Encounter with sleeping Buddha

Our last trek was to the Valley of flowers and Hemkund Sahib during August 2012, and both Giri and I were getting sick of not being able to do another one soon. He shared the Chandrakani pass trek news few months back, but it was for a longer duration. So I started searching for something that could be done in a week’s time. That is when we hit the Sandukphu-Gurdum trek on the YHAI site. We did not waste much time. The first day was already fully booked, and we quickly registered for the second day after getting the life membership ( the idea was to do at leeast one Himalayan trek every year!). By then Giri had pulled Mahesh and Mahesh had brought in Subhash, his colleague. We also got a good fare for the air ticket to Bagdogra by IndiGo. As Shekhar had some problems, we had to sadly cancel his ticket and the registration. I did some shopping at a very big Decathlon store on Mysore road for a pair of shoes and one trekking pole. They were very useful.

We decided to travel a day before the reporting, and flew on Saturday, May 10th 2014. We were at Bagdogra by afternoon and took a taxi from the airport for Darjeeling. Two more people from Bangalore, who were reporting the first day, joined us. The journey was nice and winding. We had lunch on our way and reached Darjeeling in the evening. We had booked a room at the Youth Hostel, Broadway annex. Next morning, after the breakfast, we caught a taxi for local sightseeing. The first one was Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park. This was not the regular zoo where animals were captive ( I don't like animals caged).  They had enough space, and looked healthy. Notable species were the snow leopard and red panda. We also witnessed a long play of two sloth bears. The zoo is just next to the Himalayan mountaineering institute that hosts an amazing museum. This is a great place for mountain enthusiasts, particularly displaying so many of the Everest conquering. We moved to the tea gardens next. People get themselves photographed in hill dresses here.

Yawning leopard

Snow leopard

Sloth bear challenge

Tensing

After the tea gardens, we visited the peace Pagoda. There is a Buddhist temple and a very beautiful stupa. The whole place is divine.

Very peaceful Buddha

Stupa

Peace Pagoda

We came back and spent some time near the railway station where there was Himalayan railway. We had our lunch at Krishna, a very homely vegetarian place. It was time to report to the YHAI at hotel Chanakya, we got our badge and cap, and there was a briefing about the trail and the trek. After that, were asked to go to hotel Grove Hill, Here we were given a room where 11 people had to stay. Dinner was rice, dal and roti. 

12 May 2014: At 6 am was the tea. After that our trainer Mr Saurabh asked us to walk in a line to chowrasta, where he demonstrated some exercises. After that, we had to run back to Chanakya, and wait and see off the first batch that was leaving for trek. We were taken for acclimatisation that included a 8 km walk to the Japanese peace Pagoda. During this Saurabh gave a challenge of reaching a point near Saint Paul's in 10 minutes to assess our readiness. Many of us could finish it within 5 minutes. We went around the city in the evening. There was a orchestra going on at Chowrasta and so many people had gathered. It was a very festive atmosphere. We went for walk around the mall road and had very refreshing fresh tea on the way. The place had shopping on on side and view of the valley on the other side. There were many people sitting in the gallery, and hawkers sold them local delicacies. It was nice to see that the hawkers came back to collect the trash.

Saurabh in action  in front of Sir J C Bose's house

We had a briefing session in the evening when we all introduced ourselves. It was interesting to see two sisters in mid fifties from Mumbai, and Mr Devaraja who was in late fifties and his wife. Many had done YHAI treks before. The group also had a large number of enthusiastic youngsters. The organisers showed the map, explained do's and don’ts. Giri was chosen as the group leader.

