I left Darjeeling by share jeep soon after 10 on the foggy morning of the 11th, heading down the narrow road north to the border of Sikkim. The trip to Jorethang just across the border is less than 15 miles, but took an hour. The road was pretty good near the top, but deteriorated near the bottom as we dropped more than 5000 feet to the river that is the border, a beautiful trip with great views passing through thick forest, with lots of bamboo among the trees, and later small farmsteads and large tea plantations. We went through one small town on the way. At the border my Sikkim permit (issued for free in Darjeeling) was checked. Sikkim was independent, or semi-independent as a protectorate of India (and before that, Britain), until 1975 when it was annexed by India and made a state. It borders on Tibet and the Chinese didn't recognize the annexation until 2005.
It was warm in Jorethang, at about 1500 feet elevation. At 1:30 I left on a share jeep heading north to Pelling, about 30 miles away. The first 15 miles were along the Rangit River to the small town of Legship, a trip of about an hour as we climbed only about 700 feet in elevation. From Legship it took another half hour to make a very steep, zigzagging climb of about 3000 feet over 10 miles to Geyzing (also spelled Keyzing and even Gyalshing, and probably several other ways). I had great views of the Rangit Valley as we climbed, and later views towards the south. The forest was again full of bamboo among the trees. After a 15 minute wait in Geyzing we drove the final five miles or so to Pelling through forest as we first rose and then descended a bit, hitting fog on the way and arriving between 3:30 and 4. Pelling is on a ridge, with views of Kanchenjunga when clear. A sign at the entrance to the town said 6250 feet elevation while another one in town said 2150 meters (about 7000 feet). One of my guidebooks says 2085 meters (about 6800 feet), while my altimeter, set in Darjeeling, read about 6400. I suppose they all could be right, as Pelling runs along a road zigzagging down the side of the ridge. I checked into a hotel near the top and looked around. Fog obscured all the views. It was foggy at night, too, followed by rain. I had momos (Tibetan dumplings) for dinner and a hot bucket bath after dinner. The night was cold but I slept warmly and well.
I woke up about 5:30 the next morning and checked the view. Kanchenjunga was cloud covered. I went back to bed and got up about 7. I ate breakfast on the hotel terrace starting about 8 and Kanchenjunga was now partially clear, with good views as the drifting clouds revealed more and more of the snow covered ridge to the north. The sun was out and it was very pleasant on the terrace. The clouds eventually began to close in a bit, and by about 9:30 it was getting cloudier on the mountain, although it was still sunny in Pelling.
Before 10, after spending a good part of the morning at the hotel gazing at Kanchenjunga, I started walking up the ridge, along the road I had come the afternoon before, towards Pemayantse Monastery, less than a mile from Pellling at the top of the ridge, about 500 feet higher than Pelling. On the way I could still catch glimpses of Kanchenjunga through the trees. Pemayangste is said to be Sikkim's second oldest monastery, dating from the early 18th century. It's located in a beautiful spot, with fantastic views. Up to about noon I could still see a bit of Kanchenjunga to the north. To the east and below are the ruins of Rabdentse, Sikkim's second capital. Inside the monastery are impressive statues on the first and second floors, and on the third floor an amazing twelve foot high wooden representation of a heavenly palace, with seven levels and lots of figures. Apparently, it took a monk five years to make. Unfortunately, it is behind glass, but you still can see it fairly well. The third floor was markedly warmer than the lower two with the sun beating on the metal roof. The walls of the third floor seemed to be newly painted and very colorful. Five sections were covered by large yellow pieces of fabric. Eventually, I checked under them. Each one covered a copulatory scene, one showing scrota.
I spent quite a bit of time in the monastery and walking around it. There seemed to be only a few monks around. Eventually, I found a path through the surrounding woods down to the road and walked down the road and then along a path to the Rabdentse ruins, dating from the late 17th century. They seem to be restored heavily. The capital was abandoned and moved further east after a 1780 war with Nepal. Nepal annexed a large part of Sikkim, including Darjeeling, after the war, but the British made them give it back after their own war with Nepal in 1814-1816. The views from the site are wonderful, though Kanchenjunga was now hidden by clouds. I looked down the deep valleys to the north and east and tried to pick out some of the places I was headed to. The sun was still out, but the air cool, and I spent quite a bit of time wandering around and enjoying the views.
I walked back to Pelling, arriving about 3:30, and about 4 headed to the Sanga Choeling Monastery on the opposite side of Pelling. The sky was now cloudy and the walk took me about 45 minutes on a dirt road that climbed very steeply, more than 500 feet, at the end. The views were great until I hit the fog. The decrepit monastery is under restoration, with a dirty floor. Nobody appeared to be around. I looked around inside and on the dark top floor found a statue of a blue copulating Buddha with a white woman. I hadn't seen that before. Outside, the fog was blowing all around. Several rock chortens (stupas) stood upon a rock platform next to the monastery. Long, thin prayer flags on long poles lined the edge of the cliff. The scene was quite beautiful in the swirling fog. I stood on a rock platform on the edge of the cliff as the fog swirled up. About 5:30 I started down through the fog and was back at my hotel after 6. The town was again very foggy that night.
