Off to the Mountains - Part II

And off we begin the second part of our trip.



We woke up early morning and the weather was absolutely fantastic. It wasn't much cold but it seemed like the perfect temperature with the right dose of breeze. We quickly made it to the bus stand and there he was, our driver who would be our messiah throughout the trip. "Jums", he said his name was, and the same was beautifully vinyled in the windshield of his jeep. It was going to be a long and exciting road trip. Not much to write about it but one thing worth mention were the Tibetan folk songs which Jums played in his jeep stereo, the tune of which is still playing in my mind. I tried searching a lot in Ares and Limewire but did not get any of them. They were some of the most beautiful tunes I have ever heard.

Our next stop was at Lachung. Its almost 150 km from Gangtok. As per our plans, we would take a small break after reaching Lachung and then head forward to Yumthang so that it would not be too late by the time we are back in Lachung. As usual the trip to Lachung and then on to Yumthang meant a very long drive over more treacherous roads. We did have a jeep though and ofcourse Jums - since the roads in this area are prone to rock slides and wash outs. We encountered our first "rock slide zone" about a half hour out of Gangtok and as our jeep slowly rumbled over fallen rock and washed out roads I wondered how many more we were going to have to cross. All the driving up and down did wreak a bit of havoc on our bodies. We kept exchanging places and there would be fights normally for the front seat next to the driver. Everybody wants the view up front.We had plenty of eateries with us. 3-4 large packs of Lays' Chips and a few strips of chewing gum and lots of liquids - Water, Appy Fizz, Frooti etc. And Mayur's digicam was kept busy all along the way.

The drive was just spectacular. Sometimes you look over the valley at the last hill you have driven down from and simply wonder if that road really exists. Sometimes it would be going steep uphills and then the next hour we would be on our way down. Jums had been the ideal guide, describing us in detail all the places with their histories and humming the Tibetan songs. The weather was fantastic and the scenery was refreshing. We could see the ice-capped mountain peaks inviting us. Houses cling precariously to the hillside, cows and goats scramble upright to reach grass and greenery hanging from the cliffs, while crops are grown on terraced pieces of land that hang straight off the mountain. There are plenty of metal and concrete bridges, like the one in the pic above, which joins 2 mountains or valleys.

The road to Lachung is maintained by BRO (Border Road Organization). They have done good work there but because of bad terrain, road conditions at few places is extremely bad. Jums was driving exceptionally well, and I am sure not even the best of the drivers from a city would dare to drive through the treacherous valley roads, which are so narrow that they do not seem to have the space for overtaking at all. Jums may had been a fan of Schumacher though, he was driving quick, and at a few sharp turns all of us had our hearts in our mouth.


The long drive was broken up by plenty of stops - lunch break at a small roadside hotel (one of the few bad experiences of the trip), where the food was so bad that we left more than half the food in our plates. We had numerous 'loo' breaks, and Jums utilized that time to pour in water in the engine radiator, and finally we decided to head straight to Lachung as it was already getting late. It takes a good 6-7 hours to Lachung, and when we were about an hour away, we started discussing our plans. Each one of us wanted to go to the snow capped mountains, and Jums said that Yumthang would not be having much of snow. We did not want to miss Yumthang either. As we were gaining altitude, the temperature was steeply rising and we could feel the cold in our face. Discussions gave way to arguments and pros and cons and shouting at each other. Jums told us about a place called Katao which would be having a lot of snow. We were getting so obsessed about the snow that we decided that we would first head for Katao but since it would already be dark by the time we would come back, we would visit Yumthang the first thing in the morning, at 4 AM. Crazy ideas flowing around and we wanted to make the most out of trip, even if it meant waking up at 3 AM and going to Yumthang at -5 degree Celsius. And all of this ofcourse meant extra payment, and we already had a tight budget.

This small change of plans was going to be the best decision we would have made during the whole trip.

We arrived in Lachung at around 3 in the afternoon and checked into a room which was arranged by our driver. We put our luggages there and went upstairs to a spacious dining room kinda space, which I think belonged to the owners and was used for dining purposes for all the tourists coming there. And that was home made food which was included in our package. We were not hungry at that time so we just had a hot cup of tea each and did it feel wonderful. We then went to a nearby shop and bought a skull cap and a pair of gloves for each of us. No wasting of time thereafter and we headed up the hills to a place called Katao.

Katao is not a tourist place and in the numerous travel blogs I had read before the trip, I had never read about it. It was supposed to be a 1 hour journey from Lachung and straight into the mountains. If I had to sum up the journey in one sentence, it would be the most amazing, most beautiful and the most thrilling journey of my life till date. As we went higher up the hills, the road became narrower and the sight of snow came closer. It was an enthralling view and we could not stop clicking pictures poking out of the window. Gradually it was snow everywhere and the road looked like a long black belt with white covers all around. There was no room for error while driving and at one point one of the tyres of the jeep got stuck somewhere and the jeep started moving backwards. Finally we reached a BSF outpost and a jawan stopped us from going ahead as the roads were blocked due to heavy snowfall. All along the way we had seen lots of small waterfalls and it is an amazing view when you see clean crystal clear water flowing in between mountains filled with milky white snow.

