7 Days in Sikkim

Yumthang Valley

One of the most fascinating thing about studying in North East is the short break that you get during the October on the occasion of much revered Durga Puja. It is a season when Monsoon just retreats and chill of winter is about to blanket us. One of the objective of taking a college in North East was to explore the natural beauty of this less explored mystic land and I started this campaign with the first opportunity that came on way.

Sikkim, is always an ideal place for October. It isn't all that cold which means that roads are still open and you can see the ice. Also, Sikkim offered a chance to explore Buddhism, which has always been an interest for me, also you can be face to face with Chinese, being an India at least at one place on Earth. And so it was decided, without much plan, Sikkim it will be.

A rickety Bus ride.

As soon as the exam got over at about four in the afternoon, I rushed back to hostel, stuffed some clothes inside a bag, took out some cash and headed straight to the ISBT, Guwahati. The beautiful part of an unplanned journey is its unpredictability, you don't know what follows next. So what followed next was a rickety bus ride to Siliguri.

The bus started after a delay of two hours at eight in night and it was raining already. The roof of the bus was leaking and water was dripping on our heads. After some four hour of ride the driver stopped the bus, just like that and went off to sleep. I was told that there were some regulations and Police do not allow public transports to pass through that area at night and so the sleeping break. I also dozed off on my wet seat.

When I woke up, we were about to reach Siliguri. The scenery of Northern Bengal plains is beautiful. You can see Hills covered with Tea in distant horizon and the moisture of early morning shower was still visible on the greens.

After a fourteen hour journey. I was at my destination.

The Travel Agents of Siliguri.

Siliguri is the gateway to four major tourist destination, Nepal, Bhutan, Darjeeling and Sikkim. Everything around Siliguri is bent to prove the same. As soon as I got down I was surrounded by a group of travel agents, selling the "cheapest package deal" just for me.

After a great deal of resistance I gave up to one such tenacious travel agent and went inside his small shop, what is it that he was offering. The offer was not bad indeed and I got a hotel in Gangtok and a ride to it.

It took five hours to reach Gangtok against 3 hours that was shown on Google. Some Nepali song was playing in the background and I could see beautiful Tea Gardens all around. We passed a Checkpoint, where they affirm your Indian Identity and after sometime stopped at one street side restaurant for some tea. It was overlooking the Teesta River, which is blue and intense.

I reached Gangtok at about three in the afternoon. Went straight to the hotel, kept my luggage inside and headed out. The manager was a Nepali Gentleman and he instructed me to be back by eight otherwise his doors won't open. With this in mind I headed to the much heard about place in Gangtok, the MG Road.

M.G Road and The Hot Cop.

M.G Road. What a  sight. The most beautiful concrete path on earth. Most part of this beauty is added by the creatures who walk on it. M.G. Road indeed has some of the most stunningly beautiful women walking around, you can see a group of Buddhist monk walking around with headphones on. People seem buy something, but they actually are not and I tried my hand at window shopping as well.

I was unsure about which way to walk to get back to my hotel and then I saw a very unconventionally attractive women in a role of traffic police near a square. Asking for directions and acting foolish or a slow learner was interesting now. I took complete five minutes to exactly understand the route which I need to take to get back. She was very patient and helping.

One good thing about Sikkim is that everyone follows the rule. People will not throw things out on road, and instruct you about it as well (Sometimes before you even think about throwing it on street, as they have a general idea about an average person from Mainland), people will walk on footpaths which are nicely crafted and the taxi drivers follow a government regulated price.

Also, the Nepali people in general will always have stories to share. Knowledge, out in open, you just need enough ears. While walking back to Hotel I met one such Gentleman and had a very worthy discussion on Durga Puja to Ramayana to what they might actually mean.

After reaching back to hotel I started planning for the next day. I met with the Hotel Manager and he guided me about all that can be done.

In Sikkim for visiting most of the places you have to take permits and the Hotel Manager helped me in getting those made. I just provided him with a  college ID and some photographs. Also getting  a permit ready may take about one day. I needed to utilize this one day and Gangtok has enough places to keep you busy.

Birds Eye View of Gangtok

Around Gangtok

Next morning I took a walk around the city of Gangtok. It is like any other hill station in India but with very less traffic. You can see clearly laid footpaths around fine taxis running around.

