Sikkim - Hidden Valley of Rice

 

Sikkim - Captured by Shreya

Someone rightly said, “Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” For me that step was Sikkim.

Just to give a brief background about me, I am one of those children whose parents are super busy to even pick their child from school and planning vacations outstation was an impossible dream for me. I was 19 when I first went out of my hometown on a college trip. It was fun but not really the type of holiday I wanted for myself. I love the freedom to explore, the thrill of uncertainty, and above all my time. Those were not possible on the college trip.

Last year when I was waiting for my appointment at the dentist’s clinic, I came across the name wayfarer in a travel magazine there and was intrigued after reading the customer reviews. I always wanted to explore the northeast region of our country and what was the better state than Sikkim to start my journey with. Without taking another minute I planned the trip with the Wayfarer for the North Sikkim, and to be very honest that was one of the best decisions of my life. 

I started my trip with the state capital Gangtok and stayed there in a very beautiful hotel with excellent service. On the first day, we went on Nathu La Pass which connects Sikkim to China's Tibet Autonomous Region and then spent some time at Tsongmo lake, clicking beautiful pictures with the exotic Yark.

Day 2 was the zero-point day at Lachung. Which is at around 15000 ft and was covered with ice. It was simply beautiful and quite adventurous, trying to go at top of the mountains. 

Day 3 was quite tough, going to the Gurudongmar lake at Lachen, which is one of the highest lakes in the world and India, at an elevation of 5,430 m (17,800 ft). The rumors about the place were that one cannot survive there for more than 10 minutes. I won't completely deny that the low level of oxygen could be a problem to some but, the view of the lake was just incredible and I would have actually regretted I wouldn’t have gone there.

Lastly, I would thank Wayfarer for such a seamless experience and service. Looking forward to planning more trips with them!