Sikkim - Gangtok, Namchi, Lachung, Yumthang and Yumesamdong

                                             Travel through North, South and East Sikkim

June 6, 2012

Day 1 - Took a flight from Chennai to Bagdogra. Landed at Bagdogra by noon. Taxi ride through  Sivok, aonwards to Kalimpong and further to Gangtok.All along you have the mighty Teesta accompanying you. Before crossing into Sikkim, you need to show your ID proof to the officials at the border. One needs to adjust to the rains and the traffic jams all along. Reached after a 6 hour drive. Night stay at 'Porkys'!

                                                View of Gangtok from the hotel

Day 2- Morning picked a cab from the main bus stand, Gangtok for Tsongmo Lake. On the way to Tsongmo, could see the dirt snow  on the road. From here the road splits to two - one to Baba mandir and another to Nathu la. Should have opted for Nathu la pass instead of the Baba mandir. Anyways!  Reached  Gangtok  by evening.

                                                                MG road , Gangtok

Day 3 - Had an early breakfast and proceeded for North Sikkim. On the way, stopped by Tashi view point and  seven sisters waterfall. From here on you enter into North Sikkim. Stopped at a family home cum eating joint and had some hot rice and curry for lunch. By 2 PM, it started raining again which kept increasing as the journey progressed. The drive through  the cliffs  on soggy roads, one can see after effect of numerous landslides which is a common feature during the rains. 

                                                          Clearing the landslides

Crossing from Chungthang to Lachung was one of the best journeys. Flowering plants and houses lined the small winding roads. 

Reached Lachung in the evening and stayed at a hotel nearer to the Shingba Rhododendron park. There is no electricity for most of the time, but it doesn't really matter in the chill weather. Plan to visit the sanctuary further uphill and then to Zero point the next day.

                                                            At ChungThang

Day 4 - After breakfast left for the Sanctuary, It was misty and all across you can see the moss covered pine trees with numerous streams all around. There was a landslide the previous night and the villages and Border Roads personnel were busy removing the rocks. Lost some time here. Yumhang valley is at around 11800 feet. There are many small shops selling souvenirs and  food. Had some hot maggi to go with the weather.

                  Yumthang Valley with the river Lachung Chu surrounded by snow capped peaks. 

Had to pay the driver extra for moving further up to the Zero point -Yumesadong further up at 15,800 ft. At this point it had become quite chill and windy!. 

                                                              Yumthang

                                                                      Yumesadong

The road ends here and  across these mountain is Tibet. 

Came back to the hotel and after a late lunch went to Lachung monastery and the cottage industry (which was closed for the day). You need to be careful with the leeches here. Decided to leave in evening for Gangtok.On the way stopped at Magan town for tea. 

It took more than 5 hours to reach Gangtok more so because of the rains. The night drive up and down the hills was  crazy. Reached late night bcoz of the traffic jam in the city. Shifted to another hotel for the night.

Day 5 - Morning  left for Do Drul Chorten stupa,  Rumtek and the Enchey monastery.

                                                                      Enchey

                                                                              Rumtek
Left for Darjeeling. God!, twas raining wild!  Darjeeling greets you with its tea gardens on the hill sides. As you enter the town , you pass in front of the the train station and can see the gauge trains chugging along.

                                                                           Ghum

Day 6 - Left to see the scenic Kanchenjunga at Tiger hill. However, being cloudy missed the chance to see the majestic Kanchenchunga that day. Disappointment indeed! On the way back visited the Ghoom monastery and the Peace memorial. In he evening visited the Padmaja Naidu Zoological park, Himalayan Mountaineering institute and the Ropeway for the tourists. The large population of Tibetan refugees and their culture is evident in the town.

                                                                  Red Panda, Darjeeling Zoo
Day 7 - Left Dargeeling by Cab for New Jalpaiguri railway station for Kolkata. Spend the few hours in Kolkata by visiting the old China Town and the Victorial Memorial.

                                                             Busy China Town

                                                                            Victoria

Took a late night flight from Kolkata to Mumbai .

25.05.2013 Got another opportunity to visit a few villages in South Sikkim. From Bagdogra, took a cab to Namchi for an overnight stay. Early morning visited Samdruptse where one can see the huge ~50 m Guru Padmasambhava statue.Climb up the stairs and you can see the numerous paintings and other cultural artifacts of Sikkim.

