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| Road to heaven |
Exploring new places filled with natural beauty always leaves
me with sublime moments and weave fine strands of magic.
Travelling
through the rambling roads, we were thrown open to dreamy landscapes, frozen
waterfalls, tall trees shrouded in mist, snow-clad mountain peaks playing hide
and seek with the clouds, streams chattering with rocks and gushing to join the
river, Buddhist prayer flags flying colourfully…. It evoked a feeling of being
on the brink of something spectacular and yes, we were on a road trip to the
North East of India. After having
visited mount Alps in Swiss a couple of years ago, my conscious was pricking me
that I haven’t witnessed our own grandeur Himalayas…and hence was this trip . Nevertheless,
when both travel bug and shutter bug in me bites, I don’t need any reason to
travel ;)
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| Marvellous landscape |
With the blessings of the lord of the mountains, we had
headed towards Sikkim & WB which are home to dramatic landscapes adorned with majestic mountain peaks, alpine meadows, spectacular valleys, charming flowers and
an endless list of all beautiful things that a tourist expects. Neither
photographs can convey the grandeur nor words can describe the majesty of the
places we witnessed and experienced.
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| Tipsy topsy turvy roads |
When we landed in Bhagdodra, we were greeted by a bus stand
like airport and from there headed towards Gangtok in a taxi. As we inched
closer to Gangtok, rain god blessed us but the road god was raged. Got stuck in
a bad traffic jam on the narrow and uphill roads for more than an hour due to
the wedding in an influential family in the area. Hmm..there is no light at the
end of the tunnel called ‘VIP culture’ in our country. We had to end the day with some dry phulkas
as the dinner time had passed.
Next day as we started our journey to Tsongo lake (also
known as Chungu lake), spectacular scenery started unfolding in front of us. Narrow
roads cutting through steep mountains with deep valley on the other side were
sending chills through our spines.
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| Balancing act |
Throughout the journey, we were witnessing rolling hills in different shades of green and brown, craggy peaks dressed up in milky white snow, clouds at touching distances, acres and acres of unspoiled wilderness, gurgling streams in turquoise green with crystal clear water and our heads were swaying to the sweet sounds of the jungle as we drove through. Nature was remarkably splendid making a perfect canvas and we were in raptures over its beauty.
Tsongo Lake is situated at an altitude of 12,400 feet, 1km
long, oval in shape and 50 feet deep. On the advice of the guide, we rented gum
boots and walked towards the lake which was heavily crowded.
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| Heavenly |
You get to see a lot of Yaks in this region and quite a few
were lined up there with their owners bargaining with the potential customers
for a ride alongside the lake. We opted for one as it seemed quite messy to
walk along the narrow bed covered with snow and sludge. The Yaks were walking
care free and sometime it looked as if they were walking straight into the
lake. I managed to make some pics of
the lake even as I was holding the support on one hand and trying to balance
the camera on the other.
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| Yak which was carrying me |
There was a long queue awaiting outside the cable car
ride next to the lake but was worth waiting as it offered us a breathtaking view of the lake, snow clad mountains and
surrounding areas.
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| View of Tsongo from the cable car |
We headed back to Gangtok to have lunch at MG Marg. Vehicles
were completely banned on this road , had seating arrangements in the middle
and it reminded me of a similar spot that we had visited in Austria.
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| MG Marg, Gangtok |
Sikkim is rich in orchids that are brilliantly coloured and
beautifully shaped. We paid a quick
visit to one of the orchid flower shows and I was fascinated by their charm and
variety.
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| Queer Orchids |
Enroute to the hotel, we had an enchanting view of the Gangtok
city.
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Buildings or pack of cards? - Bird's eye view of Gangtok city |
Our next destination was Lachen. It was a very long and meandering
drive offering views of forests drenched in mists and enchanting vistas of the
mighty Himalayan peaks. Sheer cliffs and constant waterfalls were a dime a
dozen throughout the journey. Towards
the evening, we reached a sleepy village set against soaring and jagged
pinnacles. The whole place looked as if it was completely immersed in fog and
cloud, adding to the aura and mystery of the place. We were literally walking
through the clouds and I was on cloud nine :)
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| 'Mistical' feel |
After spending the night here, we started towards
GuruDongmar Lake early in the morning navigating our way through rough terrains
and we were to travel for around 4-5 hours to reach there. Mid way, it started
snowing and the entire surrounding appeared to be covered with a white layer.
Small Christmas trees looked very pretty with ice flakes sitting on them and
the mountains sported ash smeared look.
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| Fresh snow fall |
We were quite exhausted by the time we
reached the lake but the moment we reached there, without our knowledge we had
hurled our tiredness to high winds and were floating through moments shrouded
in magical experience.
