The pursuit of embarking on a journey is a delightful phenomenon.  The sheer excitement of a journey and the fervent zeal to reach the intended destination is what keeps us going.  It is the determination that becomes a motivating factor in guiding us reach greater heights.  The more you travel, the greater the wisdom you acquire.  Over the years, I have had many fascinating journeys and I am going to take you through one of them here with this blog.  Make sure you read the other stories too!

THE START OF AN EXCITING JOURNEY:

It was a cold wintry morning in Darjeeling.  Darjeeling is a hill station in the Indian state of West Bengal.  Nestled amidst lush green tea plantations, Darjeeling is situated at an altitude of over 6,700 feet from the mean sea level.  With temperatures hovering around 7 degree Celsius, it was biting cold and a group of like-minded souls buckled up their travel bags and set forth on an epic trek to Sandakphu – the highest peak in the Indian state of West Bengal.  We started off from Darjeeling on a jeep that would eventually drop us at a small settlement named Dhotre at 8,500 feet.  We met our guides Rajan and Sujai, who will be our masters of navigators on these terrains for the duration of this trek.

Initially, I was following the footsteps of one of the guides leading the group, getting to know about him and discussing the many traditions being followed in this forest village of Dhotre.  As we progressed, there came a location that was so scenic that I had to fall back and trail the group relishing every step.  The cold breeze and steep climb was both mesmerizing and back-breaking, taking a toll on my body.  Four hours of trekking and we reached Tumling.  Tumling is a hamlet in the eastern Himalayas, located at an altitude of 9,600 feet.  Geographically, Tumling exists in Nepal.  There are no concrete walls along this stretch of  India and Nepal border, rather, a milestone defines it all.   Although there are no physical barriers, one needs to procure a permit issued by Singalila National Park.

Back to the camping site, each footstep along any direction rendered spectacular views of the Himalayan terrains! One such view is that of the snow-clad peaks of world’s third largest mountain – Mount Kanchenjunga! And, its beyond being magnificent!  With sunset, the cold waves started picking up rigorously.  We could barely make ourselves comfortable even within closed enclosure.  The view of the night sky was breathtaking.  There was darkness all around and this provided an opportunity to view a clear cloudless sky making it visible to the naked eyes the countless number of stars in the sky.  At about 7 pm, we were served dinner by a Nepalese family at their residence.  It tasted lip smacking!  A little later, we got to our beds pulling in multiple layers of clothing to feel the warmth and I did manage to have a sound sleep!

DELIGHTFUL AND ECSTATIC:

We woke up to a dramatic and spectacular morning sky of Tumling.  The sun was making its way out of the horizon.  The beautiful colors, seen as layers of sheets at the horizon, were a visual treat to the eyes.  Sipping a hot cup of tea, feeling the cold breeze and watching the snow-clad peaks of Mount Kanchenjunga lit with the first rays of the sun was a sheer beauty of nature to experience.

Later, we packed our bags and got going.  We had a long day ahead of us – a distance of about 12 km for the next camp.  The initial few kilometers were downhill and so the going got a little easier.  After about two and a half hours, we had a brief halt at a small settlement for our lunch.  The food, again, was so delicious and pampered my taste buds that I was hardly in any mood to pick my travel bag up for an uphill journey.  With a rather reluctant mind, I had to start off.  Now, that we were done with our lunch, the path ahead was long and daunting.  Distance was a never a concern to me.

Trekking is all about the pleasure of walking at your own pace relishing the beauty of Mother Nature!

Along the sides of the trek path were the spectacular visuals of the mountain peaks with the visibility as far as Sikkim and up to Arunachal Pradesh in the east.  After hours of trekking, we reached our next halt for the day – Kala Pokhri.  At about 10,460 feet from the mean sea level, Kala Pokhri offers stunning views of the surrounding mountainscape.  Pokhri means lake and kala means dark in Nepali, and this village is named after a local lake with dark waters.  Following 7 – 8 hours of trek for the day, leg muscles were desperately seeking attention for them to be energized.  However, the action was not over yet.  Moments after arrival at the camp site, there was something magnificent taking shape right beside.  The view of the sunset with the clouds swirling like the river waters was breathtaking.  I grabbed camera out of my bag and did a quick scouting for an interesting location to have this beautiful phenomenon photographed.

As the last light from the sun could be seen, the cold waves had already set in and I had to rush back to the camp site for warmth.  Following hours of chit-chat, we had our sumptuous dinner and zipped to our respective beds pulling in multiple layers of clothing for comfort from intense cold.  The night temperature recorded at the camp site was around 1 degree Celsius.

