Getting to Sikkim is not easy. The option we chose was to fly to Delhi and there make a gate change at the airport to fly to Bagdogra, a city in the state of West Bengal. In Bagdogra we were greeted by a crushing wet heat from the monsoon rains of the last weeks that had turned the paddy fields on the sides of the runway into lakes.
Day 1 - Gangtok
From Kalimpong, we traveled by shared jeep (here they use the jeeps as buses) to the capital of Sikkim, Gangtok, after passing through Darjeeling and the Teesta river. Many changes are perceived since entering Sikkim. The first may be the features of the people, then the multitude of wine stores, and the funny and countless messages on the road.
Gangtok is about 1,600 meters above sea level and we find it surrounded by a thick fog. The fog is something that has been accompanying us from the last mountainous places and that will accompany us throughout Sikkim. If Shillong surprised us in modernity, Gangtok surprises much more. To start here everything is more expensive than the rest of India. The streets are better and there are pedestrian lanes where you do not have to dodge vehicles. The establishments have much more class, with innovative and striking posters for consumption.
In Tibet Road, there is the cheap accommodation, where we found a good and cheap one but so wet that we were frozen inside the room. The city is hilly and like Kalimpong, there are superimposed streets with steep stairs that connect one with another. On the first day we arrived, we could not do anything else but walk a little, because at 3:00 in the afternoon everything becomes dark and gray in the fog.
The 200-year-old Enchey monastery is almost at the top of Gangtok, on a steep ascent. From it, we can see the enormous and deep valley with terraced slopes to facilitate cultivation and beyond. If the fog left us we would have impressive views of Tibet, which is about 40 km from here. We pass the monastery of Enchey and after an hour and a half, we stop at Tsomgo Lake. It is a place considered sacred, so we meet a great crowd of local people.
We also walk through one of the crowded gardens, where the Do-Drul monastery, is located, with its stupa surrounded by prayer wheels and at last to the Rumtek Monastery.
That night we shared the room with a Japanese boy, a Korean, an Indian, a Greek girl and another from Indonesia. The weather is cool, so everyone sits on their bed, wrapped in blankets. Some use the cell phone, others read, while some play cards, I write in my notebook. Every once in a while someone makes a comment, and the talk begins.
Seven people, each traveling alone in India, but tonight we were all together, sharing a room with great friends. None had fixed plans. Each one would be traveling through this country between 4 and 6 months and none had previously planned to go to Sikkim, but here we were.
Despite the strike in Darjeeling, we decide to continue our route to Sikkim. We find without problem a jeep for Gangtok via Rangpo. We start after one hour when it is full and pretty tight. It takes 3 hours to get near Darjeeling. For us, who already knew Dharamsala, the green and mountainous landscape became familiar to us. After 2 hours of driving the car stops near the border post. We have to show our permits, and a manager takes care to register us, and now we are in Sikkim!
Entering Sikkim is almost like entering a new country. It is known that there are many and diverse India's, all within the same country. Every second is a new discovery. At first, the eyes did not reach me to see and my heart did not stop being surprised. Then, the saris, the colors and all the oddities of this culture, became something more common to me. But now I do not feel like writing about that India, but about the current one, which for me at this moment is the current one, where I am now, of which I am in love: Sikkim.
The situation of Sikkim is privileged, as it is immersed in the Himalayas, with Nepal to the west, Tibet to the north and Bhutan to the east.
At night Gangtok welcomed us on the eve of the opening of the Olympic Games. It was part of the Silk Road to Tibet and now is the capital of Sikkim. We see two pedestrian streets surrounded by shops, one of them still in the process of construction, so the monsoon drowns the crosses.
The advantage that it has is that it is the starting point for several excursions, the ones we did went to the Tsomgo lake and the Rumtek monastery. After visiting a dozen hotels, we find something not too bad. We choose a small guest house in the heights of Gangtok. We settle quickly in our room. By the window it is an incredible sight, as the streets are empty, and pieces of ice invade the city. We had a delicious meal prepared by the Tibetans who own our guesthouse.
