Spreading Happiness, Sharing Smiles- Sibu’s Family Trip to Sikkim with Thrillophilia
It was not my first time visiting North Bengal.
I had a basic idea about the region, but what I wanted to explore in this trip was North Sikkim and West Sikkim. But since we had a long holiday and we could use a few more days of vacation, we decided to opt for a more extensive tour of Sikkim and Darjeeling.
Personally, I really like Darjeeling’s ambience, and every time I visited North Bengal, a day stay in Darjeeling was a must! And since I was travelling with my family this time, I wanted to show them how beautiful and diverse the Himalayas can get, especially the part around the northeast.
I opted for a Sikkim tour package and customised it to my will. And, in the next month, I found myself hiking down the slopes of a mountain to reach a nice viewpoint, and sitting there mesmerised by the sight of rolling valleys and clouds playing hide and seek with the sun.
Brewing Magic
It was 4 in the morning and the spine-chilling winds made a shrill sound while running past the boulders on the road to Gurudongmar. It is the highest accessible lake in India and a major source of the famous Teesta River. But, for us, that was not the highlight of this journey.
The highlight was the journey itself.
As our car traversed up the hills, crossing the passes and bridges over streams, we made our way steadily towards the lake. Reaching 5000+ m above sea level was no joke, but with the skilful driving of our driver Mr Kishore, it felt like a breeze.
And then, as if like magic, we took a 180-degree turn and landed up in a place that had no connections with the path we left behind- the rocky terrain transformed into a golden grassland. The expanse stretched as far as our eyes could see, with the butter-smooth black road snaking ahead of us, leading us to the magnificent spot of Gurudongmar.
The lake was encircled with snow-capped peaks, seeming to be almost within our reach, but in fact, were quite far. I was just thinking about making my way to one of the closer peaks when I saw my wife and son head towards the staircase that led to the lake.
I followed them.
But there was an issue, the oxygen was so thin on that elevation that we were struggling to catch our breath within minutes. Mr Kishore had warned us of this situation already, and he also asked us to wrap up everything by 11 AM as it was not allowed to stay there beyond that time due to the strong and heavy winds that blew there.
This was an army rule, since the place was very close to the Tibet Border, the security of the area was overlooked by Indian Army forces, who had their camps set almost 10 km before the Lake.
After taking a tiny bottle of water from the lake as a souvenir, we hurried up to our car as it was getting almost impossible to stand there any longer.
To Wishful Surprises
The same day we headed back to Chungthang from Lachen, and from there, we went to Lachung. It was no doubt one of the prettiest little hamlets in the Himalayas that I had come across.
It had mountains standing straight up like black slates, with waterfalls adorning its facade. We explored the Yumthang Valley and Zero Point the next morning which almost gave off Switzerland vibes.
Zero Point is famous for its snow cover throughout the year, but we loved the visit to the Yumthang Valley. The winter season was late last year, so we could witness a few patches of snow here and there, along with the Rhododendron trees that had started blooming.
To witness this kind of beauty in Sikkim was something we never expected in our wildest imaginations, and we were so glad to have booked this trip package from Thrillophilia- they knew just the right places to send us off to in order to showcase the best of the region.
My family was so impressed with my choice of destination that they could not stop talking about what they had just seen in Lachen and Lachung. But there was more to the trip…
And Astounding Sights
We made our way to Changu Lake- a sacred place revered in Buddhism. The colour-changing feature of this lake is apparently an indicator of how the future of a monk would turn out, so the locals maintain its sanctity even now.
We also made our way to Pelling and Namchi, visiting the monasteries and temples there. While the north boasted a rugged terrain, west Sikkim was much mellow and, to be honest, we loved both experiences. The Khecheopalri Lake specifically was a wonder of nature and we really enjoyed spending some time overlooking it.
Finally, our time in Darjeeling was spent sightseeing in Batasia Loop, Ghoom Station and Ghoom Monastery, and watching the sunrise at the famous Tiger Hill. but mostly, it was about the breakfast platters of Keventers and desserts in Glenerys. And Mount Kanchenjunga was a constant companion throughout this trip...
As a surprise, I visited one of the curio shops to get a pair of earrings made of Darjeeling stone for my wife, but I could not get them as none of the shops sold these stones after sundown. So, I had to wake up early the next day to get them, and after I gave them to my wife, her reaction was priceless.
It was our wedding anniversary, and when I gave her my gift, she took out hers and handed it to me. Thrillophilia had arranged for a surprise candlelight dinner that night for us three, and we could not have been happier.
That is what we live for, isn't it? Making our close ones happy.
On this trip, Thrillophilia made me content, so I gave them 5 stars for all their efforts and arrangements. Looking forward to travelling with you again guys, this time, perhaps to some off-beat beach destination!
Read More- Thrillophilia Sikkim Reviews