Dzongu: Paradise left untouched #Lockdown

After searching and reading blogs to find the untouched as well as unexplored places in Sikkim  I came across the place named Dzongu near Gangtok. As I was the sole planner of this trip for my friends and didn't want to disappoint them hence I did a lot of research on this place. However the words you find online can not describe the beauty and serenity of this place.

Dzongu lies in Kanchanzenga Forest Reserve in North Sikkim and when you reach there it feels likes you are practically living in a forest. It is known as land of the Lepcha community. The little known paradise of northeast India lies in Sikkim.

Please try and stay here for atleast 2-3 days as lesser days won't do justice. There are a lot of monasteries, waterfalls and  you will even find a hot spring in Dzongu. Dzongu region has a lot of villages such as Lingthem, Passigdang, Tingvong etc.

We reached Gangtok and stayed there for the night as we had to meet some local friends.
Next day early morning since our homestay owner was coming to Gangtok hence he offered pick us up.
In order to Reach Dzongu:
Gangtok to Mangan shared cab: 150/person and 2-3 hours of journey
Mangan to Dzongu: no shared cabs and you would have to ask your homestay to arrange for one which can cost you 1500(small vehicle) and 2000( for big jeep). The homestay owner would arrange it happily but try not to negotiate cause the roads aren't that good and they take immense efforts to drive on these roads.

Mr Karma had told us how this homestay culture had just started a year back in Dzongu and how Tingvong was not connected to the rest sikkim during monsoons as there is no bridge for the vehicles to cross river Teesta. The place is not yet commercialised and the beauty of Dzongu remains intact with lush green trees however you have electricity in the area.

We had our breakfast in Gangtok and left for Dzongu with our homestay owner.
The ride is pretty beautiful with river Teesta flowing on one side.
The Roads are in good condition from Gangtok till Mangan and  from Mangan till the Dzongu checkpoint. You need to cross a river to reach Upper Dzongu via the vehicle.

Although Dzongu has a lot of villages but we chose Tingvong village and undoubtedly it is the best of the lot with so much of greenery all along.

It took us 2 hours to reach Mangan and another 2 hours to reach Tingvong village in Upper Dzongu.
We stayed at Rumlyang Homestay.

We reached late around 5 in the evening and as soon as we reached we were served local tea and maggi(extremely different and tasty).
After that we took some rest and came down from our rooms in the verandah to enjoy the beauty around.
Then Mr Karma served us Fried chicken and fried pork dishes which were very well cooked.

We heard local songs and spent the night chatting with the fellow travellers and it started raining.

We got the room situated upstairs and it was very cosy as well as warm.

The next morning we got up to the sound of rain and as I looked out of the window we were pretty much surrounded by Clouds.

We came down to the verandah and had the local tea with the peaceful  sound of the rain. Though I wanted the rain to stop so that we could hike to the monastery but it showed no signs of a clear sky.
It was raining the whole day and while sitting in the verandah with my friend we pretty much saw the dance of the clouds.

We had some delicious egg curry for lunch which even we helped him prepare.
As I love cooking so Mr Karma asked if we wanted to cook ourselves, to which we happily agreed
His authentic lepcha kitchen also has a great view of the himalayas.

In the evening he prepared the local drink for us called Chi or Chhaang. We were so happy as the drink seemed like a never ending beer as you just have to keep on adding water to the mixture he had in the bamboo vessel.

We enjoyed the drink with some fried chicken with good music and dance.

Remember to carry your warm clothes though as it gets cold in the night.

After dinner we sat in the Verandah and just enjoyed the calm surrounding.

Next morning much to our happiness we woke up to a clear sky and snow covered mountains which we hadn't seen till now due to the clouds.

As the fellow travellers were leaving Mr. karma left us in the homestay and went to drop them.
the homestay pretty much felt like our home and we sat outside and had breakfast while basking in the  sun.

We left for the monastery after the breakfast. It is situated at some 1 hour hike from the homestay and while returning from the monastery we hiked through the Tingvong village instead of the road.
We met the locals and saw the cherry blossom. The village is pretty much self sustainable as they do farming and animal husbandry.

After coming back from the monastery we had our lunch and left for Gangtok in the afternoon around 3 p.m. Our stay here of 3 days was very pleasant and we did not want to leave at all.The food was so tasty at the homestay and the hospitality unmatched.

P.S. - Please buy Chips, Maggi and other things as per your need from Mangan as you will get pretty much everything there. Cause you might not find these things in the homestay. They will cook anything for you but if you want something different then please carry the ingredients.

Rumlyang Homestay, Tingvong village, Upper Dzongu,
7407345281.
You can make the booking online and they will even do the permit arrangement for you.

We were about to cancel our trip to Dzongu amidst coronavirus scare but glad it did happen and we could see this beautiful place.