Denzong Shangrila Resort Gangtok

... assembled our team, a guide, two porters, a yak shepherd and two yaks. We carried light backpacks while rest of gears were divided among porters and yaks. We headed out for a tough trek on a bright morning of early November for our first stopover, Tsoka (10,000), 16 km away. Lost Among Himalayan Splendour Soon we were into dense forest. There was a well-worn, rocky trail leading to Tsoka. We were passing through forests of ferns, bamboo, moss covered trees ...

... Only days before we arrived, the leader of the 'pro-Gorkhaland' group, made a speech calling for everyone to dress like Gorkha people, and not in an Indian or modern style, and almost everything that stood was painted in the colours of their flag. The problem is, they are starting to enforce this idea on everyone now (not that people dislike the idea, its just that not everyone cares), and also to make it viable, they need Siliguri, which has many ...

... minute taxi ride to Maneybhang, a tiny little town on the border of India/Nepal. DAY 1 TREK Manebhanjang to Tonglu-distance: 6.83 mi/ 11 km elevation change: .57 mi/ .92 km At Manebhanjang (7053ft/2150 m) we had to get our passports checked and write down our names. The trail dips in and out of Nepal, so while we didn't need a visa, we still had to be documented every time we went in and out. This is one of the ...

... Methods)' - Song - 'Something Special Is Really, Truly Happening' - Song - 'Marriage'. In a foreign language it was the perfect story because I didn't need to understand any dialogue in order to keep up with the plot. A bus took us from Gangtok to New Jaipalguri. Ten minutes out of town a huge fallen tree blocked traffic in both directions. Not knowing why we were delayed I decided to have a look-see. It took awhile to walk past the line of traffic to the source. A ...

... isolation at Samdruptse, completed 3 years ago. The other is the unfinished 33m statue of Shiva, Hindu god, which will be surrounded by a temple complex. That's going to be very impressive indeed and will attract many pilgrims to the area. After that we visited a couple of more gompas then left to return to Darjeeling. The newspapers are talking about 40 degrees in Kolkata so that should be interesting after the higher altitude coolness of Darjeeling and Sikkim.

What is going on? Where have I been transported to? And who are all these people around me? Why, yes, you can top off my fermented millet drink! Beyond expression, Sikkim has been an absolutely amazing place. I am having the time of my life. I am sitting in a strange land in the mountains, in the Sikkim capital of Gangtok. Poking out every now and then is Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world; a stark reminder of just how remarkable of a ...

... once again we thanked god for the astroturf!!!!) and the socks came on and the fleeces came out!!! the hotel is really nice and stormi and i upgraded again so we each have our own rooms with big double beds and about 3 duvets. its sOOOOOOOO cold here oh my god. you can see your breath in the rooms and nothing dries and its crazy to think 3 weeks ago we were dying of the heat!! lsat night then some of us wrapped up warm (it ...

In the morning around 4-30 am we started for the "Mulkharka Lake", its one of the places where you can see the reflection of the Kanchendzonga range on the lake. It's a sight to behold. Just as we were about to start for the lake we saw a wonderful sight the clouds uncovered the Kanchendzonga range and white peaks were visible. There is only one word describe the scene -"Exhilarating". This sight motivated us a lot and initiated ...

... He set off in the other direction towards the Pandim. We named him "Sandim". The climb up the rickety watch-tower was worth it. There was a howling wind hitting us on the faces at the top. There were couple of majestic mountain horses grazing by. It was time to go back and have some rest. We had an early dinner and went to bed soon. We had to leave at 4AM the next day. That would be the longest and most arduous trek until now. Day4 trek -> Thansing to Goechala We had the customary ...

... world. it eluded us in darjeeling and we were hoping for a peek (no pun intended) here. we started in gangtok which is the best place to book trips to other parts of the state. we wanted to do a trek but the weather was pretty much the same as in darjeeling, cloudy and rainy, so we booked a trip to the yumthang valley in the very northern part of the state. before leaving on our trip we visited the sikkim research institute of tibetology a museum/library ...