There are several things that can be done in the city. You can enjoy a ropeway ride and see the whole city from  a bird's eye view. There are couple of monasteries, with fine gardens and peaceful courtyard where you can city and meditate. There is a Tibetan museum where contain all the diverse cultural relics of Tibetan Buddhism.  One thing which amazed me was that a lot of deities were common signalling the link in the cultures, Lord Shiva being called Natraja with similar rules as in Hinduism.

Then to have a nice view of the whole place you can go to Ganesh Tok. For believers there is a temple of Ganesh, but this place is also the top most point of Sikkim.

One thing that no one should miss once in Sikkim is  Momo.  Throughout the my trip in Sikkim most of what I eat was Momo.

So I walked around the city and at the end of the day came back to MG Road. Enjoyed the view around for a while. Got a chance to talk to a young girl who recently converted in Hinduism from Christianity and walked back to the hotel.

To Nathu-la - Eye to Eye to Chinese  

Next morning I left early for Nathu-La pass and China Border.

The Manager had arranged for me a shared cab with a group of students from NIT Rourkela. Through my research before coming to Gangtok, I was aware that I will need some warm clothes a wind-cheater probably to escape the cold. But in my hurry I left the jacket and everything in the college and hence so I had got a wind-cheater on a rent.


All set, with some Nepali song again in the background we headed towards the east of Gangtok. After an hour of a drive uphill I was sure. The winter kills and it can kill me indeed and so at the first stop where we good down for refreshment, I took out a breezier. It really helped.

We passed Tsangmo Lake on  the way, Driver a Sherpa told us that we were to stop while coming down. The whole surrounding was very picturesque. Snow Covered Peaks in distance sometimes you feel as if you are passing through one of the clouds. You can see many small spring on the  way, their sound complementing the songs in background.

The Next stop was  Baba Harbhajan Mandir. Which is made in the memory of a soldier, who is believed to live in spite of being dead from many years. It is said that his army uniform is washed and ironed and everyday it gets creased and dirty. Also, his boots get muddy every day. He also has goes on an official leave, a seat is booked for him along with a companion for his visit home. Whatever it may be, this place gives a fighting courage, a sense of nationalism and is a source of inspiration for our soldiers on China Border.

From this point one view which gives you greatest pride is "Mera Bharat Mahan" written on the top of a hill. This area also falls under Chinese observation.

We climbed a little more uphill and reached the final destination, the Indo-China Border. You can shake hands with Chinese Soldiers and the area is very peaceful. The Climate there is chilling and high speed wind blows around that area. Our Soldiers are doing great job indeed in such a climatic conditions.


One our way down we stopped at Tsangmo Lack. You get amazed seeing the its expanse. You can also ride a yak. I sat there for a while, lost in the vastness and then moved on.

Zero Point

3 Nights and 300 Rupees

The next day started with some unexpected occurrences. The Hotel Manager informed me that he will be not able to arrange a shared cab for me for the trip to North Sikkim. I became really depressed over this and seeing this the manager tried pulled some strings and finally was able to make some arrangements.

And so the trip to North Sikkim began. I was had two Bengali families in company and I had an idea how next three days were going to be. The driver was a Tibetan Sherpa by the name Baichung. Yet again, some Nepali song in background and wonderful Sikkim scenery with springs and steep mountains.

I had already made payment for my food and accommodation and therefore I was carrying only small amount of cash, Rs 300 to be precise. As we started climbing uphill the weather became cold with sporadic rainfalls.

Our first stop was Lachen a small town. We stayed at a "home turned guest house". The Tibetan family living there were very hospitable. They told us that we were lucky and that just two days ago there was ice on the road and that we could go to Gurudogmer lake tomorrow. I had a very decent "home-made" rice and Pulses. The nights in these areas fall early and the day start early as well. It was freezing cold outside and I was icy cold. I took a nice view of the town and  jumped right into bed. The next day was going to be amazing.

Next day we woke up early in the morning at about four in the morning. From the previous night experience I was wearing an extra layer of clothes. We had a very decent breakfast at our hosts place and left the place early.

The roads were covered with snow and I could see tyre marks on the semi-melted snow everywhere. We passed some four to five army camps and at most of these areas photography is not allowed due to security reasons. The roads in North Sikkim are very treacherous, one can expect avalanches anytime due to intense construction work around. The roads were almost always enough only for one four wheeler. This added on the journey time but there was always Nepali songs in the background.

