A group of 5 people set out to experience the desolate topography of North Sikkim. High on list is visiting the blue waters of Gurudongmar Lake, driving through the uninhabited Yumthang valley, and chilling under the winter sun at Lachen and Lachung, two main villages of North Sikkim. If the word count of the narrative below puts you off, maybe you could skip it and instead have a look at the pictures from this trip. Here is the flickr link.

Day 1

We are in New Jalpaiguri (NJP). Our train kept its promise with the official arrival time, 1100 hrs. We set out for the taxi stand in anticipation of reaching Gangtok early. It is the 29^th of December and yet it’s pleasant outside. We have the company of a Gangtok resident, who suggested we group up, to reduce the taxi fare. We were happy to oblige as she knows the language and is happy to do the negotiations. But things aren’t meant to be this easy. First, we learn about a bandh (for a separate state of Gorkhaland) from 12 to 5 pm, during which taxis won’t hit the roads. Instead of taking a taxi from NJP station, the local lady thought it would be wise to get one from Siliguri (half hour drive from NJP station), which has a bigger taxi stand. So, we set out for Siliguri (Rs 300 for an entire taxi). A good one hour ticks by in negotiating the price. Rs. 1800 is fixed for the front 2 rows of a Mahindra Maxx Jeep. And by the time our driver finds 4 more passengers for the last row, it’s already 2 ‘o clock. Once we are on the road, eventually, our driver tells us about the presence of middlemen (dalal) in Siliguri and NJP, who take their share from the drivers for getting passengers. Rs 600 from our fare went to the dalal’s pocket. And for some mysterious reason, which forces us to believe that maybe he too is a part of it all, the driver asks us to lie to anyone who comes asking about the fare; Rs. 140 (per person, for a total of 10 people) is what we have to ‘officially’ tell any inquirers.

We reach the bridge where the agitation (peaceful today) is supposed to be taking place. A few passer bys tell us about the status of the bandh and a driver of another jeep informs us about how the windshield of a jeep was thrashed to pieces earlier by a few agitators. Amidst all this confusion, the traffic starts crawling back to normalcy. Jams take over from bandh once the agitation is called off. Unwanted breaks take over from jam once the road is cleared, like fellow travelers on the last row announcing that they want an early dinner and our driver stopping to drop off a package to his home on the way. What should have been a smooth 3-4 hours’ ride ends up being a boring and tiring 8 hours’ drive.

Day 2

Mig-Tin, our hotel for one day and 2 nights, had caught our attention while looking up hotels in a guide book, not because of its description which wasn’t inspiring anyway, but due to its name. We had chosen the rooms on a long distance call and asked them to book the rooms with the best views. Thanking ourselves later on, as we went about the otherwise vacant hotel we realized that apart from the four walls we had been handed, rest of the hotel is pretty dingy and badly maintained. For the record, when we peeked from our window, we were in the middle of MG Road, the Switzerland of India, or so says the Chief Minister.

After an exciting and relaxed brunch at the wonderful Baker’s Café, and a meeting with our tour operator, we set out for the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology (at Deorali). This has to be the most interesting place to see while in Gangtok, as it is known for its renowned museum in Tibetan architecture. Memories from my last visit to Gangtok are still filled with slightly blurred visions of its passageways. But as we discover, unfortunately, the museum remains closed on Wednesdays. So, we move onto the Do-Drul Chorten, a couple of hundred metres ahead of the museum. And we are in for a complete shock! This place has become quite unrecognizable since our last visit, owing much of the ‘credit’ to an appalling new construction on the only side of the chorten, which was devoid of any human encroachment till now. If not for the distasteful urbanised surroundings, this place could be visited at least for the quaint walk that the road (from the ropeway) to the chorten offers. Rest of the afternoon and evening is spent in the back lanes of Deorali and later on checking out Lal market, the two main places to go shopping (apart from the usual and pricier MG marg).

Lal market in Gangtok :: © 2010 Rohit Chaudhary

Day 3

We reach the office of Sikkim Tours and Travels by 9 after a brisk breakfast. Mr. Lukendra Rasailly, owner of the company, informs us that our permit has been made and the driver has gone to fetch it from the tourist office. By the time we get to see the driver, it’s already 11 and our plans to leave early in the morning to travel leisurely have painfully disappeared. We wonder why he didn’t apply for the permit the day before, only to be told that permits have to be applied the same day. This can be attributed to the reason that since there are daily weather changes at the altitude we are going to, it is only logical to decide if travel is possible on a daily basis. And on top of that, he informs us of snowfall up in the north, for the last couple of days, which keeps us sufficiently busy speculating the chances of roads to the lake being blocked. Well, it’s quite difficult to fathom the probability of ending the trip (and the year) without a visit to the spectacular lake and we try not to think about it. By 11.30 pm we finally leave Gangtok.

