I said to the mountains - "Pause the moment."

Tripoto
2nd Dec 2020
Photo of I said to the mountains - "Pause the moment." 1/6 by Pritha Biswas

“Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.” – David McCullough Jr. Mountains have always charged me up. I loved the feeling of reaching the top of the hill and seeing the world so small down me. To get the feel again I and my crazy friends geared up towards the highest peak of west bengal - SANDAKPHU (11,930 feet). The trip was planned almost 2 months back, we asked a travel agent to plan it as we didn't have time to do the bookings and arrangements by our self. We were firstly planning for trekking but then the trekking itinerary was really tough and it required more days than we had. Our plan was only for 5 days including travel time. So we had to go for travelling by car. The package cost was Rs 11,500 per person.

The trip started on 2nd Dec,2020, Wednesday. Our flight timings were at 6:20 am. Due to covid situation we reached the airport around 4:30 because the checking procedure could be time consuming .. and yes it was. It took around 2 hours exact to complete all the procedures. The flight journey is bit uncomfortable now a days because of this face shield.. and you are really conscious about people's presence all around. Social distance cant be maintained, all you can do is use sanitizer continuously and DON'T OPEN YOUR MASK .

Photo of I said to the mountains - "Pause the moment." 2/6 by Pritha Biswas
Kanchenjunga said - PEEK =A -BOO
Photo of I said to the mountains - "Pause the moment." 3/6 by Pritha Biswas
Lover's meet point - Rangeet on the left meets Teesta
Photo of I said to the mountains - "Pause the moment." 4/6 by Pritha Biswas
Lamhatta park
Photo of I said to the mountains - "Pause the moment." 5/6 by Pritha Biswas
Sacred pond, Lamhatta park
Photo of I said to the mountains - "Pause the moment." 6/6 by Pritha Biswas
View from tree house in Lamhatta park
Day 1

We 4 ....

Photo of Lamahatta Eco Park, Tukdah, West Bengal, India by Pritha Biswas

I was very lucky to get a window seat and see Kanchenjunga ... we got a glimpse of it from the flight. It was a mesmerizing view.. white snow covered mountains suddenly appeared in between the clouds. But unfortunately the timing was so less that I couldn't capture it in my cameras well. We reached Bagdogra airport at around 7:30 .. started our journey towards LEPCHAJGAT at 8 am. The weather was so clear that we could see the snow capped hills from Bagdogra also. In between we had our breakfast at Teesta Bazar. It included 2 plates roti sabzi (3 roti each plate ), 1 plate aloo paratha and 1 plate plain paratha, aloo sabji being common with all. 4 cups of black tea was also ordered. In total it costed Rs 315. The food was good. But the parathas were too much fried. After having a stomach full of breakfast, headed towards destination. Reached the Lover's meet point - a view point from where you see THE CONFLUENCE OF RIVER RANGEET and TEESTA. Next point was Lamhatta Park, a beautiful park with the pine forest. You have to walk upto 1 km to reach a "sacred pond". It also has a restaurant at the top. But the pond was really not well maintained. It was dirty . But the trek to the pond was really breath taking - both physically and mentally. The view of pine trees all around, clouds and hills was just unexplainable. But we started panting reaching the top.... that's very obvious. After clicking lotttttssss of pictures we proceeded towards Lepchajagat.

sunset view from Lepchajagat view point

Photo of Lepcha Jagat, West Bengal, India by Pritha Biswas
Photo of Lepcha Jagat, West Bengal, India by Pritha Biswas

sunset view from our room in lepchajagat

Photo of Lepcha Jagat, West Bengal, India by Pritha Biswas
Photo of Lepcha Jagat, West Bengal, India by Pritha Biswas

We reached the homestay in Lepchajagat -Laxmi Homestay at around 3:30 pm. Had a warm welcome there. Covid measures were also taken - checking temperature and sanitizers were given before entering the rooms. We were very hungry so without wasting time we just attacked the food. The food was really very simple and healthy, just like home. The rooms were neat and clean. As it was sunset time, we went to the view point, but the weather betrayed us. It was so cloudy that there was no chance of seeing Kanchenjunga. All we could see the color change in the clouds which was so beautiful that we didn't repent the loss of not seeing Kanchenjunga. The hilly terrains were very slippery, one has to be very careful while walking and perfect shoes is must . Any kind of heels are big no. Then in the evening, a campfire was arranged for us. Adding on to this, the temperature was around 7-9 degree. Campfire, coffee and gobi k pakode became our rescuers in that chilling evening. In dinner we had momos and thupka. The food was really mouth watering.

rays of hope

Photo of I said to the mountains - "Pause the moment." by Pritha Biswas

road to tumling..

