Sikkim - Greens..White & Gravel Beauty.. (Part 2 - North Sikkim)

The most exciting part of the trip is here.. exploring the beautiful region of North Sikkim.

North Sikkim is a must visit. The mountains & gravel make for long tiring drives, but the views & the stunning beauty of the place is totally worth it. We opted for a 2-Nights/3-Days package trip conducted by Galaxy travels (Gangtok). To visit these places you require a permit which the travel operator will obtain for you on submission of copies of  ID & address proof.It is best to book a private vehicle instead of a shared one, as shared ones have 7-8 passengers in one vehicle & the way up is very rugged. 

Highlights:

• Gurudongmar Lake
• Glimpses of Teestha river along the way
• Breakfast at a local's home
• Snow clad coniferous trees at Yumthang valley
• Dom Bang

 (This post is a part of the 2 part blog on Sikkim. For part 1-Gangtok, please follow this link

http://traveldazzle.blogspot.in/2014/05/sikkim-greenswhite-gravel-beauty-part-1.html )

Glimpse-  Gurudongmar Lake

This ones a long post with many pictures, as words just cant do justice to the beauty of this region :)

Day 3 : Gangtok - Lachen

We started at noon from the dedicated taxi stand for North Sikkim at Gangtok. Our driver Pasan appeared to be a very calm & collected person a much needed trait for the difficult drive ahead. As we left Gangtok just hills & hills greeted us with a trail of vehicles.The roads are quite a challenge to drive on.. just gravel & stones for most part of the way. The Border Road Association (BRO) has been doing a commendable job of laying down roads. It is heartening to see the smiling locals going about their construction work.

Off we all go...

Pit Stop : Seven Sisters Waterfall -  
While the waterfall is not grand enough to be a must-visit in this season, it does make for a good place to stretch your legs & grab some snacks.

We continued to Lachen with stops here & there. It is almost a 7 hour drive with river Teestha playing peek-a-boo all along.

These cuties waved to every car :)

Pasan was an expert in maneuvering these paths

Finally we reached Lachen by 7 pm. We were put in up in hotel Twins peak right at the entrance of Lachen. Most hotels in Gangtok, have their motels here too. Given the accessibility to the place, the staying options are modest. We had some delicious hot home cooked food & dozed off.

Day 4 - Lachen - Gurudongmar Lake - Lachung

..Having woken up at 3:30 am.. & a high altitude drive..tough day ahead. We left by 4 am, it was dark but the trail of tourist cars was pretty assuring in those lonely hills. As the sun rose , the drive became very picturesque. Snow clad mountains far off, breathtaking views of the valleys. We even experienced some snowfall at a pit stop. Photographs are not allowed at few places on this stretch due to army bunks.

As the sun rose..

At 6:30 we stopped for breakfast at a locals home. Our driver had got bread & amul butter from the city itself. It was damn cold, we went inside & started warming our hands near the stove. Our host had a beautiful collection of ceramics a lot like blue pottery. 

So pretty isnt it?

The way of cooking was also mountain adapted, an iron pipe acting as a chimney for the charcoal burning underneath . A cooker like vessel was placed on this stove with bread & a bowl of butter. So breakfast was some steamed bread with melted butter it was delicious.

Something new

Our warm & humble host

Now started the real climb.. to 17k feet, I felt alright when we stepped out at 15k feet . I hadnt had any altitude sickness medicine as I was already having medicine for my motion sickness & didnt want to mix it. Also, we thought its the only place in this trip with such an high altitude.
(Note to self: have altitude sickness meds for the next trip - Ladakh)

Views along the way

As we ascended, one could see the landscape changing dramatically. One side had snow while the other was a cold bare dessert- rugged gorgeousness !

What a stunning contrast !

the Lake far ahead

& there was Gurudongmar lake  - Frozen beauty !!.. 
It seems one part of the lake remains unfrozen throughout the year & the water is considered to be sacred. We reached around 9 am. The tourists are not allowed beyond noon here as the oxygen in the atmosphere further depletes. 

Stepped out & altitude hit me.. Felt little breathlessness accompanied by a massive headache. I just about managed to click some pics  with my phone & jumped right back into the vehicle to lie down.
Hubby was the more brave one, he went to the Gurudwara  and clicked some magnificent pics.

The stunning frozen Gurudongmar Lake

The unfrozen part of the lake 

Prayer flags

All through the way back, I kept thinking of our Army, who brave all these conditions, bad roads, limited food supply, less oxygen & stay put as high at 21k feet to protect us. It must take something unimaginable to have that kind of commitment to the nation. Kudos to them !
The headache lasted pretty much the rest of the day.

On our way back we drove  to Dom Bang near Lachung, a pretty stretch of woods which seemed to have stepped right out of a fairy tale book. It reminded me of Hansel & Gretel story :)

Dom Bang

on the way to Lachung

We stayed at Kanchendzonga regency at Lachung. It had a view of the valleys around, clean room with attached bath. They took forever to prepare dinner, & we were pretty tired having woken up early, the cold really dint help either. Had some of our theplas, a painkiller & slept off.

Day 5 : Lachen-  Yumthang Valley - Gangtok

We left by 6 am for Yumthang valley. The drive was once again breath taking all along, the witty BRO road signs, the rhododendrons blooming along made it very memorable.

Do not Gossip, Let him Drive :)

Then came a stretch , straight out a Santa village, snow clad valleys, coniferous trees  & shrubs covered in snow, cute cottages - One of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen ! We had to stop the car for a selfie :)

So X'massy !!

Selfie time :)

We then stopped at a shop for breakfast & hiring of snow gear ( Gloves + boots) . This part is full of shops. 

Shops at Yumthang

After breakfast, we walked to the tourist spot to play around in the white carpet around us. Of course it was very cold, so we managed to enjoy for around 25 mins, I could barely click the camera button with numb fingers.
 There were families, couples, friends , people in all kinds of groups & ages with a childlike wonder in each of them. 

Snow time !!

When I scooped some snow for my snow teddy, I saw a beautiful purple flower beneath. The entire valley was full of these flowers covered by a sheet of snow. 

Exquisite !

Its all their hard work that paves the way for us

We decided to skip zero point & went back to Lachung for lunch

Yummy lunch

Good bye Lachen

Delicious lunch later, we started back to Gangtok

North Sikkim was truly breath taking beyond our imagination. It was postcard picture op at every corner. Truly one of the most beautiful places we've ever visited.

Swaying Prayer Flags at Gurudongmar Lake