Sikkim – Paradise Unexplored

The tag line for the tourism ministry’s ad for the North-East says ‘paradise unexplored,’ and there is perhaps no other tag line which is more apt. It is indeed a paradise, and unexplored as well. Tourists in search of paradise flock to Manali, Mussoorie, Nainital and so on, but the North-East remains relatively free of crowds, perhaps owing to its geographical distance and lack of good connectivity.

The idea of visiting the North East has always fascinated me, but the idea of travelling for about 44 hours by train from Mumbai had put me off for several years. Flights were a strict no-no due to budget constraints and the nature of my work in a corporate environment, which could suddenly force me to cancel holiday plans. However, after my transfer to Visakhapatnam, Sikkim seemed to be within reach, and when the first opportunity of a vacation presented itself, I lost no time in planning and booking a family vacation for me, my wife and parents, to Gangtok and North Sikkim.

Though I am a fan of making travel plans and bookings on my own, North Sikkim is a place which can be visited only if you have booked a package with a travel agent, due to its absolute lack of connectivity through public transport with Gangtok and the requirements for permits to enter the district. Our guide picked us up from New Jalpaiguri railway station, and we set off towards Gangtok, a four-hour journey.

The Teesta River remained a constant companion throughout the trip, and as the road began its ascent towards 6000 feet, curving around mountains and valleys, the poor quality of the road did nothing to dampen our spirits. We had not even entered Sikkim, but the views were already breathtaking, giving a hint of what was to come.

We stopped at a small village for lunch, and I was delighted with a plate of momos costing just Rs 30, and I couldn’t have enough. But given the condition of the road, and the enthusiasm of our driver towards making a career as a mountain racer, it seemed wise to restrict myself to a single plate.

Our hotel in Gangtok, Comfort Inn, was an absolute delight – especially because the 7D/6N package had cost us only Rs 11750 per head. I had spent quite some hours finding the cheapest package, and had not expected deluxe rooms such as this one.

The next day was a bit of a warm-up, as we did a bit of local sightseeing within Gangtok –  waterfalls, monasteries, viewpoints overlooking valleys, and one spot from where the mighty Kanchenjunga was visible, beckoning the viewer, daring him to attempt to scale the summit.

The most striking feature of the city is its cleanliness – it was ranked the 10th cleanest city in India recently, but I feel the rank does it injustice – it could be among the top 4-5. The citizens are extremely polite and courteous, follow traffic rules to a ‘T’, and do not litter-ever. Even our driver religiously collected all his paan packets and disposed them off at a dustbin. Given the narrow, winding nature of the roads within the city, traffic jams are a common occurrence during the morning and evening peak hours. But nobody honks and yells. Drivers wait patiently for the gridlock to clear and then go their way. It made me wonder if we were indeed in India.

The third day took us to 13000 feet above sea level, to Tsomgo Lake and Baba Mandir, an hour’s drive away from Gangtok. We chose to skip Nathu La pass, the only open border crossing between India and China, given the difficulties in obtaining a permit to visit the place and the additional cost of Rs. 4000. The road leading to these spots is a testimony to the adage ‘the journey is as important as the destination’. The road was a marvel of engineering, while the surroundings were a marvel of nature.

All along the road, the heavy presence of the Army keeps you company. There are signposts warning you that you are under Chinese military observation. However, there seems to be more bonhomie than hostility, as our driver explained that at Nathu La, tourists can shake hands with the Chinese soldiers and have their photos taken. We also came across a convoy of Chinese trucks carrying Chinese goods into Sikkim.

Baba Mandir is, oddly, a temple dedicated to an Indian Army soldier who died due to harsh weather at that location. The Army runs a café at this location, and unlike other high altitude tourist spots like Rohtang Pass near Manali, you will find that nothing is overpriced. Four cups of tea, two plates of momos and two plates of samosas – all within a surprisingly cheap Rs 150-160.

After a brief stopover at Tsomgo lake, where one can get photographed sitting atop a yak, we were back in Gangtok, driving through thick fog which had by now enveloped the entire valley. You could see the road, the mountain slope on one side, and a white blanket on the other side which completely blocked everything else from view.

