North Sikkim is one of the unexplored beauties of India in the coalescence of snow clad mountains, majestic waterfalls, prayer flagged iron bridges, beautiful Lachen, Lachung River and stupendous views, which fascinates every traveller.
There are so many intriguing places to visit in North Sikkim such as Lachen, Lachung, Gurudongmar Lake, Yumthang Valley, Zero Point, Mt. Katao, Thangu Valley, Chopta Valley and Dzongu.
We planned for 2 Nights and 3 Days, like every first timer to Sikkim does.
Day 1 : Gangtok to Lachung via Chungthang. Night Stay at Lachung.
Day 2 : Early morning trip to Yumthang Valley and Mt Katao. Post lunch proceed to Lachung. Night Stay at Lachen.
Day 3 : Early morning trip to Chopta Valley and Gurudongmar Lake(Yumesamdong). Post lunch back to Gangtok.
So we started at around 10:30 AM from Gangtok to Lachung
Lachung is at 7000 Ft and around 125km ride from Gangtok which generally takes 7-8 hrs as a lot of sightseeing is involved on the way. Gorging waterfalls are ready to welcome the travellers on the way to Lachung. We had a lunch break midway and reached Chungthang around 3:30 PM. Had a tea break with the beautiful view of Chungthang River. After taking our last halt at a gigantic waterfall called Bhewma falls we reached Lachung at 6 PM .
As we reached our stay location Apple Valley In, they offered us tea and some biscuits. As it was getting very cold, I had two cups of black tea with a view of mountains and refreshed myself . The room was compact with a balcony and all the basic amenities yet super cosy. As night was approaching I started freezing, so I layered myself with 2 sweaters and a jacket and wore two socks to keep myself warm.
After having my dinner around 7:30 PM we came straight back into the room as it was chilling outside. We wrapped ourselves in blankets and slept by 8:30 PM as we were very tired after the long journey.
We woke up around 5 in the morning and went to the balcony. It was freezing but watching the first flakes of snow covered mountains and moon in the sky having an amazing combination of blue and grey clouds was just beautiful and bird chirping was very soothing to the ears.
We had to leave for Yumthang Valley at 6:30 AM so we got ready and had our breakfast.
After playing with snow and clicking a number of photos for about 2 hrs. We were unable to visit Zero Point because it was closed due to heavy snow. So we headed out for Mt Katao as our next destination. Mt Katao wasn't included in our plan so we paid our driver around 1500 bucks to take us.
After having our lunch we checked out and started for Lachen which was 50 km and it took around 4 hours to reach Lachen. The route was scenic and on the way to Lachen we stopped at the rabbit firm and saw so many furry rabbits.
We reached Lachen by 4:30 PM and checked in our hotel. Oh I forget to mention, we stayed in Hotel Blue Pine.
The room was very comfortable with the beautiful view of the river flowing out of the mountains and alpine trees.
After that we roamed on the roads of the Lachen for some time. It started raining so we came back to the hotel room and had our dinner, watched a few episodes of Breaking Bad and slept by 8:30 PM.
Next I was super excited to visit Gurudongmar Lake. We woke up by 5:30 and was ready to leave by 6:30 after having our breakfast. The roads were treacherous and slippery because of the night long rain. After an hour drive we reached snow covered land, a river flowing amidst the frozen rocks and mountains. It was like we were driving in heaven all covered with fresh white snow.
When we reached Thangu Valley we were told we cannot visit Gurudongmar Lake due to bad weather and we had permission to visit till Chopta Valley.
We reached Chopta Valley which is at around 13,200 ft. The valley was frozen all covered with snow. It looked like it was painted white.
I was a bit sad, but was also happy that I could at least visit till this far.
We relished the view and kissed each other at 13,200 ft, ;P
On our way back we had Maggie, Tea and clicked pictures of prayer flagged bridges amid the snowy mountains and land.
Eventually we returned back to Lachen and after having our lunch, we began our journey back to Gangtok and reached back by 7:30 PM.
Happy reading and Keep WishListing for your Future travel plans!
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