Sikkim – A state less ordinary

I have been to many beautiful places in India and it was very difficult to choose the best place among them until recently, visiting Sikkim – A State less ordinary, made it easy to answer.

Now I will tell about what makes the place so amazing and how we planned our trip. We were 3 friends who wanted to cover as many places as possible in 8 days in the month of November. So there was not much time to relax but we are happy that we didn’t waste a moment and planned our journey in this way.

Awesome 8 Days of My Life.

Day 1 – Gangtok – We boarded our flight from Delhi to Bagdogra. We had already booked a car for our entire journey. The driver came to pick us up at Bagdogra airport and we started our journey. We stopped in Siliguri to have our lunch and then resumed our journey to Gangtok and reached there by 7 pm. We had booked our hotel near MG Marg. After settling in, we thought of going to MG Marg for dinner. Believe me, the path gives the look of some European country and for a moment, you will forget that you are in India. After having dinner at a fancy café, we walked back to our room.

Day 2 – East Sikkim – Changu Lake or Tsomgo Lake (as some people say it) was the first destination. Wherever we went to, were greeted by mantra flags. Before reaching the lake, we stopped at many points to capture the scenic views. When Changu Lake came, it was an altogether different world. Beautiful colors of the sky reflected in the water, giving it beautiful shades of blue. After clicking photos, we proceeded to visit Baba Mandir. It is built after an army man and is worshiped in the temple.

We then went to Nathula pass, which marks the Indo-China border and after visiting both of these places, I realized how crucial Indian army is for our country. Then we started our return journey to Gangtok. We liked Changu Lake so much that we couldn’t resist and stopped by the lake again and it felt totally different than what it was in morning in bright sunlight. Now that it was all cloudy at 4pm, the water appeared grey but it couldn’t look less beautiful. After coming to our hotel and having rest, we again decided to stroll at MG Marg and try some local cuisine.

Day 3 – East Sikkim to North – As we had to go to North Sikkim, which was approx. 120 kms away from Gangtok, we decided to cover a few places in our way as were to reach Lachen by evening. We first went to Gunjam Monastery, where we came to know about Buddhism culture. From the monastery, one can have a clear view of the city of Gangtok. We then went to Seven sisters waterfall and Naga waterfall. On our way to Lachen, we stopped at Chungthang valley which connects the Northern part of Lachen and Lachung.

Here, the govt has built a dam over Teesta river but it is the color of water and zig zag roads that makes the place worth stopping by. By the time, we reached Lachen, the temperature dipped and we started feeling the chill as we were passing by cantonment areas. We had our stay in Lachen.

Day 4 – Lachen and Lachung – As we had to go to Gurudongmar Lake (18000 ft.), we decided getting up at 4 am. Since the temperature around Gurudongmar Lake runs in negative, so we packed ourselves in as much woolens as possible. After gathering courage, we started our journey to Gurudongmar Lake. By this time, I realized how much unexplored was this hidden gem in India and I considered myself lucky to choose Sikkim. By the time we reached the lake, a mere glimpse of it, caused the nausea and motion sickness vanished away. The lake is very picturesque and worth the time and courage it took, in reaching.

The mantra flags everywhere with the lake frozen a little around the corners. Playing with ice was another amazing feeling. As the place is at such a high altitude there was a bit difficulty in breathing, so we decided to stop there merely for an hour or so and started our return journey. The roads around the lake are just like what I have seen in pictures of Ladakh. We stopped in between to have fun with snow. During our Lachen journey, we experienced world’s highest Dosa point, Café, Army regiment and some dangerous roads. We reached our hotel in the afternoon and after having lunch, we started for Lachung. On our way, we also stopped at Bhīma nala waterfalls in the evening and stayed in a hotel in Lachung.

Day 5 – Lachung – We started our journey by visiting Zero point. As it was the end of November, there was not much of snow to be found in Sikkim. After that, we visited Yumthang valley. Wherever we went to in Sikkim, the paths leading to the destination were as beautiful as the destination itself. In Yumthang valley, we decided to send some quality time around the picturesque river, mountains, clouds and white mantra flags. During spring time, beautiful variety of flowers can be found here. We then started our journey back to Gangtok and reached there by evening and stayed at backpacker’s hostel in Gangtok.

Day 6 – West Sikkim – As we had West Sikkim as well in our itinerary, we started our journey to Namchi to visit Char Dham temple. The place is very beautiful, where one can visit all the holy places which are of religious significance to Hindus. After Char Dham of Namchi, we went to Samdruptse hills. By this time, I realized that it was totally different from what we knew so far. Known as ‘Wish fulfilling hill’ as well. After enjoying the beauty of the place, we went to Ravangla, to witness the Buddha Park. Believe me, the place was no less than heaven. Seeing such a giant statue of Lord Buddha, made me awestruck and we decided to spend a lot of time there just to capture the beauty of the place. We then started our journey to Pelling, where we had our hotel booked.

Visit Sikkim – a state less ordinary.

Day 7– Pelling – It was the last day of our journey and we started it by visiting holy lake of Khecheopalri and the monastery. Buddha followers from every part of the globe say lake is sacred. People feed fishes in the lake and worship here. We then visited Skywalk of Pelling to visit Chenrezig statue. I was proud ,walking on the skywalk and the fact that it is in India.

The place is really beautiful and out of the world that expressing in words is really difficult. After that, we went to Pemayangtse monastery. It was the museum in the monastery that we found very intriguing. We then decided to go to Rabdentse ruins as the last lag of our journey. It was an archaeological site of the ancient capital of Sikkim which involved a short trek of 40 mins. After covering all the places in our itinerary, we went back to our hotel in Pelling.

Day 8 – After waking up, we enjoyed the sight of mighty Kanchenjunga mountain range and with heavy hearts, we decided to bid adieu to this beautiful part of our country. We headed back to Bagdogra airport with lots of memories, and indeed Sikkim – a state less ordinary.

Thank you, Surbhi Aggarwal for sharing your experience.