13 May 2014: The day had come. The trainer asked us to have just enough cloths, plate and mug etc, and leave surplus items back at Darjeeling. That certainly helped to reduce some weight. We thought we would get up at 5, but hardly slept. There was breakfast at 7 am and we proceeded in a line with our luggage at 8 am. The next group was waiting to see us off at hotel Chanakya. With a rucksack at the back and a heavy camera bag at front, I certainly was not travelling light. We were exactly 50 in number. We walked some distance where we got into jeeps in groups of 9, and proceeded to Dhotrey via Manebhanjan.  At Manebhanjan (10.30 am) we paid Rs 100 for the camera at the forest office of Singalila National Park. Then we went to Dhotrey that was start point of our trek. Before starting, we had yummy momos at Dhotrey. We were given our lunch packs here. Our trek started at 11 am. We had two guides, Subhash and Rajan Tamang, brothers. The understanding was that one will be at front and one at back. The trail was beautiful with many white rhododendron flower trees on the way. We reached Tonglu at 2 pm and had our packed lunch. It was rotis and potato dish packed like a burger. Food tasted delicious. After about half an hour, we started for ascending and reached Tumling (2900 meters) at 4 pm. It was a refreshing feeling to end the trek for the day, and it started drizzling some time after we reached. Papiya Dutta was the camp leader at Tumling who welcomed us. The camp had beautiful flowers around the building. Hot soup was served as soon as we reached. We got accommodated in a large dormitory. We had campfire (no real fire) where lot of us got to sing and some danced. We also discovered the dancer in our guide Subhash Tamang. We retired early after dinner. Once again, sleep wasn't easy to come.

 

School at Dhotrey

14 May 2014: Next morning at 4 am, we were at the view point waiting for the sight of the sleeping Buddha. The horizon started changing around 4.30 am and though the sunrise wasn’t clear, the mountains were clear by 5.15 am. It was really enlightening. We were back at the camp by 6.30 am, freshened up, had our breakfast and were ready to leave at 8.00 am. As we began our journey, the sight of sleeping Buddha was clearer now. Around 10 am, we reached a small village where there was Buddha Poornima procession being taken into a temple. We decided to witness the event. The locals were very hospitable. They offered us tea and Prasad. I also blew the two conchs kept there. After about half an hour’s break, we proceeded further. It was a 13 km trek that day. We were given Nepali donuts as packed food that I feel went bad in the airtight box. After 7 kms we reached Gairibas (2621 meters), where the group stopped for lunch, and then proceeded towards Kalipokhri. I felt it was bit long and we reached Kalipokhri at 3 pm. Kalipokhri (3108 meters) is a holy lake that is thought to never freeze. After that we reached the camp and got introduced to Manek Konar, the camp leader. He seemed to be a hyperactive man. Here the stay was is smaller rooms with four cots. We had soup, tea and dinner in that order. I feel people were tired that evening, and were in no mood for a camp fire.

Kanchanjunga close up

Aruna with her lambs

Kanchanjunga seen as sleeping Buddha

Kalipokhri

Morning moon at Kalipokhri

Sunrise at Kaliphokri

Map

15 May 2014: Once again, the next morning we were ready at 4 am waiting for the sunrise that happened at 5.15 am. The changing horizon had interesting colours and the view of sunrise was breathtaking. We had a good time clicking photos, had our breakfast, and once again started for our trek at 8 am after counting our numbers as usual. Thanks to the tablet that Giri gave me the previous night, I was fully prepared for the third days trek. We were quite charged up at the prospect of reaching Sandakphu. The trail was beautiful, with lot of red and purple rhododendron trees all along. Left side of the trail was Nepal and the right was India. The trek was for 6 kms and after Bikebhanjan, 4 kms was steep, we reached the camp at 11.30 am. We were served hot soup at 12 noon and hot lunch was served at 1 pm. At 4.30 pm was pakora and tea. The camp leader at Sandakphu (3636 meters) was Shivshankar Das, very amicable and informative. We had campfire once again here and had great fun.

