hardly give an option to customize it for your needs. We decided to book cabs after reaching Gangtok. We inquired the same travel agency after reaching there and that was way cheaper than the quotation they gave for pre- booking. But we could not do much about the itinerary and most of the time ended up following whatever package they suggested. A request for small deviation in the route would mean shelling out an extra 1000 bucks.
Basic Hindi knowledge is a must to communicate with the drivers. Most of the drivers don’t speak English, though they claim to understand English.
Day tour of Sikkim:
The next day, we set out on a Gangtok Day trip. We visited a small flower garden, Sikkim Ropeway followed by Do-Drul-Charten Monastery. All through Sikkim, one can find Buddhist monasteries. These monasteries are abode for the monks who stay there and maintain the temples. This is relatively new monastery and paintings of all different deities adorn the walls. There is a huge stupa which stands tall in front of the monastery.
One can get a glimpse of the entire Gangtok from the Ropeway, which runs for few 100 metres. You can also see the river Teesta flowing below. It was an enthralling ride.
Banjakhri falls is another main attraction in Gangtok. Though not a majestic waterfall, this water fall is a picturesque location that is maintained well to click selfies for your profile. Adventure lovers can engage in activities like rock climbing, zip line and rope walk here. The weather was around 14 degrees during day. But we felt blissful as the sun rays showered us with the much longing warmth amidst the chill weather. It is most comfortable to travel between 11 am to 2 pm due to the sun and it starts getting colder beyond that time
Our first attempt to view Kanchenjunga was from Tashi View Point in Gangtok. It was cloudy and we were disappointed, as we could hardly see the mountains.
Monasteries in Sikkim:
There are lot of old and new monasteries in and around Sikkim, in all sizes. If you think that these temples would house only Buddha idols and his teachings and principles, you are wrong. These temples have adopted the Tibetan culture of Buddhism. According to them, Padmasambhava Is the Guru or God and all other deities including Buddha (who they call as Sakyamuni) are manifestations of Him. The deities are categorized as Protectors and Destroyers. Few of the paintings also portray Shiva and Vishnu, which are visible from the tiger skin and lotus.
The prayers are inscribed onto cylinder like structures, which are found in different sizes around the main hall. It is believed that rotating them clockwise would bring good fortune.
Day 2 – Most Awaited Changu lake and Nathula Pass:
Changu lake (meaning silent lake) or Tsangmo lake is around 40 Kms from Gangtok and it is on the way to Nathula Pass. Due to heavy traffic all along, it took around 3 hrs to reach Nathula safely after passing through sharps turns, uneven road surfaces and lack of barriers. On the way, we stopped at a location and we all stood spellbound at the first clear sight of the snow laden peaks of the Kanchenjunga, the third highest in the World. It was a celestial view that lifted up my spirit and energy levels.
We headed to Baba Harbhajan Singh Mandir first on the way to Nathula. The story of Baba is really strange. Harbhajan Singh was a valiant soldier who guarded the border single-handedly during the Indo – China war. As it was an unexpected attack by China, it took 21 hrs for the Border Security Force to reach the location and Harbhajan Singh managed the attack of the Chinese till then by moving from one location to another and firing the opponents. He eventually was shot dead by the Chinese. The local people considered him to be a God who saved their lives and have built a temple in his memory.
On reaching Nathula, we realized that we are at whopping 15,000 ft above sea level at this zone. Along with the chillness, altitude sickness kicked in and we felt slightly dizzy due to low oxygen levels. Camphor breathing and deep breathing came in handy to get over the breathlessness. From car parking, we had to climb around 100 stairs to get a sight of the Indo-China border. It was a wow moment when we finally reached there, as China is just a stone throw away. The area is completely under control of the Border Security Force and a huge tall Iron gate separates India from China. As crowd was thronging India side, we could hardly sight anyone from China side. It seemed to be like a deserted building. It was a scenic view but we are not allowed to take photographs.
We then set out to Tsangmo lake. My daughter was super excited, as she saw snow for the first time. It is only mid December and there had been only one snow fall so far. There were only patches of snow but the lake looked strikingly beautiful with the partly frozen lake amidst the snow covered mountains. It was scary to see that O2 cans being sold at the counter but the ride was simply exciting. The rope way at the lake takes you to the mountain top (around 12000 ft above sea level) and there were amazing view of the lake and the Kanchenjunga from the top. No wonder honeymoon couples throng the location, as the cold weather and the scenic mountains and lakes makes it the ideal spot for honeymoon.