Kanchenjunga was hidden by clouds the next morning. There were no share jeeps to the next place I wanted to go, so before 9 I left on a half day tour that would take me there. Lots of Indian tourists come to Pelling, taking half day and full day tours by jeep of sites. We descended steeply, more than 2000 feet, to the river at the bottom of the valley to the north, crossed to the other side, and stopped at a "rock garden" along the river for 20 minutes or so. We then traveled along the river, rising above it but still descending along a road with great views to a waterfall at a hairpin turn in the road six miles from the town of Yuksom. There must have been 20 or 30 jeeps parked, or trying to park, along that narrow road near the falls. With maybe 8 or 10 people per jeep, there was a mass of people, all Indians but me (and me only for a short time) before that relatively minor waterfall. Eventually, our jeep made its way through the mass of jeeps and headed back the way we had come for about five miles before taking a road that headed up steeply (about 2000 feet) for six miles to Khecheopalri Lake. It was noon when we arrived and parked among another mass of tourist jeeps.
I skipped the lake for the time being and strapped on my backpack for the steep climb up to a homestay on the hill above the lake. It took me half an hour to make more than 500 foot climb through beautiful thick forest along a rocky and then muddy path up to the top of the hill. It was a sweaty climb. I was glad to get to the top and check into a little room in a wooden building adjacent to the home of a man named Sonam. He was away, but his wife checked me in. There are 27 houses and a small gompa (monastery) in the little village, including three homestays, one run by Sonam's sister and one by his father. He apparently doesn't speak to his father, who is 82 and is said to be a former cook for the Dalai Lama. The people in the village were very nice.
The day was cloudy, but I could see Pellling on the ridge to the south. I had a good lunch about 1 with three other tourists and sat talking with them through lunch and after as it rained. About 4 the rain let up and I walked around the village. Two little boys were playing cricket on a grassy space bordered by a semi-circle of tall prayer flags on poles, with a huge pig in a pen just beyond. The pig got on his hind feet as I approached. I think he or she was hoping I was bringing food. I walked around the stone and wood houses and the corn and vegetable patches and the small monastery, and then took the steep path down to the lake, the way I had come at noon. The path was slippery after the rain. The lake was completely deserted but for me and a monk near a little monastery building. All the Indian tourists had left. Hundreds of colorful prayer flags fluttered along the jungle path to the lake and along the lake itself. The lake is considered holy. Any leaf that falls onto the surface of the lake is said to be immediately plucked off by birds. I didn't see any birds doing this, but then again I didn't see any leaves on the surface of the lake. I did spot a leech that had latched onto my foot. (I was wearing sandals.) I pulled it off, but the anti-coagulant it emits when it attaches to you made the bite bleed quite a bit. The bite is painless.
I made the steep walk back up to the homestay between 5:30 and 6, meeting Sonam just before we reached the top. The clouds were breaking up and I caught a glimpse of Mount Pandim, over 22,000 feet high. We had a delicious dinner in the kitchen, after having watched Sonam's wife cut up a chicken on the floor. Dinner was chicken, dhal, and a spinach and potato dish. We sat around and talked till late, drinking some milky white home made Sikkimese millet beer, called chang or tomba. Sonam was interesting, but a little difficult to understand. He is either a Lepcha or a Bhutia. The Lepchas, originally from the Burmese border area, are the earliest people in Sikkim. Bhutias are Tibetans that began arriving in the 17th century (I think). Nowadays, they both are outnumbered by Nepalis, who began immigrating in the 18th century and are now something like 75% of the population. They were the force in favor of Indian intervention and the deposition of the Choygal (king) in 1975. Now they dominate Sikkim politically. I went to bed about 10:30 and slept warmly.
I was up about 6 the next morning. The sun was out and felt warm. Pelling was visible to the south, as was a bit of Pandim, at least for a while. After a very good breakfast, I walked around the village again. About 9 I put on my shoes for the first time in months and began a walk to a meditation cave on a hill high above the village and the lake. From the village I first descended along the ridge and then ascended through beautiful forest with lots of ferns and great views. The sky was mostly cloudy by about 10, but there was some sun. Eventually, I reached a couple of farmhouses on a little knob on the ridge above corn fields. Hanging on the porch of one of the wooden houses were ears of corn, red, black, yellow, and multi-colored. From there I descended a bit to a little saddle where a big tree had been felled.. (Sonam told me you can cut down two trees a year but have to get permission for the specific tree before doing so.) Two men were using axes to cut the tree up, a task that could take weeks.
From there the path became quite steep as it ascended through beautiful thick jungle to the top of the hill and the meditation cave. Through the trees I had good views of the lake below, now recognizably in the shape of a footprint. The path was wet and covered with leaves and soon I realized that there were leeches along the path. I stopped, found a rocky spot, and pulled more than ten off my shoes before they could penetrate to my feet. I continued along the path, battling leeches all the way. I would have to stop and check for leeches every few minutes, hurrying through the leaf litter on the path to rocks where I could check my shoes. At one point I took off my shoes and socks to check if any had made it through. One had. I pulled it off, but the blood left a red blot on my white sock. Eventually, I lost the path in the deep leaf litter. I searched around, but eventually the leeches, the bugs, and my lack of luck finding the path made me decide to head back the way I had come. I was glad to get out of the leech zone. I checked my feet again and only the one had gotten through. I must have pulled well more than 50 off my shoes, though.
I returned to the village about 1 and had a delicious lunch. I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, doing some reading and talking with the other tourists, and watching the friendly village children. At one point, hours after I had returned, I tucked in my shirt and noticed a bloodstain. Two leeches had been attached to my side just above my waist. They had drunk their fill and were now gone, leaving two bite marks on my side and bloodstains on my shirt, underpants and trousers. Sonam said they had come from trees, rather than the path. It rained about 5, but was clearing at nightfall, when a sliver of a moon could be spotted. I had a hot water bucket bath in the simple little bathroom, which felt very good after no bath the night before.
