Mountains are always on the top most priority of a traveler's list who has the passion for driving. Driving on hills is an addiction for many, however, it requires utmost driving perfection while maneuvering hills.
Here's our tale of such addiction which lead us to Zuluk, an offbeat small hamlet at the altitude of 10000 ft above the sea level, on the eastern side of Sikkim.
As per the plan we boarded the afternoon flight from Kolkata and reached Bagdogra by 2:00 PM. After having lunch we headed towards Sevoke road in Siliguri to pickup our Zoomcar. After all the trial and checkup of our Figo (you may ask why a hatchback? If a powerful one it is the best for hills in terms of dynamics.), we began our journey to Kalimpong and reached our homestay- Roots, shoots and beds ( hosted by Mr Gurung) by 9:30 PM . The next day we left by 10:00 in the morning for Zuluk via. Pedong. Throughout the way there were few joints for food with the hilly view. We were suppose to get the inner line permit from the authorities at Rongli. For the permit one has to provide following documents: 2 passport size photo, ID proof, vehicle details and driving license copy (if self driven). There we met an agent, she helped us in stamping and verification of documents and also booked our homestay in the midway to Zuluk. She charged Rs. 2300/- for all.
Silent wood retreat was the real beauty of our trip. It was homestay for travelers and hostel for village students. We reached there by 5:30 in the evening and spent our time dancing, playing and studying with those children.
The next day we woke up early at 6:00 AM . It was all foggy outside the window and the moment was breathtaking. We were ready by 8:00 AM , had our breakfast and were waiting for fog to clear. By 10:00 we bid adieu to those cutest & naughtiest kids and the homestay.
The next for us was to travel for those 20km which took us more than 2 hrs , as the view was astonishing and we were literally resisting ourselves to stop after every 10mins.
Slowly and steadily we kept on moving to our next destination ie. Psongmo lake. During our journey we witnessed sub O temperature, chilly winds and some amazing souvenir shops. Ideally, I would say the best time visit this heaven is March mid only when people travel less due to their business year end formalities.
Enroute our destination we also halted at Baba Harbhajan Temple, as it is mandatory for all passer by to stop and worship . You will actually get to know the courageousness of Indian Army once you visit this place. It is connected to Indo-China border and for the security reasons, Army personnel won't let you stay here for more than 5 mins.
Next 16kms which is approx half and hour drive from the temple will lead you to Tsongmo lake. The lake was surrounded by snow clad mountains, the view was just SURREAL!! We spent an hour or so there clicking pictures, enjoying the view and not bothering the yaks ( we are pretty good hoomans) 😉. Also there is a ropeway for tourists which operates till 3:00 PM. We did not get a chance to ride, as we were a bit late for the last slot. However the view, story of the lake and the temple adjacent to the lake made our day and the journey fulfilling.
Further, we left for Gangtok, the capital city of Sikkim and bid au revoirs to the view.
The drive to Gangtok was smooth and within no time we reached our hotel ( 6.00 PM ).
All in all, our trip to Zuluk was heavenly. We will cherish it for our lifetime.
#MountainLove