The best part of Katao is that it is not at all commercialized. All along the way it was just the four of us and Jums and the jeep. Not a single soul anywhere around, but we have lots of mountain animals around. We managed to see quite a few exotic birds, yaks and horses. It seemed like we were the only people in Katao and that felt even more comfortable. The temperature was somewhere around -5 degrees and we already had out skull caps and gloves in the proper places. We could not resist jumping out of our seats and heading for the snow. The snow was almost knee deep and we were scared at first because everytime we took a step forward. our leg would go deep inside the snow almost till our hips and we had to apply a fair bit of energy to get it out of there. We managed to go a little distance cautiously and then it was plain and pure fun. Jumping around in the snow and throwing snowballs at each other with all our strengths. No more than 15 minutes and we were so exhausted we just threw ourselves back and lay down. A mild snowfall had started by then and we were lucky enough to see it. Some crazy acrobatic stuff followed and we were already out of out jackets and t-shirts and rolling around feeling the pinch and the magic of soft snow on our bodies. It was the first time I had ever seen snow and snowfall and boy did it feel amazing! Finally we heard shouts from the jawan and Jums and we started our descent back to the jeep. Just to mention here, the 2 hours we spent in Katao defined our journey and the whole trip and the discussions thereafter was Katao, snow and snowfall. It was one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my lifetime.

On our way back to Lachung, we had some more change in plans and we decided to go to Yumthang then and there only instead of the next morning. Jums was more than game and he was the one who inspired us even more. We were a little skeptical since by the time we reached Yumthang it would be almost dark but nevertheless we decided to move on. We happened to have come at the most opportune moment as there was not a single person around and there is nothing more that a tourist can ask for, especially in the silence of the mountains and snow stretching till as far as your eyes can see. It felt heavenly, with the Tibetan mountains on one side and the Himalayas on the other, the views were outstanding. Snow lined the roads and we passed small glaciers as we moved into the Yumthang Valley.

Yumthang Valley is located in North Sikkim, about 135 km from Gangtok on more windy and cliff-hanging roads. It's about the farthest north you can go as a tourist in Sikkim. Yumthang did not have as much of snow as Katao did, but it was definitely at a much higher altitude than Katao, and we could feel the cold. I guess the temperature could be anywhere around -7 or -8 and we were shivering like anything. Our hands were numb though we had gloves on. The sight of Yumthang valley was beautiful as well as a little scary. Scary because it was already a little dark and the snow seemed to glow on the sides and the mountains. It was a very open area and we could see the mountains and valleys till far away. There was even a stream flowing a little distance away. It was all uninhabited, except for a single small cottage where 2 women lived and catered to the tourists food demands. I wonder how those people stayed there. It was like staying in the middle of a desert with not a single person in the radius of 15 kms. Gutsy.

The four of us, in a bid to feel a little warmer, sprinted towards the stream and spent some time there. It was growing colder and colder and when we were returning, we realized that we were not able to breath properly and we had to take two steps and then stop for a few seconds to get our breath back. We all had our mouths open like dogs, trying to gush up every cm cube of oxygen available. The short distance to the cottage seemed to be miles away and that was one experience we cannot forget all our life. Once inside the cottage, we had a fire setup and I do not need to describe how we felt by the side of fire. We had plated of hot Maggi and it tasted like manna from heaven. It was already dark by the time we were out of the cottage. We did not feel like going back but after seeing the valleys all around in the dark, listening to the cold winds blowing and silence all around, it does feel a little creepy.

Finally we were on our way back to Lachung after a day of extreme adventures and temperatures, As the night approached, the temperature at Lachung went below 0 degrees and luckily our room had 2 blankets each. Already exhausted after an amazing day, it did not take us long before were comfortably sleeping with all our bodies covered from head to toe. Next morning it was 5 AM when Jums woke us up for our journey back to Gangtok. It was so chilly that none of had the courage to take a bath (The room did not have a geyser, and the water was as chilly as you could imagine). After a quick tea at the room, we packed up to begin the long drive back to Gangtok. After all the excitement and adventures, this part of the trip felt uneventful. We were thinking of the next day already, sitting at our desks and coding our life into retirements (God has some other plans for us now and I realized it a few days back).

The only highlight of our return journey was the river rafting we did in the Teista river. Having said that, after spending a couple of days in sub zero temperatures, the hot sun felt very annoying and irritating. The day passed off quickly thereafter and we reached Siliguri around noon. Had a quick lunch and then off to our Indica which would take us back to Kolkata. The next thing I can remember is reaching home and realizing that it is a Monday.

On the maps it all looks so easy. Everything in Sikkim appears to be within a 100-150 km radius. Unfortunately, geography gets in the way. It takes roughly one hour to drive 20 km anywhere in the area because you're usually going up or down, taking hairpin turns every 15 seconds. It was truly an enriching experience for us. Jums had earlier told us, 'Yeh jagah Switzerland se kam nahi' meaning 'This place is no less than Switzerland'.