Darjeeling Diary - November 2O14

In continuation of Sightseeing around Pelling.

Day-5 : Pelling to Darjeeling 

As I had mentioned in an earlier blog, Darjeeling was added to our itinerary at the last moment. The stay in Darjeeling was a fitting finale to our Sikkim trip and it was more of a relaxation destination for us rather than a whirlwind sightseeing trip.

We got up around 5.OO a.m. to watch from our hotel room balcony, the sunrise reflections on Kanchenjunga range. The sky was clear and the mountain range was visible even in the dark due to snow on them. At around 5.3O a.m., the first tiny reflection of sunrays fell on the summit of Mt. Kanchenjunga. Within a minute or so, the sunrays fell on the entire east face of Mt. Kanchanjunga and also on the top portions of adjoining snow clad mountains. I was expecting a golden colour reflections on the mountains. But it turned out to be orange colour. It was worth waking up early to witness the spectacular sunrise reflections on Kanchanjunga range. For us, it was like a trial run of watching the an illuminated Kanchenjunga range from Tiger Hill the next day. 

Mt. Kanchenjunga at sunrise in Pelling.

 



After a sumptuous and satisfying breakfast at a restaurant serving South Indian breakfast, we left Pelling at 9.OO a.m. for Darjeeling via Reshi and Jorethang. It took us nearly 3 hours 3O minutes to cover 9O odd kms distance due to bad patches of road in some places and also the traffic jams as we entered Darjeeling. Our hotel Bellevue was located near chowrasta where the vehicles were not allowed. So we had  to get down at the junction of Andrew Church and Bhanu Hall. From here, the distance to Bellevue Hotel was about one km. Some coolies came forward to take the luggage to our hotel but each was quoting a exorbitant charges for carrying our luggage over which they were arguing with each other. At one time, their arguments among themselves were about to be turned into the exchange of blows. So we felt that it was better to carry the luggage ourselves rather than get involved with their internal fights. 

On the way from Pelling to Darjeeling.

Rangeet River, a tribuatory of Teesta River near Jorethang.

 

After reaching the Bellevue Hotel, we came to know that there was no booking in our name. The receptionist felt that we might have been booked in another hotel by the same name, Old Bellevue Heritage Hotel which was located very close to Bellevue Hotel. To our surprise, even in this hotel, there was no booking in our name. To add to the confusion, the receptionist told us that there was one more Bellevue Hotel just about 1OOm down the Mall Road. All these hotels belong to one family but properties were split between two bothers. After talking to our Tour Executive at Gangtok, we were given the rooms in Old Bellevue Heritage Hotel. The confusion arose as there was last minute change in the hotel booked for us and both the Tour Executive and I forgot about Hotel Voucher. The room was clean and spacious with 24 hours hot water. But it was not worth its card rate of Rs.3OOO (including taxes).

Our room in Old Bellevue Heritage Hotel, Chowrasta.

 

Chowrasta, a relaxation spot.  It appears to be the most popular spot in Darjeeling.

After freshening up, we had a late lunch in Lunar Restaurant, a multi cuisine vegetarian restaurant which was located about 2OOm from our hotel on Gandhi Road. The food was excellent. In the meanwhile, the driver of the new vehicle from Darjeeling contacted me to firm up the timing for our next day’s early morning visit to Tiger Hill for watching the sunrise. We went to Darjeeling railway station which was within the walkable distance from Lunar Restaurant. We booked the next day’s 8.OO a.m. Joyride train leaving Darjeeling for Ghoom and back. Our ticket was waitlisted. However, by evening, all our tickets were confirmed. It was already dark when we returned to our hotel room. After dinner at  Hasty Tasty Restaurant located on a walkable distance from our hotel, we retired for the bed early as we have to get up at around 3.OO a.m. to be ready to be picked up by our driver at 4.OO a.m. for the next day’s  visit to Tiger Hill.  

Day-6 : In Darjeeling

(i)  Sunrise at Tiger Hill

We got up at 3.3O a.m. and by 4.15 a.m., we were driving towards Tiger Hill (1O kms) for watching the sunrise which was expected around 5.4O a.m. Our driver told us that the movement of vehicles to Tiger Hill started much earlier about 3.OO a.m. for those who were very keen to take vintage points for the best view of the sunrise. It took about 3O minutes to reach the outskirt of Tiger Hill Viewing Complex and another 1O minutes to reach the check point where ticket window for Tiger Hill was located. The problem which we realised later was that compared to the number of vehicles which bring tourists to Tiger Hills, the parking space is absolutely inadequate. So the vehicles start parking on both sides of the road. On the day we visited, the ‘tail’ of the parked vehicles on the road was  at least 2 kms long from the Tiger Hill car parking lot.  

When the movement of vehicles ahead of us remained standstill for some time, we got down and walked around one km to reach the check point where we had to buy tickets for entry into the Viewing Complex. There are 3 categories of tickets - Rs.1O ticket for the ground floor for viewing in the open, Rs.2O and Rs.3O for viewing from Level I and Level II respectively. The latter two categories are halls with chairs facing the north and with glass sliding windows from all sides. These are good only when one can reach quite early and occupy the chairs especially the front rows. The north facing chairs give the benefit of simultaneously viewing the sunrise on the east and its reflection on Kanchenjunga range located on northwest side. The latecomers will have to stand in the backside at the cost of the likely obstructions from other standing crowd and missing the simultaneous viewing of both the sunrise and Kanchenjunga. However, due to sliding glass windows on Levels I and II, the visitors are protected to some extent from the early morning cold and chilli breeze. We got the tickets for Level I. But all the chairs were already occupied forcing us to stand in the back.