Day 2
After the end of our night we were woken up very early by a relatively quiet knock on the door of our room. I had the good idea to ask the receptionist to wake us up if the weather was clear, to finally be able to enjoy the view of the mountains. Just a few hours after sunrise, the air becomes too much loaded and it is impossible to see them.
A little before 6 am, the room boy came to wake us up. We are happy to see the Himalayas in full glory. After a good breakfast, we left to the ascent of the city. The city is built on a crest and it goes up or down. I walk in the main pedestrian street of MG Marg. It's nice, and filled with a colorful crowd.
It is much quieter. The taxi rides slower and horn is much less. The difference is striking, and the atmosphere is much more relaxed. And there is even a pedestrian street. On each side, there are always nice views.
A lot of young people are football fans. We even saw a photo of Beckham in one of the monasteries. On the way, we visit a permanent flower show, with many orchids. In the midst of dozens of species, we found a little weird with hair on it. They sell bulbs at the exit and various seeds.
We pass by the White House which must be from the English period. Our second stop is far enough to Hanuman Tok where there is a beautiful temple. The place is very clean, and the landscape is very beautiful. We can see the Kangchenjunga which is the third highest peak in the world in the background behind the clouds. I could take the cable car to go see the point of view above but I preferred to return.
Then we went up to the Enchey Monastery dedicated to Padmasambhava that we had already seen in the documentary. We do not care, as long as we can continue to have our prayer wheels. Everywhere, the colorful prayer flags seem not want to leave us for a few trips. Young apprentices crossed on the way. The weather is nice, and the monks relax in front of the temple. The interior is really beautiful, full of Buddhas, and beautiful murals. We pass a nice waterfall.
We took a taxi today to reach Rumtek, a javelin throw from our hotel, on the other side of the valley. In other words a 24 km drive takes 50 minutes by car. It is the largest monastery in the eastern Himalayas. Rumtek monastery was built to house the monks of the karmapa order when the Chinese destroyed their main monastery in Tibet. It is guarded by the Indian army due to disputes between various factions of the Buddhist sect.
It seems that the XVI Karmapa (leader of the sect) died without giving the four keys to his assistants to find his successor. That is why the sect has been divided and now there are two karmapas with one in Dharamsala and the other in Kalimpong. In this monastery is hidden a black hat woven with hair of angels.
The possessor of the hat is the real karmapa and it seems that this justifies the deployment of the army so that no one tries to assault the monastery and take the trophy. When leaving towards Gangtok we visited a chorten built to appease a local demon that in the 70s was spreading epidemics and various disasters in the area.
Next door is the interesting Tibetan museum that shows ancient tangkas, pieces used in rituals of exorcisms and tantric contraptions with skulls and human femurs that recall the inevitable death. All these stories, in the light of modernity, computers, rush, asphalt, seem impossible stories.
Seeing the green and mountainous landscapes, we understand that Sikkim was a kingdom with a king with a crown, who fought with other kingdoms as important as Tibet, Bhutan or Nepal, and controlled part of the trade routes of the Middle Ages that later brought silks to the palaces of Europe.
The monastery is very beautiful, very quiet, far from the hustle and bustle. As always, we see splendid panoramas, and a pretty flowery vegetation. At a given moment in the village, the snow-covered Kangchenjunga was clearly seen. Back at Gangtok, we make a detour to the Chorten of Do Drul, then to the Namgyal Institute of Theology, a sort of museum on Tibet with many statues, icons, thangkha and tapestries.
To end the day, we take a short walk through the local covered market with fruit, vegetables, clothes, dried cheeses, marinated cow skin to chew. The salesmen easily send us a smile and willingly accept to pose in front of our objective. Women wear a gem of a nose that hangs until sometimes touching the upper lip. In the bays of the market three men covered with colored powder sell lottery tickets.
