My Sikkim visit - Dec 2017. An account and mini travel guide Part - I

Hi dear friends,
I recently visited the state of Sikkim (3rd Dec-10th Dec 17) and have been mighty pleased with the place. Here is a brief summary of my visit which will also act as a sort of mini travel guide for those of you who havent been there already. To start of with, let me proclaim except the roads and travel time, I didnt find even one thing to complain about and thus the whole trip was extremely smooth sailing, highly economical and a heavenly experience. Mind you, we went in a sort of off season just prior to the start of the 'season' which starts from the second half of December from when proper snowfall starts to about Jan after which it gets really snow covered and some of the roads are closed. We did get snow though on the way to Nathu La enough to play around and experience so from a clearly practical point of view ours was a wonderful time to visit as there was not cut throat competition amongst those in tourism industry making it economical, desirable while still getting to see the beauty of Sikkim. The other season according to the locals is in April-May when you will find flowers blooming everywhere.The nearest airport is Bagdogra airport in West Bengal which is about 120km away from Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim. Locals said that the new Sikkim airport is expected to open by January 2018 at Pakyong, about 35kms from Gangtok (and wouldnt that be great!!) Pro-tip : Dont go by looking at the distance on Google maps alone as even 10kms take 1-1/2hrs due to the curvy and pathetic roads). Also here it becomes dark as early as 5.15pm in December.

So Sikkim as you all know is a state in the north east of India and most famous for the third highest mountain peak in the world and highest in India i.e Kanchenjunga (lies partly in Nepal and partly in Sikkim)

This peak is going to be your travel companion almost throughout and the splendour of it can be viewed from various points like Pelling, Yuksom/Yaksum,Gangtok etc. You will be on complete awe of it when you spot it for the very first time (you can even see it from your airplane window) and as days progress in your trip you may actually go Oh,its Kanchenjunga again!!

Himalayas from the airplane

Sikkim is divided into four districts (NEWS) and apparently North Sikkim is the best place to be especially in winters. Its a shame that we did not visit it due to the paucity of days as it requires to stay there overnight and each sightseeing site may take a whole day to visit. From what I heard Lachung, Lachen, Gurudongmar lake, Yumthang valley of flowers are places which cannot be missed, but since I have no first hand experience of it I suggest you to search for other online travel guides.
Right so we started after landing at Bagdogra airport at about 1pm on 3rd Dec and once you are out of the arrival gates, cab drivers will pounce on you like a pack of wolves literally! A private vehicle to Gangtok will cost you about 4-5k with all of them yelling in your ears and you can bargain to bring it down for upto 3.5k in the off season. A smarter idea if you are not in a group is to go to Siliguri from where you get share taxis which are cheap as anything 400-500/person and it wasnt as crowded as we thought it would be. As we were to go to Baiguney (West Sikkim) first (no private vehicles go there at all, Club Mahindra members hear that well!) Some drivers will say they will drop at Jorethang which is about 3km from Club Mahindra Baiguney from where you will get Maruti Alto type cars for a further 600-700/- (for 3kms yes!!). Finally we got a dude who agreed to drop us all the way Baiguney at 1500/- for two in share basis (Bagdogra-Silguri-Jorethang-Baiguney). Next day we set out for sightseeing at and around Namchi (South Sikkim) to cover three spots (Sikkim Char-Dham, Samdruptse and Ravangla Buddha Park) in a private vehicle for two for 3500/- All three are amazing sites and not to be missed. The Char Dham is a group of replicas of the actual Char Dham (Badrinath, Dwarka,Puri and Rameshwaram). You can also have a glimpse of the Samdruptse Padmasambhava statue from here (birds eye view).

Samdruptse has a huge Padmasambhava (Guru Rimpoche - ancient Sikkim Saint) statue in a monastery whose foundation stone was laid by Dalai Lama in 1997

Guru Padmasambhava

 

We proceeded to Ravangala Buddha park also known as Tathagata Tsal which is a picturesque park with a 130 feet statue as a centre of attraction. Unfortunately when we visited there was some renovation work going on the statue which left it ghastly surrounded by the bamboos. Its a beautiful park still and make sure u have your jackets as it will be pretty cold.