The road beyond Chungthang splits into two. The one on the left goes onto Lachen and Gurudongmar Lake and the right one takes one to Lachung and Yumthang valley. And these are the areas that are inaccessible to people without permits. So, though you can visit places on the route ahead of Gangtok like Phensang, Phodong (lunch stop for people visiting north Sikkim through agencies) and Mangan (district headquarters of north Sikkim) without any permits, going ahead of Chungthang will need one. The Incredible India brochure on Lachen says, “Visitors making a trip to Lachen or nearby places are required to make their arrangements through registered tour and travel agents in Sikkim. Additionally, foreign nationals are required to travel in groups of 2 or more”. The roads in Sikkim are quite characteristic unlike anywhere else. Most of the highways here run into single lanes and the turns are dotted by huge wooden poles flanked with tall white prayer flags.

As we get closer to Lachen, we start spotting blocks of snow around the road. We try looking ahead in the valley towards our destination but it’s getting quite dark and we have to settle for our immediate surroundings. And it isn’t long before those chunks are gone and we find ourselves literally floating on snow. Quite a surreal sight it is; rocks, streams, trees, everything reclaimed by snow. Everyone in the jeep gets super excited, music is turned off and faces get glued to the window, trying hard to see what shimmering snow has to offer under the moon lit sky. A sharp turn and we enter the village, a village dotted with yellow bulbs hanging from the courtyards of lovely ‘white’ houses. It’s only 6 in the evening (took us 6.5 hours to get here) and we get ready to prepare ourselves for the long night ahead of us, the last night of the year.

Lachen in snow :: © 2010 Rohit Chaudhary

Day 4

It’s first of January in the New Year! All of us are in a hurry to get ready, for it’s the day we have all been waiting for; visit to the second highest lake of India and 15^thhighest in the world, according to an online source. Gurudongmar Lake, nestled at 17,100 feet (5135 metres) above MSL, is sacred to the people of three religions, for there is a stupa, a small Hindu temple and a Gurudwara, all looked after by a watchman (who lives there throughout the year, all by himself!). And supposedly, the speed of the winds at that altitude is so immense that you can barely hear others speak! Because of its altitude, weather tends to get unpredictable after noon, and staying beyond a certain time (sometime around 12-1 pm) is not allowed. The owner of Hotel Bayul (our hotel for 2 nights in Lachen) had told us this the previous night.

People leaving for Gurudongmar have to leave early; around 7 in the morning (one way to the lake takes around 4 hours roughly). But we are late by an hour, since neither the cook nor the driver woke up on time.

We haven’t left Lachen too far behind and some isolated houses of the village can still be seen down the valley on our right. After a sharp turn, just ahead of us, we see a parked jeep and its driver waving us not to go any further! Our driver parks right behind him. All of us get down. The two drivers have a word, walk down some steps on the road, come to a halt, and observe the road below them and down the valley. I can barely believe what’s going on. Others decide to make full use of the opportunity with all the snow around. Our driver signals me to join him. He shows me the road where he is standing and points out at the winding road down the valley. Most of the snow has now become ice because of the constant traffic of army vehicles and it’s extremely risky to move any further. Since jeeps are much lighter than, say, an army truck, chances of slipping and losing the balance on a road like this are very high. No amount of begging would convince our driver to move further to see if it’s really dangerous. Some minutes pass by observing silence.

A cavalcade of 3 jeeps approaches us, all stuffed to the brim with bengalees. Again a discussion takes place. And the new entrants decide they want to try out the road, which convinced our driver to follow them. We start moving slowly, certain that we will make it this time. A kilometer down the road and across a bridge, we stop again. We wait patiently and nervously. And then it is all over. The 3 jeeps in front of us take a u-turn and stop. Their passengers start falling out of the vehicle; shouts of excitement everywhere. One of them shouts at the top of his lungs, “What the hell! This is Gurudongmar, let’s play!” Our hearts sink. This is the farthest we go on this unfortunate day!

We spend an hour on the snow, trying to do stupid things with it, trying to revive the excitement of the trip. Once back at Lachen, we wonder what can be done with the rest of the day. A hike to the monastery overlooking the village seems the best option. We head for it.

The monastery is a busy place. Lots of people around, unusual for a monastery, except for on festivals. And it does turn out that preparations are being made for the annual monastic cham (mask dance). We spend a good hour here, under the pleasant sun, observing various chores being carried out. The 2 approach routes to the monastery make for an exciting glimpse of the village life. Little things, like a bucket under the continuously flowing tap, or fluttering prayer flags on every roof top, or plants surviving in blue colored desi ghee canisters, do something to you, not entirely possible to depict in words but easily felt once you are back in the comforts of the big cities.

Day 5

It’s 9 in the morning and we prepare to leave for Lachung. Almost all the snow has melted away. We wonder if any tourists will be going up to the lake today. Our driver confirms that no permits were issued yesterday.

