A Trip to Sacred Gurudongmar Lake : Paradise of Eastern Himalaya! - Part-II

As the temperature was falling rapidly with the darkness, we were forced to rush towards our hotel rooms. After having dinner at 8:00 PM, we retired to bed by 9:00 PM, as we had to leave for Gurudongmar Lake by 4:00 AM in the morning. Before we could sleep, rain had started pouring in and our hope to see the pristine lake in it's glorious best was diminishing. Praying for good weather for tomorrow, we had gone to bed, leaving everything at God's will.

Continued........

It was agonizing wait for the rain to stop, but all in vain. It was heavy downpour all night. The rains in mountains have got their own distinct character. When it will start raining and when it will stop, only weather god knows. We woke up at 4:00 in the morning and it was still drizzling outside. Our driver told us that we should start our journey without delay, as we had to cover distance of 70 km from Lachen to reach Gurudongmar. It was severe cold weather due to high altitude and continuous rains and we ran towards the vehicle braving the rains. As we had to reach at the altitude of 17000 feet from the 8000 feet, our vehicle had begun plying on serpentine mountain roads. As we were going up in the hills, the vegetation was reducing and the height of trees was also getting shorter. Within one and half hour, we had reached Thangu, a tiny hamlet at the height of 13000 feet. We saw a small eatery along the road and stopped for breakfast. The temperature would have been near zero at that time. Options for breakfast were very limited and we went for maggi and tea. Some tourists prefer to make night halt at Thangu instead of Lachen while visiting Gurudongmar Lake.

Having Maggi & Tea at Thangu

After energizing ourselves during our Thangu halt, we resumed our journey. As we knew that we had come closer to the lake, our excitement was palpable and knew no bound. That's the reason, we dared to venture out of the vehicle in the freezing cold to have some photographs with the Teesta river flowing amid snow-laden mountain peeks. May be, the current and speed, with which the river was flowing, saved it from freezing.

After Thangu, the rain had stopped, though weather was still very cloudy, but finally the sun smiled on us and weather became pleasant and sunny, as we reached nearer to the lake. There was no habitation except Indian Army after Thangu and concrete roads had given way to roads made of mud and gravel. 

All Nature, No Human Intervention

The last army checkpoint in the route had come and we had to stop for verification of permits. In the meantime, we enjoyed coffee at the world's highest cafeteria run by Army personnels and seeing the sign board declaring the cafe as the highest cafe in the world, i could not hold back my wish to get photographed with the same. That required permission from Army personnels deployed there and with little reluctance, they allowed us to have photographs with the signboard.

Feeling at top of the world

After a brief halt, we moved along the unpaved path and we felt that we had reached to the top of Tibetan Plateau, the roof of the world. The horizon seemed to be broadened. The view of barren lands was looking complete with herds of Yaks and blue sheeps grazing  nearby. 

Herd of Yak grazing near Lake

We knew that the lake is in the close vicinity from us, yet it was out of the sight. All of a sudden, our vehicle turned to the right from the gravel road and there it was, covered in the snow and bounded by snow laden peaks from all the sides. We had reached Gurudongmar Lake after all.

Frozen Gurudongmar Lake

At an altitude of 17100 ft, Gurudongmar is one of the highest lakes in the world and 2nd highest lake in India. The sacred freshwater lake freezes during the winters except at one spot. 

The blessed water of the lake is believed to posses the miraculous power of granting children to childless couples. Interestingly, the myth and legend of Gurudongmar is believed as reverentially by the Hindus and Sikhs as by the Buddhists. As one legend goes, Guru padmasambhav, Buddhist Monk visited the lake during his visit to Tibet and blessed the lake by touching it. That portion of lake never freezes even during peak winters. Hindu and Sikh Devotees link this incident to Guru Nanak Dev. The lake is a panoramic landscape for many like us, while it is a pilgrimage centre for many others. We saw some tourists carrying the water of the sacred lake in the bottles way back to their homes.