Tomorrow we take the road to west Sikkim. We had planned to go to Pelling, but having no reservation or even idea about where to stay, the owner of our guesthouse advised us to stay in a nearby village of Pelling, Chumbung, which would be much quieter while offering a breathtaking view of the Kangchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world.
Finally, we eat at the guest house with a soup in bed, buried under layers of duvets and blankets.
Day 3 - Nathula
In the morning, our road continues until we reach the 4300 meters high Nathula Pass. We descend to the Nathang Valley and the famous Zuluk Zigzag Route and finish in Lingtam. It is the Old Silk Route that is unanimously defined as one of the most beautiful routes in the world.
In the afternoon we took a shared jeep to west Sikkim, not far from the Nepal border, to the small village of Pelling at 2,100 meters altitude. Of course, all the way and Pelling are mired under the continuous haze. We travel in the jeep with two Belgians and a French couple with whom we will walk together through Sikkim.
Although it is empty right now, Pelling is a town dedicated to tourism, (rather local tourism and Bhutan) due to its impressive views of the Himalayas. As soon as I stepped at Pelling, a beautiful energy took possession of me. Many times I had read books or articles about trekking between mountains, shelters to which to arrive after many hours of walking, with homemade meals and firewood. All that was breathed in this place.
Around Pelling, there are two of the oldest monasteries in the state. There is the Sanga-Choling on the top of a hill and as usual, the place is surrounded by high flags with prayers that flutter in the wind. There are also enclosures with several stupas in honor of the monks. The Pemayangtse Monastery is of great importance. It was established as a high class, housing only pure monks. Inside are the different deities and a multitude of paintings. Some of them hidden under savannahs in which Buddha appears in erotic positions with naked women.
In the monastery we visited the ruins of what was the second capital of Sikkim in antiquity. Since Kalimpong, we have been accompanied by a diet very different from Indian food. Here the Tibetan food prevails and although in the end, it was a bit tiresome, we liked it a lot. It is generally very mild, far from the spicy Indian food. There are Momos, a kind of cooked dumplings stuffed with cabbage, onion, and carrot, (sometimes meat too).
The Thukpa is a soup of spaghetti with different vegetables that taken very hot at night or the morning when it is cold a lot is appreciated. Finally, there is the Chowmein, cooked pasta, then fried with vegetables or meat.
The morning we left Pelling we had a glimpse of the mountains! Only the snowy peaks of the great mountains were allowed to see for an hour, not enough, but enough to give us an idea of the great masses in front of us. After a few days touring Pelling, we decided to walk through the mountains to Khechuperi Lake. The theoretical five hours ended up being seven.
This time the town was even more diminutive: 4 shops, 1 lake, 1 guest house, 1 hotel and further up there were about 6 houses (which were also offered as homestays). The lake is surrounded by trees, but not a leaf falls on it if so a boatman would go to pick it up. It is a pure and magical place. To access it there is a prayer roller corridor through which the devotees pass, among them many Bhutanese, who consider Sikkim as the Shangri-La (heaven on earth).
The place is one of those that look like something out of a Bollywood movie and instills great tranquility. The rooms of the wooden hostel, very basic, are full of slogans written by other travelers of the type "Love is the key" or "The best things in life are not things." In my imagination, the ancient kingdom of Sikkim was part of those kingdoms lost in the Himalayas, distant, mythical, more or less isolated, as it could well be also, Zanskar, Bhutan, Mustang, or Ladakh.
We decided to stay at the nearest guest house. As we were told that the other accommodation on top of the mountain was full, we climbed all the way up and discovered a small Shangri-La. There I met a boy, who was in charge of the lodging. His father had built the place so that he could work but he was just on vacation. So he had decided to put a sign and was waiting for his first guests (later he would confess that he did not even expect to be paid, he just wanted to have guests).
