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The Sleeping Buddha
Mt Khangchendzonga massif with Mt Jannu on left and Mt Pandim on right as seen from Sandakphu It was the winter of 2014..we planned our trek to Singalila National Park and reach Sandakphu, a popular trek destination which allow the trekkers to witness the Mt. Khangchendzonga massif along with some prominent peaks like Mt Everest, Mt Makalu, Mt Lhotse ,3 sisters etc...But unlike others we did not started our trek from the usual starting point of Maneybhanjan rather we did the trek in a reversal mode..On reaching Siliguri, we took a car and reached a small hamlet in West Sikkim called Okhrey, it took us around 7 long hours via Jorethang and reach this beautiful himalayan village of Okhrey, we stayed the night in one of the few Homestay that are manged by locals with strong essence of Tibetan culture. Next morning we took our early breakfast and started our journey to the next destination called Versay or Bersay, it is a world famous Rhododendron sanctuary, offers a huge plethora of Rhododendron in the months of April and May. This was actually the day we had to trek of around 5kms from the gate of the sanctuary to the place called Bersay top, which has only 2 guest house, both are of average standard, but also has a
Bersay Rhododendron sanctuary
on the way to Bersay top,trekking through the dense forest..lucky people can even get to see Red Pandas wandering nice ground for camping. It took us around 2 hours to reach this place wondering through the dense forest which is also a well known habitat for elusive red pandas , leopard and some other varieties of fauna. Bersay got a very nice remote touch far away from civilization, wonderful view of Mt Khangchendzonga, worth living there for solitude and bliss. The next day was officially the full trek day...we were on our trek to a small yet very sublimely beautiful village called Gorkhey..it lies in the border of two states ie Sikkim and West Bengal, it was a long trek of around 12 kms via through some stunning land scape, typical himalayan villagees...we took our lunch at a place called Ribdi. As it is not the usual route, we didn't met any trekkers on our way...it was simply a walk through the villages and witness their daily life..On reaching Gorkhey , we checked into the Govt Trekkers hut with basic arrangements , which provide bed for trekkers per night basis and have a very caring caretaker who runs the kitchen for trekkers..When we reached there, it was cloudy, it was a misty evening, very poor visibility, but the next
Bersay
Snow capped mountains covered with thick clouds early in the morning. morning it was a total different day, clear sunny day, very cold, we stroll around the village, enjoyed a local drink called channg, and got our self ready for a tough day ahead to reach Phalut, commonly known as The Land of Wind , it was total uphill trek, very strenuous and we took aroung 7hours to reach Phalut. Phalut got only one trekkers hut. Trekkers mainly comes to Phalut from Sandakphu, and the main attraction of Phalut is the Phalut top..which offers you a panoramic view of entire Eastern Himalayan range , Phalut experience an extreme climate throughout the year,thats why it topography is very rugged, you cannot witness any tree line there, only some rugged grass and worn out tree skeletons are for the offings..in the wee hours of the next morning we startedf out little trek uphill to reach the phalut top..it was dark , tought but very rewarding..once we reach the top..it was WOW!!!!!!!!.... The huge Mt Khangchendzonga was standing just in front of us, golden rays of sun was hitting its summit, and the colour was changing every minutes..until someone reaches the top, can never see any part of the peak...n this is why once
Gorkhey village
almost the whole village coved with early morning snow flakes we reaches we were awestruck...we stayed there for nearly 45 minutes watched the famous sun rise,,and sea of clouds below us..it was ethereal..we saw Mt Everest far in the left along with Mt Makalu and Mt Lhotse...as the sun filled the whole mountainscape with its golden light we made our way back to the trekkers hut, did our breakfast and started the longest day of the trek...a 22kms long trek above the tree line along the border of India and Nepal to reach the top most point of West Bengal ie Sandakphu..although it was 22kms, but this was the best day, as the landscape though which we walked was barren, mostly plain, and almost every time the huge snow peaked mountains will be with you as a guardian deity..on the way we witnessed wild horse grazing, some wild flowers (rhododendron) blooming...pure nature it was...we took the whole day deliberately to cover the distance..soaked ouself into nature...the only disadvantage in this 22kms trek is that there not a single source of water in between, so treekers must equipped themselves with enough water to quench their thirst. Sandakphu or Sandakfu or Sandakpur as it is known in nepali is 11,941 ft above
village life
on the way to Gorkhey the sea level, it parly falls in Darjeeling district of west bengal and Ilam district of Nepal. Unlike others places we've been in this trek, Sandakphu got some nice number of hotels, trekkers hut and tea houses..even got some well designated glass covered view point for the visitors. We planned to stay at Sandakphu for 2 nights. Both the day it was clear sky and we enjoyed the panoramic view of Himalayas to the fullest.We even got the chance to give something good to our taste buds after a long time as this place got some hotels with good variety food availability. Sandakphu got a SSB camp by Indian army, every trekkers who visit have to enlist in their register along with the guide they take, we also did and then enjoyed the day wandering along the ridge on a sunny clear day. At the end of second day at Sandakphu, we started for the last destination of our trek called Srikhola or Sirikhola..it was long trek but whole route was down hill through forest. Srikhola is a small village with atrekkers hut and few number of hotels by the side of river. It is a very photogenic village with
Phalut at night
view of Darjeeling from Phalut
a old hanging bridge over the river, we bathed in the river after 6 days and enjoyed the evening by the river , chatting along with other trekkers. It was very pleasant evening as we were on the verge of winding up our much awated trek very successfully. The next morning we woke up early , did a small trek to a place called Seppy, from where we got shared jeep to Siliguri.
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sangeeta
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let us explore the great HIMALAYAS once again.......
very nicely described himadri,,,,,,quite inspiring nd ofcourse "thrilling"..........want to read so many other travel blogs from u...