Sikkim is a
landlocked Indian state located in the Himalayan Mountains. The state borders
Nepal to the west, China's Tibet Autonomous Region to the north and east, and
Bhutan to the southeast. The Indian state of West Bengal lies to the south. Wikipedia
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| Mount Kanchenjunga from Gangtok, Sikkim |
The non-stop music of mountain streams, rays of golden
sunlight, lots of Himalayan birds, MT KANCHENJUNGA with his other brothers will call you again and again.
We
two started our journey on 21st of Dec 2012 from Sealdah station. We reached Sealdah station 45 minutes
before the actual departure of Dargeeling mail in evening. This time my
destination is Sikkim. We reached NJP on 22nd morning and travelled to Gangtok in a shared Jeep (Sumo). We
left NJP at 012:30 p.m. and took our lunch at 2:00 p.m. on the way. We reached Gangtok
at 05:40 p.m. normally it takes 4.30 hrs. to reach.In Gangtok our hotel is “Hotel
Glacier”. It is nicely placed near M.G. Marg. We talked to the hotel manager
for a bed room. He showed us two non-view rooms at third floor and asked for
Rs.800/-. But we paid only Rs.700/- . We also complete our booking for next day
sightseeing towards Nathula.
In
the next day morning we start our sightseeing towards Tsongmo Lake, Nathula pass, Baba Mandir. Tsongmo Lake has perhaps one of the
most beautiful landscapes in Sikkim. On the Gangtok – Nathu La highway, Tsongmo
Lake is situated at an altitude of 12,400 ft. Also known as Changu Lake. In
Bhutia language, the literal meaning of ‘Tsomgo’ is ’source of the lake’. The
travel agent charged 700 per head for this tour and also we have to submit two
copies passport size photo and votar card Xerox for permission. We return to Gangtok
around 6.30 P.M and stay in Gangtok.
In the third
day, our destination is Ravangla, in South Sikkim. We have booking in Ravangla
in “Hotel Sanjivani”. We have taken shared cab for Ravangla. It take 2 and half
hours (64 kilometers from Gangtok) to reach Ravangla and charged Rs.110
per head. It is
surrounded by hills with forest cover and one can view the Himalayan range from
here. It has pleasant climate with panoramic views of the Himalayan range like mount
kachanjunga, mount Pandim, mount Siniolchu, mount Kabru, etc. It is an
ideal place for bird watching and leisure holiday.
Next day
we reserved a cab for sightseeing, which includes Temi Tea Garden the only Tea estate in Sikkim & the
Gurupadmasambhava statue (135 ft.) It is said to be the highest statue of Guru
Padmasambhaba in the World, Siddheshwar Temple and a newly made Buddhist
temple at Ravangla. By
the time we reached at Ravangla our lunch was ready. We all became monster as
we were so hungry that time and dal rice egg curry were like “Chicken Biriyani”
to us at that time.
In the fifth
day, our destination is Rinchenpong, a small village in west Sikkim. We have
booking in “Hotel Rinchen”. Normally
peoples hired cab from Ravangla for Rinchenpong; it takes Rs.1500 to for Rinchenpong.
But we two choose different route. First we go to Legship through shared cab.
From Legship we took local tracker for Reshi. From Reshi we took shared cab for
Rinchenpong. As we
reached Rinchenpong we were welcomed by an enchanting
view of, MT KANCHENJUNGA and wow what a
view.
It was a bright day and we were very lucky to have a great sight. After
lunch we visited Rabindra smriti van. There is a monastery just at the entry to
the van. We spent some time at the park and then returned to the bazar again at
around 04:30 p.m.
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| Sun rise from Rinchenpong |
In the next
day, we decided to visit weekly market at Kaluk which is 3 K.M from Rinchenpon
by walk. It is really nice to walk at village area.
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| At Chayatal |
In the
seventh day, we reserved a cab for sightseeing, which includes changey falls,
Dentam vally, Singshore Bridge, Chayatal.
The road for Chayatal is very bad, so
it’s better to avoid if anybody has vomiting problem, but it’s a beautiful
place to visit. On the way return we tried for food at Chayatal valley but
again we couldn’t find a single hotel for lunch. Ultimately we took our lunch
at our hotel.
In the last
day we noticed that sky is pretty clear. And nature started showing its beauty.
After a quick fresh up we went to the roof, from where the full range is visible.
After that we saw the beauty of Kanchanjunga. It was unforgettable. Our shared cab
(for Jorthang, as no share cab is available up to NJP) comes to our hotel at
around 8 A.M. which drop us at Jorthang nearly11.30 A.M. From Jorthang we took
another shared cab for Siliguri.
Our
beautiful journey ends here with lots of good memory, beautiful tea garden,
beautiful birds, mountain streams and rays of
golden sunlight.
It was a bright day and we were very lucky to have a great sight. After
lunch we visited Rabindra smriti van. There is a monastery just at the entry to
the van. We spent some time at the park and then returned to the bazar again at
around 04:30 p.m.
