At the edge of Singalila Lies a Secret Beauty called "Gorkhey"

Continued...

Being a nature lover, i appreciate all the miracles of nature and try my best to capture them in my lenses. Its not the photography but its the nature that encourages me to photograph more. Having captured as much photos i could have taken, i left with a happy mood to complete my trek. It was 9th of March and i had planned to complete my trek by 10th. I left for Gorkhey by 10 AM. It was a pleasant morning and road was covered with snow. Though trek is mostly easy as it is descending the snow and mud just changed the whole scene as my luggage was heavy too.

Because of melting snow there was lot of mud which made the road slippery. But after descending little bit on loosing some altitude the route was dry and very well comfortable to walk.

The way to Gorkhey crosses through the dense forest filled with tall pine trees . May , June is the time one can enjoy the beauty of colorful rhododendrons which where yet to bloom at their fullest that time.If you are lucky enough you can also see the shy Red pandas hidden among the woods.

Though it seemed like a long journey to me , we were quick to cover the distance. The total distance of 16 kms, we finished in 4 hours, though we hardly stopped. We reached Gorkhey by 2 PM . At the entrance of village you have to pay the staying fees of Singalila at the office of Singalila national park. The guy who collects the fees is the same village resident i stayed the place at.

Gorkhey is one of those villages of India where one can stay for longer period without worries and enjoy the closeness with nature. The forest, the people , the food, the river, the mountains everything will hypnotize you to get lost in the spirituality of life.

There are couple of homestays available at Gorkhey which are nothing but locals home they give for rent. You can enjoy the local tea and Chhang(made of millet used as local drink). The river flowing through the village excites everything. You can go into the water if it is low and explore the nearby falls and forests. Roaming around the forest is pretty safe as i have seen children walking through the forest to while they go for school.

After exploring some nearby places of the village , i started feeling hungry and i was not overwhelmed. I was served with delicious locally prepared soupy noodles, though it was getting time for dinner i couldn't control my hunger and also that i wanted to try the food they prepare. By 7 AM we were sitting in the kitchen with many other locals. We had a good talk session while we had some chhang which made the discussion about the nearby longer treks even interesting.It got 8:30 which we realized only when the dinner was prepared.

After dinner i went to sleep as i had to wake up early morning next day to catch bus for Jorethang. 

By 5AM my guide was knocking at my door. Though i didn't really wanted to leave the bed, i somehow got up and after getting fresh left for Bhajeng. It is a 6 Kms trek from Gorkhey and lies in Sikkim. After crossing the stream and walking for 90 mins we were at a beginning of road. Bhajeng is the last village in western sikkim which borders West Bengal so the road starts from that village. By 8 AM the bus left taking us to another point from where the trip will continue...