Food in Gangtok:
The most popular food in Gangtok is momos. If you don’t like the regular thali, you can still survive by eating momos. There are lot of varieties like chilly momos, fried momos, chicken momos etc.. yet a simple veg momos is simply lavishing in taste. A regular thali has rice, dal (watery) and 2 curries , mostly Gobi, Aloo or spinach like greens. Thupka is another common food, which is nothing but soupy noodles filled with lot of veggies. Roti Subzi and fried rice are also easily available in any eateries. You can choose small eateries which serve simple homemade food instead of big restaurants.
Day 3 : To Pelling via Namchi
Third day drive, I felt the travel was quite comfortable. Not that the roads were good and plain. I got adopted to the ascent and descent of the drive in hilly terrains. We went to Pelling, a hill station in Gyalshing district of Sikkim via Namchi, a small town. Magnificient statues of Char Dham Shiva and Samdruptse Padmasambhava (According to Tibetan Buddhism, Buddha is considered to be his manifestation) stand tall in the 2 hills facing each other. These man-made marvels could be seen from anywhere in Namchi. Samdruptse houses idol of the God with 1000 hands and many faces. Buddha idols and paintings adorn the walls.
Char Dham was built much later with the towering statue of Shiva much taller than Padmasambhava. One could see the temples architects from all over India depicted here including Gopuram of Tamil nadu. You can get the virtue of visiting 12 Jyorthirlingams Dharshan, all in a single place.
Day 4 : Pelling Trip and Heading to Darjeeling:
water. It was a pleasant surprise to view the water gushing down from the hills with a thundering noise. As It was a pretty warm day, the sun rays fell on the water fall and the rainbow background added to the beauty of the waterfall. As this waterfall is not usually included in the usual package, there was hardly anyone there. As this is a perennial waterfall, this is a place not to be missed in all seasons.
Other side is the mighty statue of Buddha and the magnificent multi-storied halls and paintings that decorated the walls. True to its name, it was a real Skywalk with a paradisaical view.
There are lot of monasteries in Sikkim but many have been built recently. Among the oldest and largest monasteries is the Pemayangtse monastery. It has multiple floors. Apart from idols, it also houses a museum. The museum has artifacts from Rabdentse ruins , which was the former capital of Sikkim. We initially thought that we walk to the Rabdentse ruins from the monastery. Though it is close by, there is no walk way. To reach the ruins, we had to trek for a Km through the forest way from the Sidkeong Tulku Bird’s park entrance. Rabdentse was the second capital of the former Kingdom of Sikkim from 1670 to 1814. The capital city was destroyed by the invading Gurkha army and only the ruins of the palace and the Chortens are seen here now.
We waved good bye to the scenic town of Pelling and started towards Darjeeling. Heavy traffic and narrow roads indicated that we reached the commercial city of Darjeeling.
Day 5: Darjeeling day trip:
After refreshing and breakfast, we set out for a day trip of Darjeeling and visited the Tea Gardens from where on can see Namchi's Char Dham and Samdruptse statues. Then before lunch we saw the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, where we could see Himalayan animals like Red Panda and then had a visit to Japanese Peace Pagoda.
Finally, we got to do some shopping in the high streets of Darjeeling, as it was only a walkable distance from the hotel.
Day 6: To Bagdogra Return to Chennai
It takes around 3 hrs from Darjeeling to Bagdogra. Unlike the onward flight journey which was exciting and filled with expectations, this was tough. Thinking of getting back to routine life after a week of amazing traveling experience was hard to digest. But the celestial energy from the snow covered Kanchenjunga remains in my heart and replenishes me whenever I feel low.
Best time to visit Sikkim :
Best time to visit Sikkim is from Mar to June, though I felt visit in mid December was also a good experience. Snow starts here only from Nov end and only by Jan , most of the places would be covered by Snow , especially Tsangmo lake looks fabulous with its frozen lake surrounded by Snow laden mountains. The snow remains for the next few months but the weather becomes warmer. Hence Mar to June is considered the best time to visit. Apart from the above places that we visited, Kalimpong is another must visit place, where there is Teesta river rafting, which many tourists have appreciated.
