My visit to east Sikkim in the mid of February
This
trip was one of the most memorable and challenging trip for us as my
roomie's parents were also with us, so we had to take good care of them
and also it was chilling cold out there in Feb. We had plan for 2 day
and 2 Night trip but it got shortened to 2 Nights and 1 Day because of
indefinite Gorkha's strike .
We started from Silligudi
and contacted one travel agency who has booked the hotel and the gave us
the contact detail of a person who turned out to be our most helpful
buddy during the trip Mr. Rahul ji as we used to call him. People in
Sikkim are warm, honest and humble. Trust me, you can’t get cheated in
this northeastern state. A person told me that you can roam on the
streets of Sikkim with lakhs of rupees in your pocket, and you won’t be
robbed.
Nestled in the Himalayas, Sikkim is a hotspot
of biodiversity. The four-hour long drive from Silligudi to Gangtok was
not tiring at all since I was held spellbound by the arresting beauty of
the mountains. We reached Gangtok around 7 PM and called Rahul ji, who
took us to the Hotel and also booked the cab for he cab for next day.
We
went for local sightseeing in Gangtok.M.G Road is the best place to
spend evenings in Gangtok. It is one of the best shopping destinations I
have ever seen.
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| The Statue of Mahatma Gandhi |
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| M.G Road: Walking Plaza |
One
can get almost everything here, and that too at a very reasonable
price,where one can easily buy clothing and footwear at throwaway
prices. Free Wi-Fi is available in some cafes, and the friendly locals are always on hand to help in times of need.
Vehicles are not allowed inside this market. The use of plastic is also
banned. Fountains in the middle of the road and slow music make it a
tourist’s preferred choice in the evenings. Comfy chairs near the
fountains give tired tourists much-required rest.
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| Calling All Shopaholics |
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| Fountains in the middle of the road |
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| Gangtok : Veg Restaurant (M.G road) |
Who
says it is difficult to get vegetarian food in Sikkim? I can assure you
that you will get all kinds of varieties here. A number of vegetarian
hotels on MG Road were truly a delight.
The
next morning I got up around 5 AM and through the window snowy white
Kanchenjunga is standing which turned into shiny golden white as sun
rays got scattered by the snow particles. I captured lots of pics
some are here:
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| The majestic mountain Kanchenjunga in the morning |
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| Majestic Kanchenjunga : view from the hotel |
The
very next day,we left for Nathula Pass which is about 55 kms from
Gangtok.We started by cab from taxi stand around 9 AM towards East
sikkim
1) Nathula Pass (Indo-China Border):
It situated around 17400 ft from sea level and you will get a very
beautiful combination of black rock and white snow semi covering them.
The temperature was 0.4 degree Celsius on that day and the chilled wind
was blowing. We felt the scarcity of oxygen as we went upstairs. With so
many clothes on us we were shivering like anything and teeth
freezed...it was difficult to take snaps too.On the way to Nathula, we
got one frozen waterfall which
looks like a giant piles of cotton were put together.
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| Beauty of Nathula: A bird eye view |
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| Army Truck |
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| Frozen Waterfall |
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| BirdEye View Of Nathula Pass |
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| On the way to Nathula Pass |
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| Nathula Memorial |
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Mountain valleys and the foothills
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| Me at Nathula Pass |
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| Way to Nathula: A Silent road on hilly area |
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| Me |
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| So you drive well here |
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| Observe the tranquility of the snow |
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| Sikkim : Heaven of North East |
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| Sikkim: Beauty of Nathula |
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| Nathula Pass :“Mini Switzerland” of North East India. |
2) Baba Mandir:The temple lies on the road between the Nathula and the Jelepla Pass and is visited by hundreds of people each day.
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| Baba Harbhajan mandir |
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| Baba Harbhajan Mandir |
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| Duty Beyond Death |
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| Holy Water |
There is a saying that if you keep water here for 21 days then consume it, you won't have any type of ailment as well as it cures all kind of diseases too.