Sign board displaying history of the lake

Magnificent View of Gurudongmar Lake

We were in trance by just observing the surroundings of the lake and busy in capturing the lake in our camera frames. As the lake was frozen, tourists were taking a walk on the lake surface. We were advised by  an army personnel to avoid walking on the frozen surface, as it may be risky. However, seeing many tourists taking photographs posing in the lake, we also went there to have some fun in the snow. We heard some strange sound coming from deep inside of the lake, but could not understand, what was that.

Unfrozen Portion of the Lake

Gurudongmar Lake is one of the sources of River Teesta, other being Tso-Lhamu Lake. One has to seek permission from army for trekking to Tso-Lhamu lake from Gurudongmar Lake. Vehicles are not permitted to ply on this route. The Chinese Tibetan boarder is just a few kilometres away from the lake. The presence of tanks and bunkers on both sides of the roads made us notice that we are near Indo-China border.

Panoramic View of Snow-laden peaks

There is a place of worship called Sarva Dharma Sthal near the lake, where soldiers and tourists of all faith offer prayers. We also offered prayers there.

Sarva Dharma Sthal

In the company of two (rather three) Buddhist Pilgrims

 People face difficulty in breathing at such high altitude and hence it is advisable that we should not stay there for long period. At such altitudes, the weather worsens after noon and strong winds starts blowing (up to the speed of 180-200 kmph). It was 11:30 AM and the winds had started gaining velocity, so we decided to say bid adieu to the lake and started our return journey to Lachen and then to Lachung. Our trip to Gurudongmar Lake was not finished yet and while returning to Lachen, we were taken to Chopta Valley by our driver.

Chopta Valley

By 2:00 PM, we had reached our hotel at Lachen, had lunch there and then we proceeded to Lachung. It had started raining again, but this time, we were not that much apprehensive, knowing very well that the weather in hills can change anytime. 

Itinerary for those, planning to visit Gurudongmar Lake and Yumthang Valley :

Day 1 - At Gangtok
Day 2 - Travel Gangtok to Lachen; overnight stay at Lachen
Day 3 - Lachen to Gurudongmar and Chopta Valley and Back. Continue travel to Lachung; overnight stay at Lachung
Day 4 - Visit to Yumthang valley and Katao. Back to Gangtok

In the next post, we will begin journey of Lachung, Yumthang Valley and Zero Point. Till then adios!

A trip to Sacred Gurudongmar Lake : Eastern Himalaya's Paradise

After taking you along on odysseys to various places of Sikkim, now is the time to take you on one of the best voyages of my life, North Sikkim, where travelling is as wonderful and memorable as the destination is. Certainly the best part of Sikkim and one of the best in India. It seems that the Mother Nature has bestowed undivided attention and care in decorating this part of Sikkim with all the jewels, she has, and has made the place her own abode, like a mother, who has soft corner for one of her children. North Sikkim is the place, where you will feel yourself one with the nature and will find least human intervention. I genuinely feel that the upper part of hilly state will give any other contenders of "paradise on Earth" title, a run of their money. Having said that, it is also a truth that the patchy and treacherous roads leading to North Sikkim will give you an adrenaline rush and keep you on the edge due to the area being heavily prone to frequent landslides and earthquakes. North Sikkim is for avid travelers and adventure seekers, who are young at heart. And believe me, you will be amply rewarded with the fulfilling and lifelong experience, if you decide to travel to this part of Sikkim overcoming these small barriers. If North Sikkim happens to be the crown of Sikkim, then Gurudongmar Lake must be the brightest pearl of that crown. 

During my three year's stay in Gangtok, visiting Gurudongmar Lake was on top of my wishlist since the very beginning, but ironically, my wish came true only during the fag end of third year of my stay. The delay in fulfilling my wish may be attributed to reluctance of my colleagues and fellow travelers due to rough terrain and harsh climatic condition of the place. Whenever, i used to raise the issue, they used to say, it's very difficult to visit the lake, as it remains cut off from rest of Sikkim most of the year due to heavy snowfall and landslides. A major Earthquake at North Sikkim in September 2011 also discouraged us to venture into that dreaded path. However, as the saying goes, "Better Late than Never", I along with four travelers managed to explore most of North Sikkim and it is my best travel experience till date. I am yet to see a place, which has elicited more wows and adjectives like beautiful, superb, wonderful, mesmerizing, magnificent etc. from me than that elicited by North Sikkim. Now Let us come to my travel memoir, otherwise, the adjectives will fall short in describing the beauty of the place.

