India is home to few of the world's highest and the most beautiful lakes with elevation even above 4000m.
I had North Sikkim in my bucket list for the longest time, and this year I finally got the chance to visit this sacred lake during my trip. If you are someone who believes in the poetic connection with some places or in nature's magic- you must take this breathtaking adventurous trip to the holy lake.
So, which is this highest lake?
Gurudongmar Lake, in the North East district of Sikkim lies 67kms away from lachen and is the highest altitude lake in India. This blessed sacred lake flows at an altitude of 5250m, almost 1000m more than the beautiful Pangong Tso and just like it, the Gurudongmar lake remains completely frozen in the winter months.
Our drive to the lake was beautiful to the extent of a picture postcard perfection- the green valley with blue waters and enormous cloudplay had our heads out of the car, all way.
While we were in awe of the lush greens, our driver, Prashant said excitingly, "ma'am aap ladakh gaye ho na..abhi bilkul vaise hi pahaad aayenge". And just then the road curved and magically, we were at this little Ladakh- bare brown mountains with a few snow capped ones, playing hide and seek with us, from a distance.
A few kilometers went unnoticed in the breathtaking cold desert, as all the fellow travellers kept saying, " ye toh bilkul ladakh hai".
Then there we were, dust blowing from the vehicles, our breaths pounding a little heavily, arms folded into the chest by the cold air blowing in our faces and our eyes in wonder - standing at the highest lake in India and what a view it was!
We started walking down the stairs to the lake, with a small instruction from Prashant to not to take too long because of the restricted permit timings by ITBP.
With that, we staired down at its waters and took our sweet time with the lake- some did the snap-snap, while some of us had set our tripods to film a time-lapse and live the sit and soak moments. I sat on a big rock, talked to a few locals and fellow travellers, dipped a little in the holy water, took a few pictures and just in time, Prashant started whistling to call us back up as there was no network to make any calls.
We said our goodbyes to the lake and before sitting back in the car, I took a final glance at this beauty, to behold a site of a lifetime.
That was my story of finally visiting this wonder, so when are you visiting the highest lake in India? And if you have, I would love to read about your experience. Also, if you love travelling offbeat and reading some poetry, then let's connect on Instagram @shreyayadav1596.
Here's how to reach:
To reach this beautiful lake, you will have to first reach the capital city of sikkim, gangtok. From gangtok, you can book your tour packages to north sikkim district. The shortest possible way to reach Sikkim is by taking a flight to the nearest airport which is: Bagdogra Airport in West Bengal. Flight fare starts from: INR 3000/-
How to travel across North Sikkim: Hire a sharing/private taxi in advance from Gangtok (You can contact Chema at 9647885715). The taxi services can provide full package to North Sikkim (travel+food+stay) or can provide just the travel fare as per your budget and vehicle preferences.