One of the earlier trips we made after our return to India was to Gangtok. We were relatively new members of Club Mahindra and were keen to explore the membership. We made the visit to Gangtok in the fall of 2014.
We flew into Bagdogra from Delhi where we had a pre booked Club Mahindra Innova waiting for us, to take us to Gangtok. Google Map (we were new to that as well) indicated it weas136 Kms from the airport and that it would require 5 hours. Found it little doubtful that it would take so long, but then driving on the narrow hilly roads, even though well maintained and good, we could understand why.
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It was a scenic drive, along the River Teesta for a large part, and we arrived at the resort in the evening. In a way, it had taken us a full day from door to door, and we spent the rest of the evening familiarizing ourselves with the resort. We had made prior tentative bookings for our travel in Gangtok, so we sat for a while with the travel desk to review them and tweak the program in case required.
We woke up to a bright and sunny morning and our program for the first day was to explore the city and its environs. Our first halt was the Hanuman Tok temple, located at a fair height but drive able all the way. The temple is excellently maintained by the local Army Unit, and the mere presence of just a couple of soldiers automatically ensures that laid down rules are not breached and basic civic sense is adhered to. The view is undoubtedly amazing. The place also provides an excellent view of the snow-capped Great Himalayan Range, including the Kanchenjunga, but we were unlucky not to be able to get a glimpse due to a heavy cloud cover over them. We spent the next few hours driving to the various scenic spots in the city – Flower Gardens, vantage viewpoints, waterfalls and monasteries, before heading for the bazaar for a meal. The bazaar was immaculately clean, litter free and indeed a pleasure to see people making the extra effort to keep it that way. Gangtok enjoys being in the top rung among the cleanest cities of India.
Some pictures from our first day in Gangtok are below :
Next day was an important day for us. It was our son Mohit’s birthday plus we had scheduled our visit to Nathu La for today. Nathu La is the border road pass between India and China and is located at about 14,200 feet. We were warned about high altitude sickness and how to keep ourselves protected. Special passes need o be obtained from the military for the visit, and all this had been done.
We were keeping our fingers crossed that there should not be a sudden downturn in the weather, whereupon the authorities would not permit any vehicles to enter the area. Fortunately, no such issues and we left in the morning for Nathu La. The road to Nathu La is a narrow kucha steep road, full of stones, water filled potholes, with deep gorges on one side and a hard rock mountain face on the other. Small portions of the road which travel through the military areas are paved and better maintained, but the rest of the 55Km journey was like that. I understand though that the road has been significantly improved since our visit.
The journey began as scheduled, and the weather kept getting colder as we got higher. Good marketing has ensured there are shops selling woolen clothes and wool caps as well as snacks at strategic halt points along the way. I had a warm jacket, but decided to pick up a woolen cap anyway. There are several signs ‘You are under China observation’ at various points along the route. Stopping to take pictures just anywhere is not advisable.
As Is fairly customary at such military installations, there are always myths and legends floating around about the brave soldiers. At Nathu la, it is the legend of Baba Harbhajan Singh. Harbhajan Singh was a foot soldier from the Sikh Regiment, who fell to his death while escorting a convoy. His body was not recovered and it was believed that it had been swept away by the fast flowing current. But some years later, Baba appeared in the dream of one of his colleagues and requested that a Samadhi (Memorial) be made for him. His colleague dismissed this dream as an imagination, but shared it with some others, and when Baba’s body was indeed found at the spot indicated in the dream, the stage was set for a memorial to be built for him. Even today there are many beliefs around the memorial, a replica of his room in the barracks has been created and it is believed his ghost still lurks around and guides soldiers on strategy. The military requests all visitors to pay homage to Baba before proceeding to Nathu La pass. We did too, and then began our slow trudge towards the pass itself. We were advised to move slowly to avoid facing breathlessness and other issues related to sudden exposure to high altitude. Not many people know that the real shrine of Baba Harbhajan Singh, the one we visited, is actually at a fair distance from Nathu La and requires a detour. A small shrine to Baba Harbhajan Singh has additionally been created close to the entrance of Nathu La to enable those who do not have the time or the inclination to make the detour pay their homage.
Take a look below at some pictures from the Samadhi of Baba Harbhajan Singh
So we finally made it to Nathu La at around 1pm.
Despite being a high security zone, the atmosphere at Nathu La is quite cordial and tension free. The Sikh soldier on the Indian side and the Chinese soldier across the fence are on friendly terms and at our request he beckoned Chang (‘Oye Chang, Idhar aa !’) to come upto the fence to shake hands with us across the fence for a photo-opp.
On a clear day you can see all the way into Chinese territory, but today was a foggy day and view was restricted. Also, we were now warned that the weather was turning bad and we should not hang around unnecessarily but start heading back. Driving in the fog on the treacherous road was extremely risky. Just a short quick stop on the return journey at the Lake Tsongo, a picture with a couple of yaks, and we continued homewards. We had been lucky. During our stay we learnt about many other visitors, who all set and ready, could not make it because of permission denied at the last moment due to bad weather.
More pictures from Nathu la and lake Tsomgo are below :
Our next day was in the other direction. We were headed for South Sikkim – to the beautiful Temi Tea Gardens and then on to the Char Dham at Namchi. The tea gardens were a pleasure to behold, resplendent in all their greenery. The scenes of the women plucking the tea leaves from the tea plants were straight from a Bollywood Movie.
And then on to Namchi.
The Chardham at Namchi woos you with its grandeur as soon as you enter. An imposing 90 foot statue of Lord Shiva in a sitting pose with Nandi facing him. Apart from this, there are within the complex the replicas of all 12 Jyotrilingas as well as the replicas of the Char Dhams – Badrinath, Jagannanth, Dwarka and Rameswaram. It is a beautiful site – neat, clean and well maintained (be careful of the wet floors, they can be quite slippery) and is a must see destination. Here are the pictures
A little further down from Chardham is the Sai Mandir. It is truly one of the most beautiful Sai temples I have seen. It was closed for the afternoon break when we landed there, but the priest was kind enough to open it for us so that we could take a quick look inside and offer our obeisance to Sai Baba. Some more pictures below:
This was effectively our last day in Sikkim. It had been a wonderful trip and we had truly enjoyed the visit. Not everything can be expressed in words or pictures, some things get permanently ingrained in your mind and this visit would definitely be among them. Next morning we were to head out for Darjeeling, and that will be another story.