A trip to the heights!

We all have few checklists in life for which we have no reasons but we just want to tick the box. Visiting Gurudongmar and North Sikkim was one such item for me.
After planning for 3 consecutive years and not succeeding, I finally managed it this year with my husband and kiddo along. 

Day 1:
A mid morning flight to Bagdogra and a rather chaotic and traffic struck drive took us to Gangtok by 7 PM. Our stay was at Hotel Prime View, which is pretty off the main market and rather peaceful, with very good food and hospitable staff. Gangtok is really a hill city bustling with traders, tourists and locals who come down to shop here for their regular supplies. Over the years it has grown beyond its capacity but there are spots for every type of tourists still..fine dine to local fare, desi to international cuisine, casinos and treks, night life and sleeping hamlets. We have explored Gangtok in our earlier trips and this time, it was just a night halt.

Day 2:
Our driver for the trip, Dawa, picked us up for our onward journey to Lachen @ 9 am. We really wanted to reach Lachen during daylight and had not heard so positive details about the road condition.

We had local lunch (dal, rice, chicken, veggies) at a motel in Rangrang.

Chungthang - No plastics beyond this point. Not even mineral water.

The drive is scenic with the gorgeous Lachen river being your companion throughout and the waterfalls adding the surprise element!. Its the most pristine shade of blue/green and white and I was completely hooked to it.


We reached Lachen around 5pm after multiple stops to gape at the waterfalls. It is really a small village with maybe 80 houses/hotels/homestays. Our stay at Lachen was with Lachen Paradise. There are not many stay options in Lachen and food is very very basic.

Day 3:
This was the day I had been planning for 3 years. At 5:25 AM I stepped out of my hotel at dawn to be greeted by huge mountains draped in snow.

Snow and Sun Show!

It had rained and snowed last night. For the first time in the trip, I actually felt the enormity of the Himalyas. The drive from there was amidst snow capped peaks, playing hide and seek with sun light. We crossed three check-posts en route to Guru Dongmar, the last one being at 15000 ft.










The terrain changes from pine soaked, to rocky to cold dessert with varied shades of red and brown, during the drive. The road condition is not exceptionally bad but the altitude rise is pretty steep and falling sick is perfectly normal.











It might sound very similar to Ladakh drive but I found the region less dramatic than Ladakh and only after the last checkpost it starts feeling similar to Ladakh.

At our last check post, my daughter was not feeling too well and so I continued the last leg of our journey alone.

The last 10 kms are like a rock bed at the top of mountain peaks with zero vegetation. There are yaks and the stray deer lurking around to find some scrape of grass. The drive takes you to touching distance of the snow peaks and nestled amidst these peaks are the azure waters of GuruDongmar lake.







The silence and peace there is beyond description - and the selfie stuck tourists such irritants. Its a place where you literally need to take deep breaths to soak in or you wont survive! Oxygen is very very scarce. I stayed there mesmerised for around 20 mins and then my head took a splitting headache from the low oxygen levels and that stayed with me for the entire trip.

Pro tip: Please carry oxygen cans if you are venturing here. Its easily available on amazon. There is no bravery in trying to test your endurance levels here, it may spoil your trip in the least and effect you physically really bad.

From Gurudongmar we went to Kala Patthar which has been opened for tourists last year and is popular for year long snow. We found 3-4 ft of virgin snow in mid October, so that should give you an idea.

Beyond Kala patthar the road goes to Mukuthan which is Indo Tibetan army base camp again. Its being proposed to be opened to tourists sometime in future. For me, the fun of playing in snow was lost as I was stuck with altitude sickness. My daughter however was thrilled. You do get boots and gloves on rent, and its best to pick them up en route to Gurudongmar and return them after trip to Kala Patthar.





We returned back to Lachen for lunch around 4 pm and I was puking by then with a spinning head. Post lunch we drove back to Lachung for our night stay. We stayed at Kee Rong cottages in Lachung. It is a new property still being developed but the location is amazing and the rooms very spacious and comfortable.









Day 4:

A nights rest got me in better spirits in the morning but I was still stuck with a pulsing ear ache throughout the trip. Lachung is more spread out than Lachen with four divisions: Singring, Phaka, Bhicho, Sarchak.











Our room was situated right on the banks of the Lachung river with the giant mountains leering down at the balcony. For a brief moment at around 5:30 AM, the clouds gave way to snow peaked mountains, reminding us that we were nestled amidst the might Himalyas.







We spent the day exploring the villages on foot, some introspection time by the river and an evening tea at a locals house. The local tea is a milk tea with some butter and salt (instead of sugar), and surprisingly light. The food at Kee Rong Cottages is passable to say at max but then you don't have many options.
Sightseeing options from Lachung are Yumthang valley, Zero point and Katau. We did a drive to Katau the next morning but skipped the other two as they were too "touristy".

Pro Tip: Fill in your hunger for momos at Gurudongmar Lake military camp at 15000 ft. One, they are yummy beyond expression and two, you find no momos at Lachen and Lachung.


Day 5 and Day 6:

We spent the remaining two days at Munlom resort in the Dzongu forest area which is around 1.25 hours drive from Mangan (North Sikkim town). This was indeed an interesting drive from Mangan, on non-existent roads between thick forests. Dzongu is a reserved area for the Lepcha community, the original inhabitants of Sikkim. Our stay here gave us an opportunity to see their lifestyle and understand their beliefs. The Lepcha community prays to Mt. Kanchenjunga and does not believe in deity worship. Their marriages are simple and done at home and they don't need a doctor because they know all the trees, flowers, plants and fruits to help cure all ailments. The aesthetics of the resort are designed locally and the pictures will tell you how far ahead they are in terms of their designing skills. Puts your belief on education system to test.

our cottage

The games and books section

The dining area

our balcony

The people are amazingly simple although its difficult to hold a conversation because they understand Lepcha language and try hard to get few words of Hindi and English. But their warmth, smile and enthusiasm is enough communication.


We tried lots of local food here as well : Millet and Iskhus (don't know the English name) leaf rolls (Khuri), tingmo with aloo dum, glass noodle soup and local chicken. The resort also organises lots of activities like treks, riverside picnics etc, for the interested.

Khuri (millet roll)

We with our trek guide Rhinchen!

Dzongu Monastery

trek to the monastery

We left back for the plains the next day with a rather heavy heart. I personally believe that our souls die when we descend from the mountains and in the plains are the mere body parts which move like robots. That purity of the mountains gets covered in the dust of the plains. I do await my next meeting with my soul in the mountains...until then, its the road that I wish I never travelled!

p.s. We highly recommend our driver Dawa. In case you wish to plan your trip to Sikkim, pls ping me for his number.