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Published: September 15th 2017
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Mesmerising Sandakphu – God’s abode in West Bengal, India First Part: Sandakphu Himalaya has always attracted me since I was 24. Though much late in my life but it came to me like blessings when I first met my husband and listened to his countless travel to the very place. After my marriage we planned to go to a place which is the highest point of Singalila Range in the district of Darjeeling, West Bengal.
Sandakphu is often considered to be a trekker’s paradise. The word paradise cannot be explained unless one see with his/her own eyes what raw nature feels like. It is quite mesmerising when you see the gamut of Himalayan ranges in your close vicinity and that too standing in the middle of a beautiful hamlet.
To experience what we have heard and much studied on the internet we took a trip to that place in the year 2012 during the month of October. This time of the year, which is autumn in India, is the time for Durga Puja, an auspicious time to enjoy and merry make.
Our plan was to travel from Durgapur, a small town in West Bengal,
Sandakphu-Trek Map
Courtesy Darjeeling Tourism to Siliguri and then move towards Sandakphu. We started by bus on 20
th October 2012 at 7:30 PM from Durgapur to Siliguri which was supposed to reach Siliguri the very next day on 6:00 AM but unfortunately due to minor malfunction of the bus we happened to reach Siliguri at 4:30 PM in the evening on 21
st October.
Siliguri to Manebhanjan The time was evening and in the bus stand the cabs were very scare to hire but luckily we got a share cab and we shared it with some school student whose destination was actually Ghoom (The highest railway station in India). When the cab left Siliguri for Manebhanjan we were pretty excited and our all exhaustion was gone as we could see miles after miles of tea garden in front of us.
Once we reached Ghoom we could feel the temperature dropping to 10 degree Celsius and by that time we have almost covered 60 Kms. It took almost 2 ½ hours to reach Ghoom and from Ghoom we finally reached Manebhanjan at around 8PM covering a distance 19 Kms from Ghoom.
We had prior contact with Mr. Dendup Bhutia who happens to be
General Secretary of Society for Highlander Guides and Porters Welfare Association (Phone: 9734056944) who took all the responsibility of ours like guides, porters, trekking, taxi booking and DGHC (Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council) trekkers hut booking. He was very kind to make all the arrangement for us and we stayed overnight in a hotel.
Manebhanjan to Sandakphu Manebhanjan is quite and cute little village in the district of Darjeeling with an elevation of 1928 metres and it is gateway to Singalila National Park. It is inhabited by Buddhist sherpas.
On 22
nd October morning my husband and I took an early bath and finished our breakfast so that we can move early to Sandakhphu. We managed to book a Land Rover of 1954 make to move to Sandakphu (Booking cost: 4500 INR). We packed our bags and our cameras and jumped into the Land Rover. The Rover was moving through a zig zag road up the mountain with a couple of hairpin turns here and there. We crossed Chitrey monastery, Lamaydhura, Meghma, Tumling, Gairibus, kalipokhri, bikheybhanjan and then we finally reached Sandakphu.
It took us 2 ½ hours to reach Sandakphu with a stoppage at Chitrey,
Meghma (India and Nepal border) and Kalipokhri. Sandkphu with an elevation of 3636 metres is like a picture postcard. It was around 10 AM in Sandakphu with the blazing sun at our head we entered “Sherpa Chalet”. It was already arranged by Mr Bhutia. We had a quick snack and went out with our cameras for a photo shoot.
Peaks from Sandakphu We both stood speechless as the glorious, snow clad peaks of Himalayas were standing in front of us. The day was so clear, I still could remember and the peaks like Kanchendzongha, Mount Everest, Makalu, Three Sisters, Jano, Lothse, Pandim, Norsing and Chomolang were all visible and we had crystal clear sight of them.
We loitered around Sandkphu till the setting sun reminded me of the day is about to end. We took cosy shelter inside the Chalet and had nice Maggie soup in the evening. What I observed was that they had solar power to cater their service. Evening lights in the dining hall was all lit up because they had solar and no alternative source of power. We finished our dinner as 8 PM. It was shivering cold as
the temperature was slowly dropping and at night it dropped to 3-4 degree Celsius.
On 23
rd we woke up early in the morning at 4:00 AM to see the sunrise from Sandakphu. What an experience it was. I really do not have words to explain the changes of colours in the sky from the black to blackish blue to red to orange. The sky was like a canvas and a powerful painter was slowly making His mark in it. The reflection of those rays and colours was having its effect on the ranges and especially on Kanchendzongha. I was literally felling that at that moment I was standing in the God’s abode.
After the Sun rose with all its glory and all the ranges were illuminated we had our breakfast. We then prepared to trek to Phalut and then to Rimbik (It will be continued in the second part).
How to get to Sandakphu: Nearest Airport: Bagdogra is the nearest airport to Siliguri and from Siliguri once can move to Manebhanjan to Sandakphu.
Nearest Railway Station: New Jalpaiguri (NJP) is the nearest railways station and once can move to NJP from Howrah/Sealdah as there are numerous trains available.
Nearest Bust Stand: Siliguri is the nearest bus stand and it is well connected to many important places in India.
Budget: Considering one is planning from Kolkata, India then the budget will be around 10,000 INR (This includes bus fare, car fare, stay, food and other miscellaneous expenses).
What to bring in the Trek: · Woollen clothes like sweater, pullover, inner wear, cap, socks and wind proof jacket.
· Proper trekking shoes.
· Torch.
· Medicines (Personal and Genereal) and toiletries.
· Candy, Chocolates, Dates, Nuts
· KEEP THE ENVIRONMENT AS CLEAN AS POSSIBLE (Be a responsible and environmental traveller)
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