The
temple is believed to have wish-fulfilling powers and many devotees
leave behind bottles of water at the temple which they pick up on their
way back as holy water. On Sundays a langar is run at the temple which
provides free meals to the visitors.
The
legend of Baba goes back 35 years when Sepoy Harbhajan Singh of the
23rd Punjab Regiment went missing while leading a pack of mules from his
battalion stationed at Tukla to Deng Dhukla, both remote areas located
in East Sikkim. A manhunt was launched and it took the army three days
to find his body. It is believed that he himself led the soldiers to the
site. Soon after, soldiers in the regiment started reporting that Baba
had been appearing in their dreams and directing that a shrine be built
in his memory. A Samadhi was raised in his memory and believers say that
even today Baba visits every night, puts on his uniform and does his
rounds. He is worshipped as a saint who grants boons and guards the
lives of soldiers posted along the border. Each year in September Baba
takes his annual holiday and travels back to Kapurthala, his hometown.
People gather in large numbers and line the route that Baba will take to
offer flowers and prayers. A berth on a train is reserved in his name
and two orderlies accompany him on the journey. The legend of this
Sepoy-Saint grows stronger with each passing day.
After paying homage to Baba Harbhajan Singh, we proceeded with our tour towards the Tsomgo or Changu Lake.
3) Tsomgo Lake (Changu Lake)
Tsomgo
lake is situated in the North Eastern part of Sikkim, and about 35 kms
from Gangtok.It is considered to be a very holy lake by the locals. We
also passed another small lake on the way to the Tsomgo Lake, this lake
was partially frozen and we could see the thin sheet of ice at the edges
of the lake.
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| Beautiful Passage |
We were told that the Tsomgo Lake is about 50 feet
deep at the deepest end. We saw a lot of shops lined along the side of
the lake selling woolens.
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| Dimension |
They also served hot soup and Maggi noodles.There is
a large area for parking of tourist vehicles, and all the tourists
make their way to the shops to purchase one thing or the other, perhaps
more of a memento than need. We saw some yaks on the road with harness
and a cushion on its back for joy rides to the tourists. When we
inquired, the man told us that a small round cost Rs.150/- and a larger
round Rs. 400/-.
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| Tsomgo Lake (Changu Lake) Half Frozen. |
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| Other view Of Tsomgo Lake (Changu Lake)half frozen |
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| Thin sheet of ice at the edges of the lake. |
Tsomgo Lake or Changu Lake is a glacial lake in the East Sikkim, at altitude of 3,780 m (12,400 ft).
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| Yak Away:Enjoy Yak ride in Sikkim |
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| Yaks, the “camel of the snow” |
Yaks,
the regal beasts also known as the “camel of the snow”, yak rides have
long since become a major tourist attraction. Sitting on top of the
beast in the midst of the snow capped mountains makes you feel mighty
and majestic, so put aside your inhibitions and give it a try.
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| Don't you wish your study place was like this? |
Having refreshed ourselves and stretching our legs a bit, we returned back to our Sumo for our return trip to Gangtok.
Back
to Gangtok around 7 PM and got a very bad news that the next day from
6AM indefinite Gorkha strike was there and its safe to leave sikkim that
night only as the next day we have train tickets back to Guwahati at 2
PM. We roamed here and there to find any cab service who will drove us
to NJP the next day but did not got any.Lastly, we contacted Rahul ji,
he told us that every morning a sumo(press's cab) used to go from
Gangtok to NJP and Gorkha people do not stop them as they are related to
media. He only booked the press cab for us for the next day 7 AM. We
somehow reached NJP safely, we were stopped at three places by Gorkha
people but luckily we were not questioned by them :) On the way we
stopped at a very small hotel where we had wai-wai and very tasty tea...
Overall,
I can say that our entire trip to Nathu La, Baba Mandir, and the Tsomgo
Lake was very exciting. It had all the elements necessary, the natural
surroundings, the landscapes, the people and above all discipline
everywhere we went.
.