                                                                View of the entire park

From Namchi, went on to visit a few villages - Boomtar village in Namphing crossing the tea fields in Temi to Zimchung near Mangan.

                                                 Tea fields on the outskirts of Temi

                                                                           Temi

                                          Many sellers on the with fresh leafy veggies

                                                                          MG road
Before leaving back to Bagdogra, did I visit the famous MG road again.. The streets were less crowded in the rains.

Bhimbetka and Sanchi

Dec 23, 2015

Train from Mumbai at 2245.

Dec 24, 2015

Reached Bhopal station at 1400. Didn't find any good hotels near the station. Plain rice and egg curry was a safe bet at a small roadside hotel. Left for Habibganj bus terminal immediately and boarded one at 1500. A better option would have been to get down at Habibganj from train and take the bus from Inter state Bus terminal from there.

It took another 50 minutes to Obaidullahganj and further 20 minutes later, the driver stopped for Bhimbetkal. A small road towards the the right off the highway leads towards Bhimbetkal. A small rail crossing and another 1 km further, you reach the ticket counter (Rs. 50/-),nothing extra for camera. From there its an uphill walk of 3 km to reach the main point. Its serene and peaceful as it falls in the Ratapani Sanctuary. Had some Langurs for company on the way.

On the way you get to see many smaller shelters and rocky terrains. Reached the main site at 1500. Paid a guide 250 bucks for a quick tour of the place.

Have to be back some other time to visit all the caves spread around the area. Seems there are over 700 sites spread across this area which is a part of the Satpura ranges.

Last to leave the park, decided to walk down the hill rather than taking a lift. That's the best way to enjoy the silence and nature. Back on the main road, it was dark at 1830 to add to it no lights on the road. Got a bus plying towards Bhopal. It was cold (Around 11 deg). Decided on not buying a jacket or sweater. Reached the SBI guesthouse at 2000. Took a while to convince the caretaker about my booking for the night!


Dec 25 , 2015

Left at 0930 hrs to Bhopal bus stand near the railway station. Enquired at railway station but the next train would be at 15 00 only. Got onto a bus going to Vidisha at 1200. Sanchi would be after Salamatpur. One can see numerous orange, guava farms and the Tropic of Cancer mark on the way.

Reached around 1330. Sanchi Stupa site was ridiculously overcrowded. One can make out the families having no sense of history moving around making their own references of history! Whatever was left off  from history has been well preserved, may be because of the interest shown by the Buddhist nations to a large extent!

The destroyed column of the Ashoka pillar is visible near the South gate of Stupa-1. The main crown is in the Sanchi museum which was closed (on all Fridays).

The main gateways of Stupa 1 are rich in carvings and brahmi script. Buddha relics can be seen all around. Few including the one at temple 45 near the remains of the monastery was well preserved. Left at 1700 from there. Bus ride back to Bhopal station and took Bhopal-Panvel train  at 1945.

Dec 26, 2015

Got down at Igatpuri and took the Manmad Mumbai train. Back to Mumbai at 1200.

Portugese ruins, Bassein - Vasai fort

Portugese ruins (Bassein)Vasai fort, Mumbai
Date - 2nd November 2009



Boarded train : Vidyavihar-Dadar-Virar. Reached Vasai in an hours time.  Boarded a bus from the nearby Bus stand  and within half an hour travel  reached the fort area.



No one to ask for directions, no one to disturb, the forts all yours to explore all day. The entire perimeter inside is lined with palms and thick vegetation.




Moved past a facade and reached what used to be an enormous Church and probably a graveyard. Renovation work was going on here at that time. Stone tablets in portugese lay on the floor and many walls still presented the fine textures of its distant past.






The sea was visible from the fort wall linings. The nearby gate opened to what seemed to be a creek. Further away to the opposite side lay another church/graveyard. The arcs had fine linings with many signages of the past. Here the altar was also partly maintained.





The last of the churches had colored stone walls which presented a pleasant look. This one is bigger than the earlier two churches and is located very near to the Chimaji Appa statue. Few ruins were found in this area and just kept beside the walls of the church. It would have been better to have read in detail the history of the place and then gone over! At around 1730 , left for vasai road railway station...