Sikkim - The Land of Euphoria and Nirvana!

There are places that take you into another world which is spell bounding. Then there are places that show another world existing inside you, the one you fall in love with. These are the places that make you re-think your choices of life. I feel myself lucky to have witnessed one such rare place.

This was back in 2019 when I had just got married. Choosing Sikkim for our honeymoon was the second best choice my husband had made (first being marrying me :) ) 

I was skeptical about this plan, considering the wedding and future expenses. However, this living paradise just pulled me with such a magnificent positive force, I found myself in Bagdogra Airport on 26th February.

 Our itinerary comprised exploring Gangtok and Lachung for 5 days. We had a cab booked from Bagdogra Airport to Gangtok, which is about 5-7 hours of drive. We reached our stay at Gangtok by 2pm and relaxed the afternoon. 

At 5pm, we ventured out to explore the local places and strolled along M.G. Marg road, which made us re-think if we were in India or not. That night, we had dinner at Sher-e-Punjab and their Jeera rice is simply out of the world. Another speciality is you might be lucky to find a server who sings well.

The next day, we started to Changu Lake (Tsomgo Lake) which is around 40 kms from Gangtok. I advice to start early because of two reasons:

1. The traffic might cause extra delay.

2. The snow accumulation and snowfall might restrict your travel.

The lake was fully covered with almost 2 feet of snow, but we got to move around on a Yak, and that was an amazing experience. The locals suggest riding on Yak during peak snowfall for safety reasons, but you can try walking as well.

Halfway to the Yak ride, we experienced mild snowfall. We thought of visiting Baba Harbajan Singh Mandir, which is further from Tsomgo Lake, but the heavy snowfall did not allow us. So, we had to return to our stay at Gangtok.

The next day, we started to Lachung, which is almost 8 to 10 hours from Gangtok. By the time we reached the place, it was around 7pm and the weather was extremely cold.

Lachung is a village in Sikkim and the hotels here lack certain facilities like room heaters. While the stay at Gangtok rescued us from the cold with room heater, here, only the local alcohol had that power. Even if you haven't tasted alcohol, the cold in this place will make you taste the local wine. 

The midnight at Lachung reached low temperature (-20 degree Celsius) and we had breathing issues struggling to sleep. We thought choosing this place was a terrible decision. At one point, we even doubted that we'd survive considering the breathing inconsistency. 

However, the next day morning, around 6 am, we woke up to the most beautiful and scintillating sunrise. It was as if heaven had landed in Lachung to give visitors its glimpse. The view made us forget the night we had spent with all the breathing issues.

After spending some incredible time in Lachung, we started back to Gangtok and reached by evening. I started feeling blue thinking this was the last day we would spend in this heaven. 

Until now, although everything seemed perfect, something was missing. I am an adorer of Lord Shiva, and during my shopping at M.G. Marg road, I saw every shop selling a souvenir that had Lord Shiva's image. I was curious that of all the places Sikkim offered, why Lord Shiva? 

The next day, I got to know that there was a Shiva Temple in Namchi called Char Dham. After making an impromptu plan, we visited this temple before reaching the airport.

Since I was a kid, I have visited several temples with my parents. I had a mental picture of how a temple looks. But Char Dham is nowhere close to my imagination. It was a place of Nirvana! If you want me to pick between these two options: Netflix and chill or Stay forever in Char Dham, I would pick the second choice.

 While the Dham satisfied our soul in this visit, we found ourselves late for the airport. Thankfully, the driver, our saviour ensured we reach the airport on time. Thus, ended one beautiful trip and gave a nudge to new beginnings.

#PreCovid #Sikkim #Heaven