At Bikebhanjan

Rhododendron

Rhododendron

Sunrise at Sandakphu

Faint impression of Everest

The only source of water for Sandakphu

Sandakphu Camp

16 May 2014: Once again at 4.30 am we were at the view point that was behind the camp. It was a tall rock that was bit difficult to climb. It was very cold (2^oC) and windy. Sunrise was at 5 am, and the sleeping Buddha started becoming clearer with each passing minute. While the Kanchunjunga was very clear, Everest range was a bit elusive, but the guide pointed us to it. We could however see the Everest range better from our buildings balcony once we came back. Mr Devaraja and I went to see a Shiva temple which was about 500 meters below our camp. The only source of water for Sandakphu was here, in terms of a pond. Water is lifted in mugs, filtered into cans and carried manually to the top. We could see some birds here. After the breakfast, we once again counted our numbers, and started at 8 am for Gurdum. This was a 14 km trail through the dense Singalila national park. Around 10.45am, we took a break on the way in a sunny meadow. At this time, those who could get messages through their mobile phones broke the news of "ab ki bar Modi Sarkar". We reached Gurdum (2910 meters) at 12.45 pm, had hot soup followed by lunch. Camp leader at Gurdum was Apurba Chakraborty. Here Giri, Mahesh, Subhash and I stayed together in a single room. The two doctors with us (Subhash and Mahesh) were quite busy with people getting minor health issues by the continuous trek. Giri had the responsibility of seeing people get their beds. The Gurdum camp had a lot of flowers, and we could see potatoes, carrots and peas grown around the site. There were also lots of wild strawberries by the side of the paths. I spent the afternoon going around and clicking pictures.

Gurdum Camp

Dr Subhash

Dr Mahesh

17 May 2014: Next morning we left the camp at 8 am. We were supposed to walk 13 kms to Rimbik via Srikhola. We reached Srikhola at 9.45am. Seeing a river for the first time during the trek was very exciting.

Few of them had bath in the river. I took a refreshing bath with free flowing water from the tap behind the hotel. We were served khichdi at 11 am. We left Srikhola at 12 noon.  We had to cross a hanging bridge across the Srikhola river. The trek from here was through a zigzag uphill path. There were small falls on the way. There were also beautiful birds on the way. The walk through Rimbik town to the hotel seemed pretty long. We reached the amp at 2 pm. This was called Green hill owned by Ms Donna Sherpa, relative of Tensing Norge. The camp leader here was Koushik Mitra Thakur, a very lively senior person. The hotel had a TV in the dining hall where we could catch up with the political change in the country. Once gain, the hotel here had very nice flowers, particularly roses. There was a valedictory session at Rimbic where people were asked to share their thoughts. The hotel owner gave a nice speech about the local culture. We were given medals and certificates. Our camp leader also sang. We had special dinner and a short camp fire.

Old man happy to have "Modi Sarkar"

18 May 2014: At 8 am in the morning we left for Darjeeling by jeeps. We stopped over at Dhotrey to bid farewell to our wonderful guides Subhash and Rajan. They were very cool and composed. We had collected some amount of money as tip for them that was handed over to them. We reached our hotel at the base camp for lunch. We collected our extra luggage from there and moved to Broadway. We booked a taxi for the next morning. We left Darjeeling at 7.30 am, picked up Yashas, had breakfast on the way and reached Bagdogra airport by 11 am. The flight back was comfortable.

With Ramesh, Shubhash, Mahesh, Mahesh, Harinath Babu, Giri, Smt Lalithamma and Devaraja

With Subhash and Rajan Tamang

This was my first YHAI trek, and second  Himalayan trek. It was certainly a great learning occasion. The discipline in the treks is pretty high. YHAI had planned the route and the stays very well. The camp houses except for that of the base camp were excellent, beautiful wooden structures.  People were amicable, more so with the locals in the hills. While they were poor, they were very pleasant and hospitable. We also made many new friends from the group. I appreciate YHAI for their service to the nation in introducing the youth to various cultures, and for creating awareness about mother nature. My friends were very sportive, Giri was great group leader. Devaraj Sir and his wife were very steady trekkers. There was a group from Gangavati-Bellary, who spent lot of time enjoying the trails. Mr Ramesh from this group was good in singing folklore and played a tambourine. They was a very lively group of youngsters from Nagpur, Amaravati, Kolkata, Assam and Mumbai. The weather was pleasant. Most mornings were clear and evenings were cloudy. Only at Sandakphu it was very cold and windy. The trek was mostly pleasurable, though at times I felt that I was pushing my fitness limits. I hope to do more treks with YHAI in the coming years. The encounter with sleeping Buddha on the Buddha Poornima day will always remain green in our memories.