It rained long and hard overnight. When I got up the next morning between 6:30 and 7 we were fogged in. The fog lifted and it cleared up some, but there was no sun. Soon after 9 I left to walk to my next destination, the small town of Yuksom, visible from Khecheopalri. Sonam gave me a bamboo pole to help and found me a porter, a teenager from the village, to carry my backpack at a cost of 400 rupees, about $3.50. Yuksom is 17 miles away by road, but less than 6 by trail. We made the steep descent to the lake in about 20 minutes, walked along the road just a bit, and then took another steep path down. The path went through forest and farms and was in places dirt, or rocks, or cement, or even stairs. After the rain, it was very slippery in places, especially the rocks with moss all over them. I slipped three times and fell two of those times, once landing hard on my left arm. But all was well. I had some beautiful views over the very green countryside under a cloudy sky.
A particularly steep and slippery portion of the trail preceded a rickety suspension bridge over a stream, and after the bridge the trail was better. We passed a house with prayer flags all around it and soon could see the road near the waterfall where I had stopped on the way to Lake Khecheopalri. We reached that road after about two and a half hours and a drop of more than 2000 feet. A road marker indicated 8 kilometers, or five miles, to Yuksom. We walked a short distance along the road, crossing the fast flowing Rathong River, flowing southeast to join the Rangit, by bridge and then soon after leaving the road by a set of stairs that turned into a steep trail up to Yuksom. We passed houses and farm plots and eventually had good views of the hill above the lake where we had started. Along the path, and along roads all over Sikkim, grow blue flowered hydrangeas, and there are fuschias here and there, though not in the numbers of the hydrangeas. The sky became darker and there were a few drops of rain as we climbed. After a climb of over an hour, ascending something like 1400 feet, we reached the road again just below Yuksom and arrived in town just after 1 p.m. after a hike of about four hours. I checked into a comfortable hotel room and said goodbye to my porter, who was immediately heading back to the village from where we had set out.
I ate lunch, tomato soup and thick Tibetan bread and about 3 set out to explore the town. A sign I saw as we entered the town said it is 1850 meters (about 6070 feet) in elevation, while one of my guidebooks says 1780 meters (about 5840 feet). Again, both could be correct as there is a considerable rise from the lowest part of town to the highest. My altimeter registered about 5750 on arrival at my hotel. It had shown Lake Khecheopalri at 5900 and the village above the lake at 6450.
I walked through town along its long,curving central street and reached the Norbugang Park at the top end, about 200 feet higher than my hotel. Here, under trees draped with prayer flags, is a stone made throne with a white chorten (stupa) in front. A particularly large pine stands just behind the throne. The throne looks restored. It was here in 1641 or 1642 or sometime around then that three lamas arrived, one from the west, one from the south, and one from Tibet to the north, and summoned a man from the east who arrived and was crowned by the lamas as Sikkim's first Chogyal, or king. The chorten is supposed to contain soil from all over Sikkim and there is an indentation in a rock in front of the throne that is supposed to be the footprint of the lama from Tibet. The high seat of the four seat throne was for this lama, with the Chogyal to his right and the other two lamas to his left.
I walked north of the wooded throne area to a grassy meadow looking north up the valley of the Rathong leading to Kanchenjunga, with huge, forest covered mountains on each side of the narrow river canyon. Clouds filled the canyon. I walked back to the throne area, very nice with all the big trees and prayer flags, and stopped by a little monastery building with a very large revolving drum prayer wheel. Before 5 I started to walk back down and it was soon raining. I passed the little lake, Kathog Lake, whose water was used to consecrate the first Chogyal. People in town were very friendly. After dinner I got ready for a bucket bath and when taking off my shoes and socks discovered a quite bloody sock and two leech bites near my ankle. The leeches had long gone. I must have picked them up on the trail from Khecheopalri. I should have checked when I arrived in Yuksom.
When I awoke the next morning I heard monks chanting from a nearby monastery. When I finally got up I walked over to the monastery. There were only maybe a half dozen, including two little boys and an old man. A younger man was chanting into a microphone, with speakers wrapped in plastic outside the small monastery. A group of about 15 Tibetan women, some with prayer wheels, sat along the walls. The chanting was occasionally punctuated with cymbals, drums and horns. I watched and listened for quite a while and spent maybe an hour at the monastery. The two little monks came out and ,after one fetched some embers from behind the monastery, they piled up several pine boughs and set them on fire. It took a while for the boughs to catch fire. The little boys would kneel down and blow onto the embers. I noticed that a censor on the rail of the monastery porch also had green pine needles in it. The women left during a break in the chanting and some of them did chores around the monastery, One was preparing food over an open fire behind the monastery. I saw and smelled tomatoes being fried. I walked back and had breakfast outside, as the sun had come out.
After breakfast I walked to another monastery, new and seemingly deserted, on a slight hill in town. From there I walked to the little lake just beyond and then along the road to where the trekking trail starts for multi-day treks up towards Kanchenjunga. I talked with a French guy who was just getting back after eight days. He took along his six year old and his three year old and said they did fine. He, however, suffered from altitude sickness.