Here it gets dark every day around 5 in the afternoon and that added to the fact that the light is constantly cut, they make a good excuse for long chats by candlelight. The conversations taught me a lot about the communities here. Also that in Sikkim they play football (instead of cricket as in the rest of India) and since they are Buddhists they can eat beef. That the monks who have yellow in their clothes are those who can not marry, the others yes.
We went there for a day in our short stay in Sikkim, but we could not resist staying one more night, in which we all sat around the fire telling stories of travel, people, and experiences, accompanied by a homemade alcoholic drink called Thongba. The Thongba is a container of cane in which fermented millet is poured. To take it hot water is poured and after a few minutes, it is taken with a fat straw also of cane, (something like the Argentine mate).
Since I arrived in this area I am struck by the number of jeeps that move on their roads. Discovering these small-big realities are what make me realize how far away we are from reality. That's why I appreciate traveling so much, to break that arrogance that makes us see the world as we imagine and not just as it is or can be.
The second day we spent there, the lama, made a "puja" for the full moon. In this puja, he prayed for us. We all went to a small temple with candles and he recited prayers accompanied by music with the bell and a drum. It was something very spiritual, but very extraordinary. On the other hand, at one point he sent a flask of whiskey to one of us and we had to roll it together until we finished it, and the same with a second flask.
Day 4 - Yuksom
We were very sorry to leave the lake, but we wanted to see the Bumchu festival in Tashiding. We started on our way to Yuksom on foot. Again a steep descent to a river, with landscapes, towns and wonderful people. The climb was hard until Yuksom but rewarded when arriving at the beautiful village that has the Kabur North (7,338 m) and Kabur South (7,317 m) peaks as a backdrop.
Due to the festival, we did not stay very long and we left in a jeep until Tashiding a few kilometers from Yuksom, but when we arrived, it was a surprise. When we arrived, everything was over, although quickly we climbed up to the monastery where we could still see all the celebrations from the previous night.
Changing plans again, and with the climate that little by little was improving during these days, we decided to give a new opportunity to Pelling to see the views of the mountain range. We marched there and we were lucky. Arriving at Pelling, the sky was a little clear. We took the hotel from the first day and we were observing the huge mountains for hours among which stands out the third highest mountain on the planet, the Kanchendzonga (8,598 meters). Although it is visible, the fine mist prevents taking good pictures.
From here we would have liked not to have to go to Gangtok, but we had all the luggage there. In the night we go to a restaurant to eat great pizza and to have a few beers.
Day 5 - Ravangla
The morning begins with a journey towards Tashiding. We are in the epicenter of the Tibetan Buddhism of the Eastern Himalayas. There are as many temples as they are scattered. Immersed in the forest, the place is so idyllic that I support the bike to a cabin for the night.
We first choose the easiest trail to the Tashiding Monastery and then the one leading to Pokhari Dara Lake. In the network of slopes, we visit Hungree, Dubdi, and Sinon, all revered temples hidden in the jungle. We move to the historic Kewzing market and continue to Ravangla. We pull straight up to Yangyang and then reach Phodong.
We are now rather at crossroads. About 40 km separate us from Gangtok and 80 from Lachen with a couple of days ahead of schedule. Nevertheless, we decide to go down to the capital, on the other hand, to aim again towards the North would mean to start another tour.
After Gangtok, by jeep, we move to Darjeeling, again in West Bengal. Those energies that invaded me the first day have accompanied me throughout my stay in Sikkim, in every little town I visited and with every person I met. The houses made of wood or mud, the homemade meals (Momo and Thukpa), the smiles of the people, the Buddhist flags waving to the wind, the monasteries, their monks, the tourists preparing themselves or returning from long treks on the mountain, absolutely everything conveys me warmth.
Every 100 meters one can find a small wooden chair, and there a woman, next to a child, who always has a stove on, and in that tiny space can cook the most delicious meals.
I had been to Buddhist and mountain areas before (Dharamshala and Manali), but here what I feel is different. Maybe it's because it's not so touristy and most people I cross are people coming from long trekking, or maybe it's just because this place has special energies for me, that fill me and give me happiness.
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