North Sikkim : Packaged Beauty

Travelling is the best way to enjoy the freedom , it allows us to witness natural wonders from close ,meet different people and witness different culture ,restrictions put on the travel can deprive you of all the fun. Inner Line Permits ( ILP) are the permits required to travel areas near international border in india , they are required for foreigners as well as for the indian's in North Sikkim.

These permits are required for the security reason , enforced by the army ( atleast thats what the local say ) , they are required sometimes however most of the times they are way of exploiting money from the travellers in case of North Sikkim they have gone one step further and in the name of providing employment to locals restricted the tourist vehicles from other states. Our zoom car had a national permit but it was not allowed in North Sikkim , "You may have national permit but you would need North Sikkim permit " local would say. Here is how security reason has been used as an excuse to create perfectly money leeching system in north sikkim.

           1. In North and East sikkim tourist vehicles from the other states are not allowed only registered vechicles from Sikkim state are allowed in these areas.

          2. In places like Lachung and Lachen once cannot book their own hotel , many hotels do not have online presence and those who have it are very expensive , the hotels needs to be booked by local tour operators in gangtok.

         3. For ILP you will have to contact a agent who will help you get it , without the agent it may be difficult to get one.

        4. You will have to get a travel package from a tour operator in Gangtok which includes food , transport etc , 3 N/4D package for 4 can cost 33k.

        5. Right from gangtok , you will be asked to stop at defined places , eat defined food , no delicacies here only rice and dal. The food served is pathetic to say the least, hotels are below average and something or the other would be broken.

        6. Dont expect hotel staff to be kind , they behave as if they are doing favor to you.

        7. For breakfast what you get is bread and jam , if you want something else you will have to pay for it

          8. Yumthang zero point is not part of the package , they say its illegal and drivers will take you at their own rise hence you will have to pay them extra , next 30kms will cost you 3k and if due to bad weather you cant reach their do not expect any refund.

        9. The above is applicable for normal as well as luxurious package , no discrimination here.

       10 . you will keep hearing that the area is very remote and you will have to adjust , how can any area with road connectivity , mobile network be remote ? these guys need to go to spiti and see the hospitality there even in most inhospitable climate. One good thing though , plastic is strictly banned , mineral water bottles if carried are liable for a penalty.

  Most of the tour operators , drivers and hotel owners/staff are not Sikkimese , they are either from west bengal or bihar , not sure how this provides employment to the local people.With the sole purpose of making more and more money , they leave no stone un-turned in making your experience in north sikkim hellish.

Fortunately nature has been kind to the north and doesn't need special permits or privileges to witness its glory , despite of all this beauty of this high altitudes will have it in owe , downside is that you cannot sit back , relax and enjoy the view for as many days you want as its not part of the package !!

Lachung - Yumthang - Zero Point

Yumthang is called valley of flowers , at altitude of 12000ft various varieties of flowers and rhododendrons bloom here in march /april , yumthang valley is part of singba rhododendron sactuary , Yutmthang zero point is the last point till which a civilian can go and is at 14000ft , there is not much to see there however the road to zero point is scenic , these curves are captured at Yumesamdong which is about 15kms from yumthang valley

at zero point we were shocked to see alcohol being server , locals and drivers have common misconception that alcohol helps in acclimatization  

smoked bread is what you get for the breakfast , usually drivers carry bread packets with them from gangtok

Lachen - Gurudongmar Lake

When we started our road trip , the news broke out that gurudonmar lake has been closed for public due to a case filed in supreme court , Gurudonmar was the main attraction and we kept our fingers crossed. Finally after a week it was opened up again and we were able to visit the magnificent lake

gurudongmar , at 17100ft its the highest motor-able lake in the world , its believed that guru rinpoche stopped at this lake when he came from tibet 

army has done a fabulous job of creating such a great road at this altitude

star trail captured over lachen 

lachen is at 9k ft and gurudonmar at 17kft , this journey is taken in few hours allow you to see the beauty at different altitudes 

sikkim is a great birding destination , so as the entire north east , few of the species of birds are found no where else

we were invited by the locals to try this drink "chhang" made from a grain called kodu , kodu is cooked and then stored for a month , its served in this huge bamboo cups with hot water added to extract the juices from fermented kodu grains

 Sikkim has something for everyone , be it a family traveler or a avid bird watcher or a trekker , its peaceful as well bustling with life , Sikkimease are warm and helpful , I haven't seen any local talking in loud voices or fighting. There is a lot we learned from sikkim , its cleanliness is infectious , the way locals preserve their heritage without disturbing nature is something we all need in this times of global warming.

Sikkim reminds me of kashmir of early 2000s , hope it stays as it and may we keep coming back to explore more of it.