I came back for lunch about 2. The sky clouded up in the afternoon and I walked to a ridge just south of town called Tashi Tenka, the former grounds of Sikkim's first royal palace. Farmhouses lined the stone path to the site. It sprinkled a bit, but the views from Tashi Tenka were superb, pretty much a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. To the south I could spot Pelling on its ridge, with Pemayangste Monastery and Rabdentse to the left, higher on the ridge. To the east I could see the road to Tashiding, my next destination, through green hills of terraces and forest. To the west is the Khecheopalri area and the route I had taken from there. I couldn't see the lake, hidden in a bowl, but I could see the hill above the lake where I had stayed. To the north is the narrow Rathong Valley, the route to Kanchenjunga, filled with clouds and with high hills on both sides. Close to town and towering over it to the east is a forest covered hill with a monastery, Dubdi Monastery, on it. About 4:30, while I was on the ridge, it began to rain hard and I found shelter in a little structure with a Nepali guy who lives on the ridge. We discussed different kinds of bamboo while we waited out the brief rain, and then he went to cut grass for his cow and I walked back to my hotel. It began to rain heavily again just as I got back.
The next morning was cloudy and drizzly. I went to breakfast about 9 and after walked back up to Tashi Tenka to enjoy the great views from the former palace area. On the way back I stopped at a house with flowers all along it walls, which the woman living there proudly showed me. She had fuschias, some sort of colorful lilies, and lots of other flowers I couldn't identify.
About 10:30 I started the steep walk up to Dubdi Monastery on a stone path covered with moss. A light rain was falling. The route was slippery, but beautiful, with magnificent forest and great views down to Yuksom. Bushes with big white trumpet lilies grew along the path near its beginning. The climb to the monastery is almost 800 feet above the town in less than a mile. I passed a couple of monks coming down. I walked slowly with lots of stops for the views and photographs and took about an hour to get there. The rain stopped on the way up. The monastery itself is disappointing as it is covered with scaffolding. It is in bad shape, with crumbling wall paintings. A sign said it is the oldest in Sikkim, dating from 1701.
I looked around and then continued further up the ridge, ascending about 200 feet, through a spectacular forest of moss covered trees. I encountered leeches again and found that one had attached itself to my foot. It had already left, leaving a bloodstain on my sock. I probably picked it up on the climb up from Yuksom to the monastery. I found the path to to a village said to be 40 minutes away and started along that, but the light rain which had reappeared now became heavier and I decided to head back. The rain had pretty much stopped by the time I again reached the monastery. About a third of the way down the stony, mossy path from the monastery, I encountered a muddy road and decided to take that back to Yuksom. It took a lot longer than the path, but was much less slippery. It wound its way along the hillside, with great views and lots of birds chirping. It arrives at Yuksom near the trekking trail north. On the northern outskirts of the town I passed several houses and a couple of pig sties. In one I watched a big sow feeding her six very energetic piglets. She eventually got tired of them pulling at her and stood up and shook them off. I got back to town about 3 and had a late lunch and then sat talking to a couple of other tourists for the rest of the afternoon. By the time night fell it was cold and foggy.
The next morning was relatively clear. From my hotel window about 6 or 6:30 I could see a snow covered peak far up the Rathong Valley to the north, but it soon was covered by clouds. The sun was out so I walked up to Tashi Tenka to see the magnificent views in the sunshine. I think, though, the views are more impressive shrouded with clouds. I had a long breakfast, at first in the sun, though it clouded up by about 9. I wandered around town and made my way back up to the coronation site at the top of the town before coming down for lunch.
About 2 I left on a share jeep bound for Tashiding, less than 12 miles away to the southeast. It took us about an hour to cover those 12 miles, on a windy, badly paved road, but with great views of the terraced and forested hills and deep valleys. Sikkim is a small state, only about 70 miles from north to south and 40 miles from east to west, but the hills and deep valleys make trips much longer than they seem on the map. We dropped about 1200 feet, passed an impressive waterfall right along the road, ascended and then descended again into Tashiding, on a little saddle between a long, high ridge to the north and a conical hill to the south. I got a room in a very basic, wooden hotel, for all of 200 rupees (less than $4) and about 3:30 began the steep climb up to the monastery atop the conical hill just south of town. One of my guidebooks says Tashiding lies at 1490 meters (about 4900 feet) elevation. My altimeter showed about 4400.
From the town I walked down to the base of the conical hill and then climbed up the steep stone path to the top, ascending 800 feet. The stony path had little moss, though, at this lower elevation. It passed houses and farm plots and forest. Boys were playing cricket on one part near several houses. My altimeter registered 5000 feet when I reached the top, where there are five or six nice monastery buildings. Dating from 1717, this is supposed to be Sikkim's holiest monastery. The Guru Rimpoche, who introduced Buddhism to Tibet centuries ago, is supposed to have stayed in a cave here. The Dalai Lama was here a few years ago.
In the first building a fairly large group of people, mostly women, were prostrating to chanting and bell ringing. Under a cloudy sky I walked around the muddy grounds. All but the first building were locked up. Workers were busy at one spot, maybe putting up a new building, near the four story main hall. Towards the back, on the southern end of the hill, is a group of several chorten, all painted white but one, which is painted gold. They are said to contain the relics of lamas and chogyals. A couple of workers had been whitewashing some of them, splattering paint all over. Mani walls, with painted figures and "Om Mani Padme Om" written in Tibetan on them, led to the chortens and surrounded them. At the very southern end, high above the confluence of the Rathong and Rangit thousands of feet below, are lines and lines of colorful prayer flags.
