Blue Paradise : Gurudongmar lake

Tripoto
17th May 2016
Day 1
  If thou solicit me the glaze of bliss, 

  My spirit shall enunciate it “blue” .

   If thou thirst for the casa of Eden,

   my wisdom shall trumpet it “Sikkim” ,

   If thou cry out for the portal to the land,

  My limbs shall sets thy sights to “Lachen”.  ~ Rishabh sinha

  

Once upon a time the creator was in his most artistic and rhythmical character  accompanied by the pleasant climate, he took out his magical paint brush and illustrated the land of Sikkim with sky touching mountains , blue lakes , flamboyant flowers, and imaginative greenery.

What could be more adorable and delightful than seeing such an indulge mind ratepayer art.

Sikkim a small beautifully painted town of India  boarded by China, Bhutan, Tibet is  home to giant glaciers ,magnificent mountains ,  alpine meadows,  and wide variety of flora and faunna. The beautiful land of Sikkim is also the home of ” Gurudongmar lake” which is one of the highest lake in the world.

My expedition to Gurudongmar lake started from Gangtok where I got the permit by Tourism and Civil Aviation Department to visit the lake . Since the lake is in international border area it requires a special permission to visit the lake and also the foreigners are not allowed to stop by the lake.

 The  5 hours drive through the snow clad peaks , serene waterfall and mountains from Gangtok literally tourtered my neck as my neck was craning left and right to capture the divine scenes and that’s too within a second as there was a great deal of beauty through out the way. And then we reached Lachen , a small town in North Sikkim and a closest tourist settlement  near the lake.

Lachen was a mountain village with a baby count of population . The exact meaning of Lachen is ‘Big pass’ and was home to Lachenpas a distinctive Sikkimese community. I was taken aback with the charm of the village as the  whole village was ormanted by the adorable collection of flowers . The all intensely hued flowers were swinging on the song of happiness and optimism composed by the pleasant winds from Himalayas. The old wooden homes and the smiling faces of the people over there was adding magic to the place. Being stationed at an elevation of 8500ft the village falicitate a wonderful views of Himalayan mountains. There were many small hotels and resorts in Lachen and a night halt at Lachen is recommended before reaching the Gurudongmar lake.

The first glare of the light falling on the petals of the flowers and peeping of the sun behind the great mountains marked the beginning of a new day and   my journey to the Lake.

From Lachen it tooks  3 hours to reach Gurudongmar lake which was at an altitude of 17000ft . When I saw the lake I was feeling like it was an Utopian dream but soon I realized that I am  perceiving the charm of the lake with all my wisdom. The lake was  just a few kilometers away from the China-Tibet border. Gurudomgmar  lake has a deep  association with Sikhs and Buddhist religion. The name Gurudongmar has given to the lake after Guru Padmasambhava who visited this lake during his journey to Tibet. Guru Padmasambhava is also celebrated as a founder of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also believe that the founder of Sikh religion Guru Nanak had also visited this lake . The water of the lake have some curative properties and enlisted itself among the sacred lakes of India. It lies in the north side of the khangchengyao Range and remains freezed during winters.

The hue of the lake was emerald blue and it was looking like a mirror of the sky ,seeing in which the sky was flaunting of its blue. The crystal clear  texture of water  was reflecting the  pristine blue shadow of the sky. The fortification of the lake by giant snow capped mountains with crowd of clouds on their top were personifying the castle of fairy of dreamland.

Since the lake breathing at such a tremendous height there was a paucity of oxygen but the contentment of being there filled my lungs with the life supplying air. The colourful Buddhist flag dangling in a rhythm was a metaphor to the belief of the folks. The infatuating attraction of the lake was a wonder for me and the picture of the lake became eternals in my mind’s eye till the cows come homes. For travellers and backpackers a visit to Gurudongmar lake is an experience for life.

How to reach :

Nearest railway station is New  Jalpaiguri which is connected with all the major cities in India

If you prefer to travel through air ways ,the nearest airport is Bagdogra which is near Siliguri . Gangtok is at a distance of 124 km from Bagdogra. The airport is connected with Kolkata , Delhi and Guwahati