The next day, we set off towards the most awaited part of the trip – the journey to Lachen in North Sikkim. The road distance is just about 130 km, but having left at 10.00 in the morning, we reached Lachen sometime at 7.00 PM, long after the sun had set and temperatures had dropped below 10 degrees. Apart from a lunch stop-over of half an hour, we were held up by bad roads, an army truck breaking down in the middle of the road and a convoy of about thirty army trucks slowly ambling up the slope from Chungthang, all the way to Lachen – a distance of 35 km, which took us the better part of three hours. The drive, despite being exhausting, was a scenic delight – mountains, valleys, waterfalls and dense forests all around.

Lachen is a tiny town – so tiny that you can cover it within two camera shots. It exists for the sole purpose of serving as an overnight stopover for tourists flocking to Gurudongmar Lake, arguably the most amazing tourist spot in Sikkim (and one of the best in the entire country). It has only hotels and guest houses all around, catering to the tourists.

What strikes you the most is the growth of technology – some small settlements around the town are also equipped with satellite TV, as evident by the tiny huts sporting DTH antennas on their roof. Before the advent of DTH, even getting a Doordarshan or AIR signal in this place would have been simply impossible. But there I was, sitting in a chilling hotel with wooden floor at an elevation of about 10,000 feet, and catching the live telecast of the first T20 between India and South Africa. We were called on to the roof for dinner towards the end of India’s innings, but I could still track the score on Vodafone 3G. Yes, we had 3G at 10,000 feet.

We left for Gurudongmar Lake at 3.30 AM in the morning. It is a 60-km, 4-hour journey, as the road is so bad that the speedometer cannot exceed 20 km/h at any point of the journey. The road is dotted with Army camps, one of which has a checkpoint where your permits to visit the lake are checked. As my father was aged above 60, the Army officials were not too keen on allowing him to ascend to the height of 17800 feet, due to the low oxygen levels at such altitudes. They insisted on him taking a BP check, which was found to be normal. They allowed us to venture ahead after a warning not to stay at the lake for too long.

As we crossed 16000 feet, the vegetation disappeared totally, leaving only a barren landscape stretching to infinity. It was barren only of vegetation, and in no way barren of beauty. The scene before us was surreal, prompting my father to remark that it was perhaps in a place like this that NASA faked their Moon landings. Indeed, it looked like no other place on Earth. I find words cannot do justice to the beauty of the place, and hence I would let the photographs do their work.

Gurudongmar Lake is one of the highest lakes in the world at 17,800 feet, and is also a holy place revered by the Sikhs. The legend goes that Guru Padmasambhava blessed the residents of the area centuries ago, saying the lake would never freeze so that the residents would always have a source of water supply. It is said that a portion of the lake never freezes even during peak winters, when the temperatures drop to -25 degrees. There could obviously be a scientific explanation (which I would not take the trouble to find out – we would probably freeze instantly at the peak of winter at such a place.)

Ironically, after all the concern over my parents’ health, it was me and my wife who suffered the effects of high altitude and low temperatures. My father, aged 62, and mother, 56, looked as if they were regular residents of the area – absolutely comfortable both with the cold and low oxygen levels. We were so wrecked by poor health that the next day we chose to skip the day’s sightseeing altogether, from Lachung (50 kms from Lachen) – towards Yumesamdong (Zero point) and Yumthang valley, which is covered in flowers during spring, but would have been quite bare at this time of the year. We spent the night and most of the next morning resting in our hotel at Lachung – another town similar to Lachen, if only a couple of degrees warmer.

Later that morning, we set off towards Gangtok, as the trip had come to an end. After an overnight halt at the same hotel in Gangtok, we proceeded towards the end point of the package – New Jalpaiguri station, where a tiresome train journey, followed by the regular old life – awaited us. It was then back to meeting manufacturing requirements and releasing production drawings from the next day.

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Shreesha Bhat is a famous mountaineer and bestselling novelist, but only in a parallel universe. In this universe he is a regular engineer designing ships for the Indian Navy as an Design Engineer for L&T. This blog was written after both universes merged for a brief while, allowing him to explore the mountains of Sikkim and also write about it.