The sky was cloudy and getting dark. A couple of monks and several other people were circumambulating the chortens. Not wanting to walk back in the dark, I stayed as long as I dared and then started down and after about 45 minutes (compared to an hour going up) reached town just before dark. I had dinner in a small wooden restaurant along the town's one street. At night it was clear and I could see the lights of Ravangla, my next destination, on a ridge up much higher to the east.
It was warm in Jorethang, at about 1500 feet elevation. At 1:30 I left on a share jeep heading north to Pelling, about 30 miles away. The first 15 miles were along the Rangit River to the small town of Legship, a trip of about an hour as we climbed only about 700 feet in elevation. From Legship it took another half hour to make a very steep, zigzagging climb of about 3000 feet over 10 miles to Geyzing (also spelled Keyzing and even Gyalshing, and probably several other ways). I had great views of the Rangit Valley as we climbed, and later views towards the south. The forest was again full of bamboo among the trees. After a 15 minute wait in Geyzing we drove the final five miles or so to Pelling through forest as we first rose and then descended a bit, hitting fog on the way and arriving between 3:30 and 4. Pelling is on a ridge, with views of Kanchenjunga when clear. A sign at the entrance to the town said 6250 feet elevation while another one in town said 2150 meters (about 7000 feet). One of my guidebooks says 2085 meters (about 6800 feet), while my altimeter, set in Darjeeling, read about 6400. I suppose they all could be right, as Pelling runs along a road zigzagging down the side of the ridge. I checked into a hotel near the top and looked around. Fog obscured all the views. It was foggy at night, too, followed by rain. I had momos (Tibetan dumplings) for dinner and a hot bucket bath after dinner. The night was cold but I slept warmly and well.
I woke up about 5:30 the next morning and checked the view. Kanchenjunga was cloud covered. I went back to bed and got up about 7. I ate breakfast on the hotel terrace starting about 8 and Kanchenjunga was now partially clear, with good views as the drifting clouds revealed more and more of the snow covered ridge to the north. The sun was out and it was very pleasant on the terrace. The clouds eventually began to close in a bit, and by about 9:30 it was getting cloudier on the mountain, although it was still sunny in Pelling.
Before 10, after spending a good part of the morning at the hotel gazing at Kanchenjunga, I started walking up the ridge, along the road I had come the afternoon before, towards Pemayantse Monastery, less than a mile from Pellling at the top of the ridge, about 500 feet higher than Pelling. On the way I could still catch glimpses of Kanchenjunga through the trees. Pemayangste is said to be Sikkim's second oldest monastery, dating from the early 18th century. It's located in a beautiful spot, with fantastic views. Up to about noon I could still see a bit of Kanchenjunga to the north. To the east and below are the ruins of Rabdentse, Sikkim's second capital. Inside the monastery are impressive statues on the first and second floors, and on the third floor an amazing twelve foot high wooden representation of a heavenly palace, with seven levels and lots of figures. Apparently, it took a monk five years to make. Unfortunately, it is behind glass, but you still can see it fairly well. The third floor was markedly warmer than the lower two with the sun beating on the metal roof. The walls of the third floor seemed to be newly painted and very colorful. Five sections were covered by large yellow pieces of fabric. Eventually, I checked under them. Each one covered a copulatory scene, one showing scrota.
I spent quite a bit of time in the monastery and walking around it. There seemed to be only a few monks around. Eventually, I found a path through the surrounding woods down to the road and walked down the road and then along a path to the Rabdentse ruins, dating from the late 17th century. They seem to be restored heavily. The capital was abandoned and moved further east after a 1780 war with Nepal. Nepal annexed a large part of Sikkim, including Darjeeling, after the war, but the British made them give it back after their own war with Nepal in 1814-1816. The views from the site are wonderful, though Kanchenjunga was now hidden by clouds. I looked down the deep valleys to the north and east and tried to pick out some of the places I was headed to. The sun was still out, but the air cool, and I spent quite a bit of time wandering around and enjoying the views.
I walked back to Pelling, arriving about 3:30, and about 4 headed to the Sanga Choeling Monastery on the opposite side of Pelling. The sky was now cloudy and the walk took me about 45 minutes on a dirt road that climbed very steeply, more than 500 feet, at the end. The views were great until I hit the fog. The decrepit monastery is under restoration, with a dirty floor. Nobody appeared to be around. I looked around inside and on the dark top floor found a statue of a blue copulating Buddha with a white woman. I hadn't seen that before. Outside, the fog was blowing all around. Several rock chortens (stupas) stood upon a rock platform next to the monastery. Long, thin prayer flags on long poles lined the edge of the cliff. The scene was quite beautiful in the swirling fog. I stood on a rock platform on the edge of the cliff as the fog swirled up. About 5:30 I started down through the fog and was back at my hotel after 6. The town was again very foggy that night.
Kanchenjunga was hidden by clouds the next morning. There were no share jeeps to the next place I wanted to go, so before 9 I left on a half day tour that would take me there. Lots of Indian tourists come to Pelling, taking half day and full day tours by jeep of sites. We descended steeply, more than 2000 feet, to the river at the bottom of the valley to the north, crossed to the other side, and stopped at a "rock garden" along the river for 20 minutes or so. We then traveled along the river, rising above it but still descending along a road with great views to a waterfall at a hairpin turn in the road six miles from the town of Yuksom. There must have been 20 or 30 jeeps parked, or trying to park, along that narrow road near the falls. With maybe 8 or 10 people per jeep, there was a mass of people, all Indians but me (and me only for a short time) before that relatively minor waterfall. Eventually, our jeep made its way through the mass of jeeps and headed back the way we had come for about five miles before taking a road that headed up steeply (about 2000 feet) for six miles to Khecheopalri Lake. It was noon when we arrived and parked among another mass of tourist jeeps.