On a sunny day of April 2014, we 5 people started for Gurudongmar and Yumthang Valley on a 03 day's trip taking our reliable and expert driver Mr. Tularam with us after obtaining all necessary permits required in order to travel to North Sikkim. Tourists need to obtain tour permits from Department of Tourism office, situated at M G Road, Gangtok. Foreign Tourists are not permitted to travel upto Gurudongmar Lake. 

We started our journey by 8:00 AM and reached Mangan, the district headquarter of North Sikkim (68 km from Gangtok) by 10:30 AM. As we left Mangan, the natural beauty of North Sikkim started unfolding before our eyes. The Purity of air had kindled the child inside us and that was the reason, whenever we saw any waterfall, we started screaming with joy.... Oh waterfall! What a fall! We kept screaming with unbridled joy, as this part of Sikkim had plenty of waterfalls and hot springs. We had really lost count of the waterfalls in our journey to Lachen and Gurudongmar.

Thundering Waterfall on the way to Chungthang

Waterfall in closeup

After getting photographed in various poses with mighty waterfall in the backdrop, we proceeded further only to find a feisty river called Teesta making it's way in the mountains and dense forests.

Teesta River flowing with full force

By 12:00 PM, we had reached Chungthang, a town of North Sikkim, which is situated at the confluence of two rivers - Lachen chu and Lachung chu (Chu means river), both tributaries of Teesta river. Chungthang is a small town from where the road bifurcates into two, with one road leading to Lachen and other to Lachung. 

Chungthang has fair share in myths and legends surrounding Sikkim. As one legend goes, Guru Padmasambhav, Buddhist Guru, visited the town before going to Tibet and left his footprint on a rock where he once rested. Around the rock some paddy is grown, which is supposed to be a miracle as paddy does not grow in these conditions. We also saw a Gurudwara in Chungthang, which suggests that there are also some legends related to Guru Nanak Dev.

We had stopped at a road-side eatery at Chungthang to have lunch, but the food was not readily available. We were told that today tourist inflow was higher and there were very few hotels at Chungthang, so it will take some time for food to be cooked afresh. After having sumptuous lunch at Chungthang, we left for Lachen, 25 km from Chungthang. By 2:30, we had reached Lachen village, where we had decided to stay for the night and start for Gurudongmar Lake next day. Lachen is also a very beautiful village and in winters, village becomes inhabitable for locals and a picturesque spot for tourists due to heavy rainfall. Lachen has all budget hotels starting from Rs. 800/- per room. After settling in a hotel, which was more like a home stay, we had enough time left for exploring the village and we didn't waste any time. 

Hotel at Lachen

As the evening had set in, dense fog had started engulfing the entire village and before that could happen, we were able to catch some glimpses of the village and it's surroundings.

View of Lachen Village

Our cameras were searching for snow-clad peaks, as we were at the height of 8500 feet, and soon we were greeted with the spectacular sight, which increased our excitement for tomorrow.

Snow-clad Peak as seen from Lachen

As the temperature was falling rapidly with the darkness, we were forced to rush towards our hotel rooms. After having dinner at 8:00 PM, we retired to bed by 9:00 PM, as we had to leave for Gurudongmar Lake by 4:00 AM in the morning. Before we could sleep, rain had started pouring in and our hope to see the pristine lake in it's glorious best was diminishing. Praying for good weather for tomorrow, we had gone to bed, leaving everything at God's will.

In the next post, i will share my travel memoir on Gurudongmar Lake. whether, Weather God smiled on us or remained in sulking mood in the form of torrential rains, you will come to know in next post.


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