EUPHORIA AND JUBILATION:

While the sun was out amid the blue skies, there was barely any differences in temperature of the previous night and morning.  I woke up to freezing temperatures followed by the routine trek day activities.  The distance to the next higher camp at Sandakphu was short with just about 6 km.  However, a steep inclination of about 55 degrees was extremely strenuous.  I guess I got that math right!

As the trek progressed, there was a sense of excitement.  We were on the verge of getting a view of some of the world’s highest peaks.  The arduous task of trekking up the steep terrain kept the going strenuous, however, there was enough determination that kept me pushing!  Circumstances such as these help discover one’s true potential of handling a strenuous commitment.  After about 3 hours of intense uphill trek, I made it to the highest camp site.  There were smiles and happy faces all around!  It was a surreal experience of being at such an altitude experiencing the warmth of the daylight, chilly winds and mesmerizing views of the World’s tallest mountains!

Subsequently, we spent time by rambling and climbing to a viewpoint that offered a 180-degree view of the peaks around.  At about 12,000 feet from the mean sea level, the view was breathtaking!  From K2 to Mount Everest to Lohtse and among others in the west, to some unknown peaks towards Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the east, the views seemed never ending.  The view of the sunset was, probably, as stunning as it get!  It was at its brilliant best.  Viewing the horizon change its color and the last light from the sun lighting up the peaks of mountains are few phenomena that’s beyond the scope of any words that could possibly describe.  Such scenes are best experienced than expressed in words! With sunset, the cold waves were back again.

This time, more intense. The night temperatures dipped to as low as negative 6 degrees Celsius.  The temperature inside the camp site was neither comfortable – hovering around 1 degree Celsius.  I hardly fell asleep the whole night.  That was an unforgettable night that will remain etched in memory for years to come.

CONTENTMENT AND FULFILMENT:

The next morning, with the solar rays touching down the surface, there was some relief and respite.  Yes, just some marginal relief!  We bid good bye to the camping staff and set forth on our journey.  The most popular return route from Sandakphu is via Gurdum to Srikhola, and then to Rimbik.  The steep descent to Gurdum took a toll on the lower body joints.  As with an trek, descending is always more challenging and involves a host of risk factors.  Extreme caution is to be maintained throughout the descent, else there could be some serious damage to the leg joints.

Gurdum is about 12 km from Sandakphu and it takes about 5 – 6 hours of trek to reach down.  We reached comfortably at around 2 pm, had our lunch and quickly rolled in to the camp for a much needed rest.  The evening was pleasantly cold; we were still in our camps doing endless chit-chats and sometimes meaningful conversations.  The nights were, again, a bit colder.

A PLEASURE WALK:

We woke up to a not so cold but a pleasant morning; completed our usual formalities at the camp site and bid good bye to the wonderful people at this beautiful camp of Gurdum.  En route next camp, this descent revealed few more scenic paths.  We had our next halt at a lovely scenic village Srikhola in Darjelling district.  Adjacent to the our lunch point at Srikhola was a river by the same name.  We had our moments alongside this serene river and later had our lunch.

The lunch, again, was very delicious.  The rest of the trek was along a scenic roadway that had views of the beautiful Sikkim and the river that separates the two Indian states – West Bengal and Sikkim.  We reached our final camp for the trek at Rimbik around 5 pm.  At this camp, the mobile phones started picking up reception, indicating the end of a splendid time spent around the mountains and hills of the magnificent Himalayan terrains.

ADIEU:

Early next morning, we boarded a jeep to Darjeeling.  I fell asleep as soon as the journey started.  It was a long and arduous journey of about 3 and half hours on the rough mountainous paths.  We reached Darjeeling at about 8:30 am, done with our exit formalities and bid good bye to the one of most overrated and cramped yet pleasant hill station – Darjeeling.

RESOURCES:

HOW DID I TRAVEL?

If you have scanned through my other blogs on my website, you could probably interpret the way I would have planned my travel. Nevertheless, I am a rail fanatic.  I am exceedingly obsessive about train travel and I always look for an opportunity.

Here’s how I planned my travel:

ONWARD JOURNEY:

• Chennai to Kolkata on board Howrah Mail
• Kolkata to New Jalpaiguri by Kangchenjunga Express
• Taxi from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling

RETURN JOURNEY:

• Shared taxi from Darjeeling to New Jalpaiguri
• New Jalpaiguri to Kolkata by Darjeeling Mail
• Kolkata to Chennai by Coromandel Express

POSSIBLE TRAVEL OPTIONS:

BY AIR:

If you are one of those running short of time, there’s a fleet of frequent flights to Bagdogra via Kolkata.  You will have ample taxi services from Bagdogra airport to Darjeeling.

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