I skipped the lake for the time being and strapped on my backpack for the steep climb up to a homestay on the hill above the lake. It took me half an hour to make more than 500 foot climb through beautiful thick forest along a rocky and then muddy path up to the top of the hill. It was a sweaty climb. I was glad to get to the top and check into a little room in a wooden building adjacent to the home of a man named Sonam. He was away, but his wife checked me in. There are 27 houses and a small gompa (monastery) in the little village, including three homestays, one run by Sonam's sister and one by his father. He apparently doesn't speak to his father, who is 82 and is said to be a former cook for the Dalai Lama. The people in the village were very nice.
The day was cloudy, but I could see Pellling on the ridge to the south. I had a good lunch about 1 with three other tourists and sat talking with them through lunch and after as it rained. About 4 the rain let up and I walked around the village. Two little boys were playing cricket on a grassy space bordered by a semi-circle of tall prayer flags on poles, with a huge pig in a pen just beyond. The pig got on his hind feet as I approached. I think he or she was hoping I was bringing food. I walked around the stone and wood houses and the corn and vegetable patches and the small monastery, and then took the steep path down to the lake, the way I had come at noon. The path was slippery after the rain. The lake was completely deserted but for me and a monk near a little monastery building. All the Indian tourists had left. Hundreds of colorful prayer flags fluttered along the jungle path to the lake and along the lake itself. The lake is considered holy. Any leaf that falls onto the surface of the lake is said to be immediately plucked off by birds. I didn't see any birds doing this, but then again I didn't see any leaves on the surface of the lake. I did spot a leech that had latched onto my foot. (I was wearing sandals.) I pulled it off, but the anti-coagulant it emits when it attaches to you made the bite bleed quite a bit. The bite is painless.
I made the steep walk back up to the homestay between 5:30 and 6, meeting Sonam just before we reached the top. The clouds were breaking up and I caught a glimpse of Mount Pandim, over 22,000 feet high. We had a delicious dinner in the kitchen, after having watched Sonam's wife cut up a chicken on the floor. Dinner was chicken, dhal, and a spinach and potato dish. We sat around and talked till late, drinking some milky white home made Sikkimese millet beer, called chang or tomba. Sonam was interesting, but a little difficult to understand. He is either a Lepcha or a Bhutia. The Lepchas, originally from the Burmese border area, are the earliest people in Sikkim. Bhutias are Tibetans that began arriving in the 17th century (I think). Nowadays, they both are outnumbered by Nepalis, who began immigrating in the 18th century and are now something like 75% of the population. They were the force in favor of Indian intervention and the deposition of the Choygal (king) in 1975. Now they dominate Sikkim politically. I went to bed about 10:30 and slept warmly.
I was up about 6 the next morning. The sun was out and felt warm. Pelling was visible to the south, as was a bit of Pandim, at least for a while. After a very good breakfast, I walked around the village again. About 9 I put on my shoes for the first time in months and began a walk to a meditation cave on a hill high above the village and the lake. From the village I first descended along the ridge and then ascended through beautiful forest with lots of ferns and great views. The sky was mostly cloudy by about 10, but there was some sun. Eventually, I reached a couple of farmhouses on a little knob on the ridge above corn fields. Hanging on the porch of one of the wooden houses were ears of corn, red, black, yellow, and multi-colored. From there I descended a bit to a little saddle where a big tree had been felled.. (Sonam told me you can cut down two trees a year but have to get permission for the specific tree before doing so.) Two men were using axes to cut the tree up, a task that could take weeks.
From there the path became quite steep as it ascended through beautiful thick jungle to the top of the hill and the meditation cave. Through the trees I had good views of the lake below, now recognizably in the shape of a footprint. The path was wet and covered with leaves and soon I realized that there were leeches along the path. I stopped, found a rocky spot, and pulled more than ten off my shoes before they could penetrate to my feet. I continued along the path, battling leeches all the way. I would have to stop and check for leeches every few minutes, hurrying through the leaf litter on the path to rocks where I could check my shoes. At one point I took off my shoes and socks to check if any had made it through. One had. I pulled it off, but the blood left a red blot on my white sock. Eventually, I lost the path in the deep leaf litter. I searched around, but eventually the leeches, the bugs, and my lack of luck finding the path made me decide to head back the way I had come. I was glad to get out of the leech zone. I checked my feet again and only the one had gotten through. I must have pulled well more than 50 off my shoes, though.
I returned to the village about 1 and had a delicious lunch. I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, doing some reading and talking with the other tourists, and watching the friendly village children. At one point, hours after I had returned, I tucked in my shirt and noticed a bloodstain. Two leeches had been attached to my side just above my waist. They had drunk their fill and were now gone, leaving two bite marks on my side and bloodstains on my shirt, underpants and trousers. Sonam said they had come from trees, rather than the path. It rained about 5, but was clearing at nightfall, when a sliver of a moon could be spotted. I had a hot water bucket bath in the simple little bathroom, which felt very good after no bath the night before.
