Hoiday Diary Day 09 - North Sikkim

Day 09: Adventure into North Sikkim

Land of peace and tranquility
Snow capped peaks in background, River Teesta on left foreground

Today we're going by road from Gangtok (5800 ft) to Lachung (9600 ft) in North Sikkim a distance of around 125 kms but takes about 6 hours to reach because of the road conditions. This is the most adventurous part of our holiday and I was looking forward to experiencing this region and what it had to offer us.
Gangtok is in East Sikkim while Lachung is in North Sikkim. Cabs of East Sikkim is not allowed to take passengers to North Sikkim. Our driver is a native of Lachung and his vehicle is registered in Lachung. The whole system is well regulated and followed strictly. The Govt here actually works and each Dept is allowed to do their work. We took off around 9:45 after getting the green signal on the usability of the remote roads. We had what is called a reserved vehicle which means that we had this vehicle to ourselves. So lots of space to loll about as well as get thrown about.

our vehicle and driver for the trip into north silkkim

the typical road view

Sorry for the poor snaps, all taken from my phone and in a moving vehicle using a road that is filled with potholes. But the scenery was so breathtaking that I had to share them with you.

mountains

River Teesta

Sikkim as a whole is clean and spotless and people follow the law. One just needs to register a complaint with the local thana (police outpost / station) against cheating cab drivers or touts and this is looked into and resolved quickly. They are a very tourist friendly state and owe most of their income to tourism. At the same time rules are enforced and followed.

This signage was in the forest before entering North Sikkim. No plastic allowed and the driver is supposed to carry a trash bag to collect all the trash generated during the trip. No littering. However spitting is allowed :) You see the locals spitting often, on the roads, staircases, while walking, etc For such a clean place, that seems to be an aberration. They also have public conveniences that are much better maintained than the ones seen elsewhere and they charge Rs 10 per use and it's worth it.

Sikkim State is a mountain state and all roads are mountain roads with a either a mountain view or a valley view. This view keeps swapping depending on when we switch mountains. The mountain view is of rocks, grasslands, streams and waterfalls and the valley view is breathtaking or at times downright scary. The drop can range from just a few feet to several thousand feet. The road don't have any boundary wall to protect the vehicles and if we skid a few feet we'll be off into space. Many times, my heart was in my mouth at how close to the edge we are each time some vehicle passes us.

valley view - river about 2000 ft below

The mountain roads in Sikkim has several unique features. This state has a problem of plenty - plenty of water. There is water everywhere and as you know water keeps seeking lower ground and flows towards it whenever it finds it. So small streams and waterfalls are constantly flowing from the mountain side to the valley side and many times it crosses the road - mostly over it and a few times under it. So the road dips down to where the water is crossing the road and this area is made of concrete. But even concrete keeps breaking up due to the incessant flow of water and vehicles that take a toll on it and start chipping it away. So the ride gets bumpier due to the dissapearing roads.

One of the tamer streams across the road

There are numerous waterfalls along this road some big some small. We stopped at a few of them and enjoyed walking down to the waters, drinking directly from the stream and and getting soaked with the spray from them.

This land is so pristine and pure in spite of so much tourism, because of its remote locations and the progressive policies of the State Govt, and they have managed to maintain the natural beauty of this place. The roads are risky in the best of times and closed when ever the risk is too much due to climatic conditions. Landslides, sliding boulders, shooting rocks are dangers that every vehicle and its occupants have to live with to go through these areas

But the place is so beautiful that it makes it all worthwhile while the local people are living in these conditions and still very happy 

The buddhists prayer flags adorn several roads and is also on house tops. Some of these offer prayers, others show the sect of the inhabitants, etc

Buddhist prayer flags

Bridge to peace and tranquility

School kids are bright eyed and well turned out. Happy & self-reliant very early

Every hamlet  has a school like this one or bigger. We stayed in a place in Lachung where the girl who was employed in the restaurant went to school in the morning and worked the rest of the time. Looks like everyone goes to school in this state and education is given a lot of importance. We stopped at a small hamlet for lunch and this school below served this population's education needs.

A school in a remote hamlet on the way to Lachung.

A kid who goes to the above school

After a 6 hour drive we reached Lachung to find a small town with probably less than a few hundred houses. This town probably owes its existence to its proximity with Yumthang Valley that was our destination for tomorrow. The hotel booked for us by the travel agent who we hired at NJP Station, Siliguri was a fleabag place that we would never enter let alone stay. We refused point blank to move in and with the help of the cab driver found a much better place run by a lady and  her mother which had clean sheets, clean bathroom, a geyser and a reasonably good appearance. We accepted this acccomodation gratefully and moved in.
The bonus points of this place was, a lovely river that runs just behind it and fabulous home cooked meals.

Another advantage was it was located in the center of that town and my kids made a new friend

new friend

There was no power when we moved in and I was getting concerned about how long my Samsung will last. There was no mobile connectivity but this was also my camera and I would not have any pics if the power doesn't come back on.

We just dropped our bags in the room and traipsed off to the river to drink in the view and the atmosphere.

rock climbing :)

After an hour of frolicking there, we returned to our hotel to find that there still was no power. This is the view from our room.

I wonder when power would return. The whole town was in darkness and we wondered how we'll manage if power doesn't return. My phone would definitely give up soon and tomorrow was Yumthang valley and I was so looking forward to taking snaps of that lovely place.