Photo of I said to the mountains - "Pause the moment." by Pritha Biswas
Photo of I said to the mountains - "Pause the moment." by Pritha Biswas

chitray

Photo of I said to the mountains - "Pause the moment." by Pritha Biswas

our landrover

Photo of I said to the mountains - "Pause the moment." by Pritha Biswas
Photo of I said to the mountains - "Pause the moment." by Pritha Biswas
Day 2

Day 2 started at 5 am. A trek to the view point again to see the sunrise... but again the clouds didn't allow us to see the snow capped mountains. Now we were getting upset, but our tour guide was boosting us by saying that we have yet 3 more days. With the positivity, we left towards Tumling - SPOT 2. For Sandakphu and Tumling, you need permission as it is in Nepal, and the area from which you travel is SINGALILA NATIONAL PARK. After Manaybhanjyang, only landrovers are allowed. Brought to the country by British planters to navigate the inclines of the tea gardens, these vehicles have been in this region since the 1930s. Once the colonisers left, locals souped them up to use them as local transport to and from Sandakphu (Manaybhanjyang is the gateway to the ridge).As our permit was already ready by our travel agents but still we had to sign some documents and show the identity proof in Manaybhanjyang office. After the formalities, we started our journey in the landrover. The roads were zig zag and bumpy. it was like a roller coaster ride. Once you are going down and then steep up.And the landrover was adding more points to the bumpiness. The roads are made through the national park. Check points are at various points. The forest is native of red panda and many more beautiful wildlife. If you go through the forest for trekking, you can definitely see them. In between, we stopped at a place called - CHITRAY. it is mainly a stop for the trekkers. The place has nothing except the mesmerizing view. Next we stopped at Tonglu, for having tea. The interesting thing of these places are that the road is through the border line, and the shops are in Nepal. I was having my sip of tea , with one foot in Nepal and one foot in India... So, I had been to another country for 2 days without a passport and VISA.. Then our final stoppage was the homestay in Tumling. Tumling is a very small village with very less population. And most of the locals have opened their home for the tourists. It was 4 degrees on that day and very foggy. These places run on solar lights. And as it was foggy when we reached there, there was no power supply. We had our lunch after the electricity came.. and the food was again so tasty and unique. They gave us a pickle - "CHIMPINK", it is beneficial for high altitude sickness. I couldn't eat much of it.. it was very sour at the same time spicy.. a unique combination must say. We also had ghee prepared from Yak's milk. In evening we had coffee and pyaz k pakode. There was no signal in our phones, no internet, no wifi. We spent our evening by playing -BAGHCHAL- a nepali game . The cook taught us the game. Next in the dinner we had cheese chicken, the cheese was prepared at home. In few words, if I had to describe the day it would be - bumpy roads, chilling weather and delicious food.

Sunrise from Tumling

Photo of Tumling, Nepal by Pritha Biswas
Photo of Tumling, Nepal by Pritha Biswas
Photo of Tumling, Nepal by Pritha Biswas

towards Sandakphu

Photo of Tumling, Nepal by Pritha Biswas

Kali Pokhri

Photo of Tumling, Nepal by Pritha Biswas
Photo of Tumling, Nepal by Pritha Biswas

LAL GEDI- these are medicinal plants... used for throat pain and cough

Photo of Tumling, Nepal by Pritha Biswas
Photo of Tumling, Nepal by Pritha Biswas

Road for Sandakphu

Photo of Tumling, Nepal by Pritha Biswas

small snow balls

Photo of Tumling, Nepal by Pritha Biswas
Day 3

Day 3 started at 5:30 am. We went for a morning walk up the hills, where all you can see till the far is hills .. We encountered a beautiful sunrise also. We were provided with only 1 bucket of hot water for being fresh. All we could do is brush and leave. For those days we forgot what bathing was. After that we had a great breakfast - pancakes, aloo paratha, chilla (made of gram flour and white flour), boiled eggs and pyaz tamatar ki sabzi. At around 9 am we set off for Sandakphu. We were ready for the drive that would probably be the most adventurous ride till date. And yes it was. The roads were so steep that a point came when we could not see the part other side.. it felt like reaching the cliff and then jumping off it. In between we stopped at Kali pokhri, it has a sacred lake which has some holy beliefs among the locals. Moving forward, we finally reached our destination - SANDAKPHU. Temperature was 2 degrees Celsius. As we were not lucky enough to see Kanchenjunga there also, all we could see was clouds. The hotel Sunrise in Sandakphu was the only hotel present there. As obvious it was quite crowdy. And no meaures for covid were taken. Infact people were not even wearing masks. The hotel was still under construction. As this place has water scarcity, water is supplied in containers which come from Manaybhanjyang. Because of this, water supply is limited. There was no water supply in the toilet flush, forget about geyser. The food was also not that satisfying. The only good thing was the view from the room. It felt - "I was on the clouds". In the evening we witnessed beginning of snowfall.

Photo of Sandakphu, Nepal by Pritha Biswas
Photo of Sandakphu, Nepal by Pritha Biswas
Day 4

Next day early morning, we went to the terrace of the hotel hoping for getting the view of Kanchenjunga... but unfortunately again clouds showed their game. The temperature was -7 degree Celsius. It was so tough to stand in the cold and hold the cameras. The finger tips were paining so bad. We couldn't stay out for a long time. Ultimately till the afternoon we returned to Lepchajagat. Stayed there one night and came back to Kolkata with lots and lots of stories of Nepal, pictures... mainly of clouds.. But before I end the story I must say it was a great experience. People we met were so warm hearted. We learned so many new things which one can never find in the books. And yes, as always our trip of 4 girls was just outstanding.