It rained long and hard overnight. When I got up the next morning between 6:30 and 7 we were fogged in. The fog lifted and it cleared up some, but there was no sun. Soon after 9 I left to walk to my next destination, the small town of Yuksom, visible from Khecheopalri. Sonam gave me a bamboo pole to help and found me a porter, a teenager from the village, to carry my backpack at a cost of 400 rupees, about $3.50. Yuksom is 17 miles away by road, but less than 6 by trail. We made the steep descent to the lake in about 20 minutes, walked along the road just a bit, and then took another steep path down. The path went through forest and farms and was in places dirt, or rocks, or cement, or even stairs. After the rain, it was very slippery in places, especially the rocks with moss all over them. I slipped three times and fell two of those times, once landing hard on my left arm. But all was well. I had some beautiful views over the very green countryside under a cloudy sky.
A particularly steep and slippery portion of the trail preceded a rickety suspension bridge over a stream, and after the bridge the trail was better. We passed a house with prayer flags all around it and soon could see the road near the waterfall where I had stopped on the way to Lake Khecheopalri. We reached that road after about two and a half hours and a drop of more than 2000 feet. A road marker indicated 8 kilometers, or five miles, to Yuksom. We walked a short distance along the road, crossing the fast flowing Rathong River, flowing southeast to join the Rangit, by bridge and then soon after leaving the road by a set of stairs that turned into a steep trail up to Yuksom. We passed houses and farm plots and eventually had good views of the hill above the lake where we had started. Along the path, and along roads all over Sikkim, grow blue flowered hydrangeas, and there are fuschias here and there, though not in the numbers of the hydrangeas. The sky became darker and there were a few drops of rain as we climbed. After a climb of over an hour, ascending something like 1400 feet, we reached the road again just below Yuksom and arrived in town just after 1 p.m. after a hike of about four hours. I checked into a comfortable hotel room and said goodbye to my porter, who was immediately heading back to the village from where we had set out.
I ate lunch, tomato soup and thick Tibetan bread and about 3 set out to explore the town. A sign I saw as we entered the town said it is 1850 meters (about 6070 feet) in elevation, while one of my guidebooks says 1780 meters (about 5840 feet). Again, both could be correct as there is a considerable rise from the lowest part of town to the highest. My altimeter registered about 5750 on arrival at my hotel. It had shown Lake Khecheopalri at 5900 and the village above the lake at 6450.
I walked through town along its long,curving central street and reached the Norbugang Park at the top end, about 200 feet higher than my hotel. Here, under trees draped with prayer flags, is a stone made throne with a white chorten (stupa) in front. A particularly large pine stands just behind the throne. The throne looks restored. It was here in 1641 or 1642 or sometime around then that three lamas arrived, one from the west, one from the south, and one from Tibet to the north, and summoned a man from the east who arrived and was crowned by the lamas as Sikkim's first Chogyal, or king. The chorten is supposed to contain soil from all over Sikkim and there is an indentation in a rock in front of the throne that is supposed to be the footprint of the lama from Tibet. The high seat of the four seat throne was for this lama, with the Chogyal to his right and the other two lamas to his left.
I walked north of the wooded throne area to a grassy meadow looking north up the valley of the Rathong leading to Kanchenjunga, with huge, forest covered mountains on each side of the narrow river canyon. Clouds filled the canyon. I walked back to the throne area, very nice with all the big trees and prayer flags, and stopped by a little monastery building with a very large revolving drum prayer wheel. Before 5 I started to walk back down and it was soon raining. I passed the little lake, Kathog Lake, whose water was used to consecrate the first Chogyal. People in town were very friendly. After dinner I got ready for a bucket bath and when taking off my shoes and socks discovered a quite bloody sock and two leech bites near my ankle. The leeches had long gone. I must have picked them up on the trail from Khecheopalri. I should have checked when I arrived in Yuksom.
When I awoke the next morning I heard monks chanting from a nearby monastery. When I finally got up I walked over to the monastery. There were only maybe a half dozen, including two little boys and an old man. A younger man was chanting into a microphone, with speakers wrapped in plastic outside the small monastery. A group of about 15 Tibetan women, some with prayer wheels, sat along the walls. The chanting was occasionally punctuated with cymbals, drums and horns. I watched and listened for quite a while and spent maybe an hour at the monastery. The two little monks came out and ,after one fetched some embers from behind the monastery, they piled up several pine boughs and set them on fire. It took a while for the boughs to catch fire. The little boys would kneel down and blow onto the embers. I noticed that a censor on the rail of the monastery porch also had green pine needles in it. The women left during a break in the chanting and some of them did chores around the monastery, One was preparing food over an open fire behind the monastery. I saw and smelled tomatoes being fried. I walked back and had breakfast outside, as the sun had come out.
After breakfast I walked to another monastery, new and seemingly deserted, on a slight hill in town. From there I walked to the little lake just beyond and then along the road to where the trekking trail starts for multi-day treks up towards Kanchenjunga. I talked with a French guy who was just getting back after eight days. He took along his six year old and his three year old and said they did fine. He, however, suffered from altitude sickness.