We were told of an interesting story about the dynamics between Lachen and Lachung, during our stay in Lachen. A politician in the current ruling government of Sikkim comes from Lachung. He saw the much-favoured route to Gurudongmar Lake as a threat to the tourism industry in Lachung. So he got access to both the lakes (Tso Lhamu as well) barred, citing border sensitivity to divert the tourist inflow to his village. After a public outburst over this decision, the government was forced to open up one lake to tourists and locals. But still, it’s the politician who is considered the perceived reason for most agencies suggesting a 2-day stay in Lachung compared to a 1 day halt in Lachen. And whatever inquiries or visits Lachen has been getting over the last few years is purely because of the Incredible India campaign on Lachen, giving it much needed publicity and a facelift (a few Incredible India signboards in Lachen and a brochure that we got from our agency in Gangtok were testament to this disclosure, but we can’t vouch for the political angle to the story).

It’s a nice drive, 2 hours of what we missed while coming up on the 31^st January due to bad light, and 1 hour on a new route ahead of Chungthang. And as we enter the new road, both the valleys seem quite different from each other. Lachen side is more of a narrow gorge, and one sees hardly anything beyond the towering mountains on either sides. But this one opens up slowly and slowly, till it reaches its widest at Lachung, making it seem like a huge amphitheatre.

We arrive at our hotel in Lachung, Apple Valley Inn; a beauty carved out in wood. It’s difficult not to fall in love with this place. We are tripping on our surroundings; the views from the hotel of the small village downhill and magnificent snowy peaks rising behind them. So much so that we defer our plan to leave for Yumthang valley immediately upon arrival in Lachung, and instead settle for a cup of coffee in the comforts of the balcony facing the marvelous views.

After the brief intermission, we set out for Yumthang valley. Set further north of Lachung, Yumthang is a limited access area, for the area borders Tibet. The Lonely Planet guide gave us the impression that visitors can go upto a couple of kilometers ahead of the ‘famous’ hot springs. But somewhere on the internet, we read about Zero Point. Supposedly, Zero Point is the last place till where a tourist can go. It’s called zero point for the simple reason that beyond this point there is no road!

This side of the north Sikkim still has lots of snow cover. We pass a number of vehicles, all of them on their way back. We are surely late, not that if bothers us and rather we enjoy the anticipation of being alone at zero point. We pass the hot spring; too touristy. The landscape beyond seems to have frozen. Water coming out of a big iron pipe has frozen to form an art installation, and so have the huge waterfalls, rendering a scary silence to the valley. The huge trees start giving way to more and more open areas and eventually shrubs take complete control of the proceedings. We keep moving against the horrors, which blocked our way to Gurudongmar. But here progress is much easier owing to a comparatively leveled landscape. The valley begins to open up magically towards the end stretch. One can see multiple valleys connected to this one.

Being the only car going against the flow of traffic can sometimes cause a jittery feeling. The landscape is intimidating. It is enclosed in what is like a snow bowl, with frozen waterfalls on all sides and a solitary road leading to an end. A vehicle slipping and rolling to the valley floor, or any cries for help will obviously not be heard.

The jeep suddenly stops. We are a kilometer short of zero point. A long sheet of ice on the road challenges us to tread its path. We peacefully decide against it (unlike day 4). All of us get down and get soaked in the utter tranquility of this place! It’s like Lachung, all draped in snow but on a much, much grander scale. The Yumthang River has been reduced to a joke with most of it being frozen. Some abandoned shelters dot the slopes below us. The snow is delectably white and the gradual sloping of the nearby mountains makes for a very tempting slide on them. And the irony of it all- we can stay for a maximum of 15 minutes only. Ours is the only vehicle out in the wilderness and the driver doesn’t want to take any chances with the problematic roads and disappearing sun.

And so in 3.5 hours we are back in our hotel, still spellbound with what we have seen up there.

We didn’t go to Mt. Katao. It’s the mountain in front of Lachung frequented by mostly bengalees. Apparently it’s illegal to enter that area since it’s very close to the border, and permits are not issued, but agencies take a chance and enter the area in the absence of any police check post. Or, as some say, with help of some corrupt policemen.

Lachung seems like a Bengali outpost. Almost everyone speaks the language and others who can’t, surely understand it. Most of the people here are immigrants, from Bengal and Bihar; little doubt then, that no meal here goes without a papad and aloo bhaja (Bengali potato fries).

Tonight is going to be special. After all, it is our last day in North Sikkim. And though we will and have to come back to visit the lake that eluded us and beyond (this information cannot be divulged till we are sure of the plans), we don’t know when that day is going to be. And so we embrace our spots on the rocks out in the porch, under the still moonless night, and begin an endless gaze into the sky counting shooting stars.

Prayer flags on way to zero point :: © 2010 Rohit Chaudhary

Costs

We ended up paying 22,000 on this tour of North Sikkim for a group of 5 people, inclusive of transport, lodging and meals for 3 nights and 4 days. The price is extremely unsteady and one can come down drastically on bargains. But most of the tour operators start with Rs. 25,000 for such a trip. The final price, of course, translates into quality of accommodation and food, and sometimes vehicles also. So the best bet, I guess, would be to go with the agencies with most recommendations.

Tourists in Sikkim :: © 2010 Rohit Chaudhary