Tathagata Tsal

These three will take whole day and there is minimal entry fee and parking for each. You will have various eating options near all three spots of chowmein,momos,maggi,wai wai, thukpa (soupy noodles) etc, being holy places you will get mostly veg only or at max egg versions. There will be many souvenirs shops as well but if you plan to visit Gangtok later you can refrain yourself from buying here.

Momos (Trip incomplete if you dont eat this)

Next day we set out to West Sikkim to cover three other locations namely Pelling, Khecheopalri lake (originally Kha-Chot-Palri) and Yuksom (locals call it Yaksum) and again its an heavenly experience. There are many mini spots and temples,ancient ruins as on the road too and if you leave early enough at about 8.30am or so it will be a day well spent (always keep in mind it becomes dark very early so u want to be returning from 3.30pm or so itself) . Enroute Pelling we have a stop at a Shiv Mandir on the banks of beautiful river Rangeet (which will follow you a great deal) which has a suspension bridge to reach and 108 shivlings.

Further up ahead there is another cave temple below in the valley where you supposedly have to crawl in and you get to see ancient temple but we decided to skip it as we would have to climb down the valley.

The green arch at the centre is the entrance to crawl through

 

As we drive ahead after a few kms there will be an entrance to the Rabdentse ruins. Rabdentse was the capital of the Namgyal dynasty as the capital was shifted from Yuksom (1st capital of Sikkim) to here in 1670 A.D. One has to take a 500-600m walk into the forest on a very steep and narrow road to reach these ruins. Its may not be appealing at all to the uninterested as it is quite a task reaching there especially when uphill. There are numerous boards placed by the Archeological Society which egg you on though reminding you of the distance remaining. There is a bird park just at the start but it was closed when we visited and we couldn't  see any bird through the huge net either. Once you reach the ruins however you will realize it was worth the ordeal. A beautiful site where you see the ruins and also ancient inscriptions, places of worship dating back to the 17th century. And of course once you reach the top you will get a nice view of yes you guessed it right - the Himalayas. Its a site purely for the history freak or the one who loves to trek up a forest road (I happen to love both) otherwise you will be mighty disappointed coz it does sap your energy and also about 30-45mins of your time.

You can go through my short video below showing the ruins

There is Pemayangtse monastery on the way to the drive to Khecheopalri lake which is worth seeing. We reached Khecheopalri lake (means mountain of blissful heaven) in few minutes and it is surely out of the world. Calm and serene, this place is holy to Hindus and Buddhist both. Watch out for the signboards of instructions as you do not want to offend anyone here and the sanctity is maintained. There are about a thousand of 'healthy' Rohu fish (Carp) in these waters and feeding them is considered holy (you get fish food at stores near the entrance). You may also find people praying and performing rituals here. For the nature lovers you can spot some ducks swimming around. There is a viewpoint which one can climb to see the entire lake from a birds eye view and apparently it appears in the shape of footprint of a Goddess Tara. All in all you will get nice vibes from this place and come out feeling better.

Khecheopalri Lake

 

 

Holy Fish

When we reached Pelling there isn't much to see except the town and view of the Himalayan range of course. Further up ahead is the Kanchenjunga waterfalls and it is simply stunning . You can go through the video and pics below to have an idea of this marvel. Just in front of the falls I also managed to get my hands on local Chicken and rice and boy was it delicious!! Did get a waterfall flowing through my nose too though, not for those who cant handle spice.

Next on the list was Yuksom or Yaksum as the locals call it. It is basically the point from where you start the Kanchenjunga expedition. Locals say not much training is required and a fit person should take about 8-10 days to reach the top. We will have yaks with us who will carry the supplies needed and the road is well marked and is only a question of endurance rather than skill. Again Yuksom only provides a view of the peak and is overall a disappointment to be honest.

Monastery at Yuksom

View from Yuksom

On our way back we crossed the Singshore bridge which is the second highest suspension bridge in Asia. The return journey marked the end of a wonderful stay at Baiguney as we depart the next day to Gangtok which will be covered in Part II . So watch this space!!

Bonus video : Passing the Singshore bridge!!