I came back for lunch about 2. The sky clouded up in the afternoon and I walked to a ridge just south of town called Tashi Tenka, the former grounds of Sikkim's first royal palace. Farmhouses lined the stone path to the site. It sprinkled a bit, but the views from Tashi Tenka were superb, pretty much a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. To the south I could spot Pelling on its ridge, with Pemayangste Monastery and Rabdentse to the left, higher on the ridge. To the east I could see the road to Tashiding, my next destination, through green hills of terraces and forest. To the west is the Khecheopalri area and the route I had taken from there. I couldn't see the lake, hidden in a bowl, but I could see the hill above the lake where I had stayed. To the north is the narrow Rathong Valley, the route to Kanchenjunga, filled with clouds and with high hills on both sides. Close to town and towering over it to the east is a forest covered hill with a monastery, Dubdi Monastery, on it. About 4:30, while I was on the ridge, it began to rain hard and I found shelter in a little structure with a Nepali guy who lives on the ridge. We discussed different kinds of bamboo while we waited out the brief rain, and then he went to cut grass for his cow and I walked back to my hotel. It began to rain heavily again just as I got back.
The next morning was cloudy and drizzly. I went to breakfast about 9 and after walked back up to Tashi Tenka to enjoy the great views from the former palace area. On the way back I stopped at a house with flowers all along it walls, which the woman living there proudly showed me. She had fuschias, some sort of colorful lilies, and lots of other flowers I couldn't identify.
About 10:30 I started the steep walk up to Dubdi Monastery on a stone path covered with moss. A light rain was falling. The route was slippery, but beautiful, with magnificent forest and great views down to Yuksom. Bushes with big white trumpet lilies grew along the path near its beginning. The climb to the monastery is almost 800 feet above the town in less than a mile. I passed a couple of monks coming down. I walked slowly with lots of stops for the views and photographs and took about an hour to get there. The rain stopped on the way up. The monastery itself is disappointing as it is covered with scaffolding. It is in bad shape, with crumbling wall paintings. A sign said it is the oldest in Sikkim, dating from 1701.
I looked around and then continued further up the ridge, ascending about 200 feet, through a spectacular forest of moss covered trees. I encountered leeches again and found that one had attached itself to my foot. It had already left, leaving a bloodstain on my sock. I probably picked it up on the climb up from Yuksom to the monastery. I found the path to to a village said to be 40 minutes away and started along that, but the light rain which had reappeared now became heavier and I decided to head back. The rain had pretty much stopped by the time I again reached the monastery. About a third of the way down the stony, mossy path from the monastery, I encountered a muddy road and decided to take that back to Yuksom. It took a lot longer than the path, but was much less slippery. It wound its way along the hillside, with great views and lots of birds chirping. It arrives at Yuksom near the trekking trail north. On the northern outskirts of the town I passed several houses and a couple of pig sties. In one I watched a big sow feeding her six very energetic piglets. She eventually got tired of them pulling at her and stood up and shook them off. I got back to town about 3 and had a late lunch and then sat talking to a couple of other tourists for the rest of the afternoon. By the time night fell it was cold and foggy.
The next morning was relatively clear. From my hotel window about 6 or 6:30 I could see a snow covered peak far up the Rathong Valley to the north, but it soon was covered by clouds. The sun was out so I walked up to Tashi Tenka to see the magnificent views in the sunshine. I think, though, the views are more impressive shrouded with clouds. I had a long breakfast, at first in the sun, though it clouded up by about 9. I wandered around town and made my way back up to the coronation site at the top of the town before coming down for lunch.
About 2 I left on a share jeep bound for Tashiding, less than 12 miles away to the southeast. It took us about an hour to cover those 12 miles, on a windy, badly paved road, but with great views of the terraced and forested hills and deep valleys. Sikkim is a small state, only about 70 miles from north to south and 40 miles from east to west, but the hills and deep valleys make trips much longer than they seem on the map. We dropped about 1200 feet, passed an impressive waterfall right along the road, ascended and then descended again into Tashiding, on a little saddle between a long, high ridge to the north and a conical hill to the south. I got a room in a very basic, wooden hotel, for all of 200 rupees (less than $4) and about 3:30 began the steep climb up to the monastery atop the conical hill just south of town. One of my guidebooks says Tashiding lies at 1490 meters (about 4900 feet) elevation. My altimeter showed about 4400.
From the town I walked down to the base of the conical hill and then climbed up the steep stone path to the top, ascending 800 feet. The stony path had little moss, though, at this lower elevation. It passed houses and farm plots and forest. Boys were playing cricket on one part near several houses. My altimeter registered 5000 feet when I reached the top, where there are five or six nice monastery buildings. Dating from 1717, this is supposed to be Sikkim's holiest monastery. The Guru Rimpoche, who introduced Buddhism to Tibet centuries ago, is supposed to have stayed in a cave here. The Dalai Lama was here a few years ago.
In the first building a fairly large group of people, mostly women, were prostrating to chanting and bell ringing. Under a cloudy sky I walked around the muddy grounds. All but the first building were locked up. Workers were busy at one spot, maybe putting up a new building, near the four story main hall. Towards the back, on the southern end of the hill, is a group of several chorten, all painted white but one, which is painted gold. They are said to contain the relics of lamas and chogyals. A couple of workers had been whitewashing some of them, splattering paint all over. Mani walls, with painted figures and "Om Mani Padme Om" written in Tibetan on them, led to the chortens and surrounded them. At the very southern end, high above the confluence of the Rathong and Rangit thousands of feet below, are lines and lines of colorful prayer flags.
The sky was cloudy and getting dark. A couple of monks and several other people were circumambulating the chortens. Not wanting to walk back in the dark, I stayed as long as I dared and then started down and after about 45 minutes (compared to an hour going up) reached town just before dark. I had dinner in a small wooden restaurant along the town's one street. At night it was clear and I could see the lights of Ravangla, my next destination, on a ridge up much higher to the east.
Just wonderful!
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