The Lake Gurudogmer is one of the most beautiful sight. It is said that Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh religion  while passing through Sikkim  was approached by a local dweller. He informed Guru Nanak Dev of their plight. During winter they faced a lot of problem for drinking water as everything around gets freeze. Guru Nanak with a stick in his hand, thumped the floor of ice at this place and there was a whole at the point where he struck. Water in this hole never freezes and this is the most beautiful thing to. A wonder of nature indeed, humbly explained in tales. We spent some two hours around this spot. It was very calm, beauty was serene and life was still.

We headed to La-chung after this.  La-Chung was also the place to where Baichung, our driver belonged. La-chung described most other parts in North Sikkim, Scant population, housing, construction and Military camps.  There was a small Momo joint at one point on the a hill, also a general store which surprisingly had cold jaleebis up for sale. The place where we were living, house of a young Tibetan lady with a  cute little kid, came under military camp. We met some soldiers who were candidly asked us " What brought us here?" This question was more like an answer from a homesick soldier who wonders, why will someone willingly come to this place. Photography as usually was not allowed in military area. Our room as is the case in most part of North Sikkim was very comfortable and clean.
After having some tea we went on a search for Mobile signals. The evening light had still not passed and so we trekked down a little from the place where we were living. While climbing down we saw a helipad where people were playing football and seeing this we went to this helipad to have a little chat with local people which is always refreshing and an enjoyable experience.

We spent an hour at this spot and then climbed back up. Night Creeps in early on mountains and silence follows and in this silence I dissolved all my thoughts and headed to the room for a little rest.

Next morning I woke to a beautiful sight of clear sky and in it a very special sight of snow covered mountains. I took a chair outside the house and sat there staring the mountain and listening to the music of a stream coming down from it. After out tea and some bread and butter, we headed to Yumthang Valley.

Yumthang and the Zero Point

The road to Yumthang Valley had a lot of springs and some makeshift bridges. It was all covered in snow and I was shivering in the back of the bus. By now I already half of the Nepali songs in the background and tried to sing them, to divert the attention a bit.

It took us two hours to reach Yumthang Valley. I fell in love with the very sight of it. After travelling in mountains for days  as I came across the expanse of the valley, the rich sunlight, I almost felt like staying in that warmth forever. You can sat around river teesta, meditated on the sound of water gushing past the stones. Up in the sky the sight of snow capped mountains was very clear now, the whole moment was of infinite bliss.
After some two hours we left for Zero Point. The specialty of Zero point is that it remains snow capped throughout the year. The entrance to it was jammed as a lot of people had come to visit. We had a to walk a while to reach the exact point as the jeep could not go.

On snow I did all sorts of mad things, made a Snow man and gave it my own Hat and muffler, made a shiv linga and also skidded, slipped and jumped on it. At one corner a guy selling local rum could be seen.

We stayed there for an hour and enjoyed the life, adventure and youth around. Next destination was Gangtok. We were heading back.

Last Night in Gangtok.

We were able to make it to Gangtok around five and this gave me another chance to visit the most "beautiful" street on the earth, MG Road. Coming back to Gangtok was a relief. It was less cold and more lively. Also after having rice and pulses for some three days it was time now to have a real  meal and  I was able to find a North Indian Restaurant for that.

As I was very tired and a little sick I took a walk back to hotel, capturing every sight of the wonderful city and then retired to the bed.
Next morning I inquired about the river rafting and was told that I should take a state transport bus to Siliguri and get down in middle at a point. I got into one such bus, told the driver about my rafting plan and he stopped the bus at the spot for me. From that spot I saw a man in a jeep with a raft on the top if it. I inquired him about rafting and it turned out that he himself arranges for rafting in Teesta.

I enjoyed a wonderful ride down the Teesta on a shared raft with some Bangladeshi citizens. At one shore was West Bengal and at other side was Sikkim. At some point during my journey I saw myself completely covered with water and at other times I could not feel the support of the raft on my back. Overall it was a enjoyable experience.

Journey Back

I took a jeep from this point to siliguri. Everything about siliguri was a proving its "Indianess". I came across a very good Aloo Pratha point near the bus stand, had some lunch there, found a bus to Guwahati and sat in it.

It took another ride on a rickety bus of some fourteen hours to get me back early in the morning at around five in Guwahati. Returning back to Guwahati I had a feeling of homecoming. With beautiful memories of Sikkim and some sense of proud about this travel I returned back to comfortable hostel.