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| Surreal |
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| PC:Shashidhara (iPhone shot) |
The lake was encircled
by most alluring snow-covered mountains and had a pristine landscape offering a
jaw dropping scenery. It is situated at an altitude of ~17000 feet (one of the
highest lakes in the world) which causes breathlessness for many. But luckily
we were spared from any such problems. The crystal clear snow fed water of the lake was blue on one side
and turquoise on the other and brought a sense of calmness in me.
It
is considered a sacred lake blessed by Guru Padmasambhava and has a temple of
the Guru beside the lake. There is no human habitation here except the army
personnel.
The clouds were giving an impression of caressing the mountain peaks
as they halted on them during their journey, had a chit-chat with them and
continuing.
To the
opposite end of the lake, was a barren land which was giving the impression of
a desert. Despite all the hardship that
we faced in reaching the place, the visit was indeed an experience of a
lifetime. As the day progresses, weather worsens in high altitude regions and
one cannot stay here for long. It was time for the return journey. 7 hours of
drive from here to Lachen, our next terminus, was a long haul.
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| Rugged terrain |
Lachung, a small and quiet town located in North Sikkim, is
full of natural grandeur and serene vegetation. Zero point, the last outpost of
civilization sharing the border with China and Yumthang valley, also called the
valley of flowers, enroute were in our list next. Our journey started through
valleys ringed with mountains and crisscrossed with hot springs. Both the sides
of the roads were filled with Rhododendron (Etho-Metho in the local language)
flowers which had blossomed in colours of bright red, cream and purple and had
turned the place very picturesque.
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| Colourful Rododendrons |
The valley itself is at an elevation of 3564 meters and tiny
purple flowers had started blossoming everywhere which looked like someone
painted the canvas of mother earth in purple.
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| Flowery patch |
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| Magical valleys |
We kept stopping at various places to take in the scenery. 180 degree views of mammoth snow covered mountains greeted us as we travelled further.
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| Splendid nature |
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| Natural canvas |
As we moved on, it became cloudy and started snowing as
well. The deposition of snowflakes on plants looked very artistic. We found ourselves wallowing in the luxury of nature.
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| Layers |
As we continued, the path became treacherous. Poor
visibility added to the woes. I couldn’t
help but appreciate the skills of the driver who safely took us through.
By the time we reached zero point, we had
traversed the most spectacular scenery that we had ever witnessed.
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| Peek a boo |
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| Frozen Falls |
Zero point is located at an altitude of 15,300 ft above sea
level. The cold was very tortuous and my hands were trembling making it
difficult to even hold my camera firmly and click the button.. Vendors offering
hot tea in that weather was a welcome relief for us.
After soaking in the
exotic splendor of the place, we made a move back to Lachung.
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| Moon lit mountains and man lit villages in the foot hills |
Next day, got up early and took a stroll on the roads to get
a feel of the locals’ life, visited a monastery and proceeded to Gangtok and
then to Darjeeling (WB) from there.
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| Typical Sikkimese houses |
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| Prayer wheels |
Darjeeling is quite crowded and I wasn't amused except for some tea
gardens.
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| Tea estates of Darjeeling |
Mt.Kanchenjunga, among the
world’s highest peak, was the main
attraction there for us. We got up as early as 3.30 am and went to the spot. As soon as we reached the place, it
started drizzling. We stood there bearing the cold and rain waiting for the clouds to clear. Coffee/tea and umbrella vendors made brisk business in that
weather but the mountain peak evaded us. The only pictures I have of this place
are of the test shots of the cloudy sky where
the peak was to show up in its golden hue.
Having returned disappointed, we decided to spend the rest
of the day by visiting the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and taking a ride in the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (Toy train).
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| Scintillating Station |
DHR came into existence in 1885 and is a
cultural UNESCO World Heritage site. The special feature here is that the train
track runs parallel with the motor road
right from the originating station till
the terminating station which are not seen anywhere else in the world. The trains while negotiating their way through
the narrow lanes of the city, move hugging to the hills on one side and throw a
beautiful panoramic view of the mountains and valleys on the other.
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| Hugging and Chugging |
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| Nostalgic |
Our visit to the north east would have been incomplete without a visit to one of the monasteries there.
Peace Pagoda as the name suggests is a peaceful and revered Buddhist temple in Darjeeling built by a Japanese monk.
When we paid the visit, morning prayers were going on. We too participated in the prayer by chanting "nam myoho renge kyo" (Devotion to the Mystic Law of the Lotus Sutra)in a rhythmic pattern.
The pagoda has a beautiful golden coloured statue of Buddha and is surrounded by carvings which tell the story of Buddha's life.
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| Flora of West Bengal |
Darjeeling is indeed a shoppers’ paradise dotted with
numerous shops all along. We quickly did some shopping and returned to the
hotel room to catchup with some sleep.
Finally curtains came
down on the magical moments we spent during our vacation. The trip was a good
energy booster and it was time to get back to the routine life. My mind was
already thinking of our next holiday destination :)