The open viewing on the ground floor has one advantage. One can have the flexibility of viewing the sunrise from any makeshift vintage points, may be sitting on a wall, or standing on the top of the parked vehicles etc. But one has to be brave enough to face the cold weather and early morning chill.

At around 5.4O a.m., we saw the  glimpse of a rising sun.  Within a minute or so, the full round sun came into the view. The 1OOO odd crowds loudly cheered the sunrise. While we all could see the sunrise from our eyes, unfortunately, I could not properly shoot the event due to jostling of the crowd in the hall which was packed to the capacity. The glass windows with dust settled on the glass added further problem. So I hurriedly descended from the Level I to the open ground and took the picture of orange colour sunray reflection on Mt. Kanchenjunga range which was sandwiched between the two layers of clouds. The uniqueness of sunrise at Tiger Hills is that on a cloudless day, one can view simultaneously the sunrise and its reflections on Mt. Kanchenjunga range with change of colour from light grey to orange followed by golden colour and finally the snow white colour. The crowd was ecstatic and a few could be seen overwhelming with emotion.

A dawn scene of the mountains on the western side, shot from Tiger Hill.

A dawn scene of eastern side shot from Tiger Hills.

 

At the same time, the full moon was on a setting mode on the western side.

 

A section of a large crowd on the open ground eagerly waiting for sunrise.

The sun is about to rise fully at Tiger Hills. This was shot through dusty glass window of Level I of Veiwing Tower.

 

The reflections of sunrise from Tiger Hills on Kanchenjunga range.

 

Dali Monastery near Ghum.

 

We got into our vehicle parked about one km ahead from Tiger Hill around 6.OO a.m. and drove back towards Darjeeling. After visiting Dali Monastery  near Ghum on the way, we reached Darjeeling railway station at around 7.3O a.m. We had a quick South Indian breakfast in one of the restaurants near the railway station before returning to the station for boarding 8.OO a.m. Joyride train Darjeeling-Ghum-Darjeeling.

(ii) Joyride in Toy Train

When we reached the railway station, the two coaches of Joyride train were being brought from the side tracks to the platform by a steam locomotive. But the train was hauled by a diesel locomotive with only two coaches of First Class chair car which had a total seating capacity of about 48 seats. The cost of ticket is Rs.4OO per head for approximately 15 kms of journey to and fro Darjeeling. At present, there are three Joyride trains which depart from Darjeeling railway station at 8.OO a.m., 1.2O p.m. and 4.OO p.m. Due to limited seats, it is advisable to book the tickets in advance especially in tourist season.



Two coaches of Joyride train are being brought from the sidingby by a steam locomotive  to the platform of Darjeeling railway station. 

The Joyride train left Darjeeling at its scheduled time of 8.OO a.m. and chugged parallel to Siliguri road, sometime intersecting the road to avoid sharp curvatures. For most of the journey, the left side of the coach faced cliff side of the hills. If there were no hills, the residential houses and shops were almost in touching distance from the windows of the coach. However, the right side of the coach had valley view with Kanchenjunga range during most of the journey. At Batista Loop, the train halted for 1O minutes to enable the passengers to explore the flower garden and visit an Army Memorial besides enjoying the scenery of  Darjeeling town with Kanchenjunga range in the background. 

Joyride train at Batista Loop with Kanchenjunga range in the background.

Darjeeling town with Kanchenjunga range in the background seen from Darjeeling station.

 

 Ghoom station with Joyride train ready for a return journey. On the left is Siliguri road. It is me on the diesel locomotive.

After a 1O minutes halt, the Joyride train continued the journey to Ghum railway station which is located by the side of Siliguri road. The train halted here for 3O minutes to enable the passengers to visit the Darjeeling Hill Railway Museum which was located on the first floor of the railway station. The diesel locomotive changed the direction for a return journey. The Railway Museum is the repository of the history of Darjeeling Hill Railways and things associated with it. We took about 15 minutes to take a round of the museum and its displays.

 

Although the halt was of 3O minutes, the Joyride train departed after about 4O minutes as in the meanwhile a passenger train from Kurseong had reached Ghum and it was given a priority over the Joyride train for departure for Darjeeling. After chugging at a speed which may not have exceeded 2O or 25 kmph, the train reached Darjeeling at 1O.15 a.m.  

Old card ticket validating machine in Musuem.

 

 An old emblem of a British Locomotive Company.

 

 

On return journey, the Joyride train passes through Batista Loop without a halt.

 

I may add for information that those who do not wish to take the Joyride train journey can cover the Ghum Monastery, Darjeeling Hill Railway Museum and Batista Loop while returning from Tiger Hill. However, it is possible to do so only when an exclusive vehicle is hired for Tiger Hill and visits are settled with the driver in advance. Normally, visits to all these places should not result in extra cost as they are located on the way back from Tiger Hill to Darjeeling.

 

While returning from Darjeeling railway station to our hotel, we went to Nathumulls  which is a famous outlet for selling many varieties of Darjeeling Tea. We bought packets of a few varieties of Darjeeling Tea for our own consumption as well as gifts for near and dear ones.  After a short rest in the hotel, we had a good lunch at Lunar Restaurant.

 

(iii) Zoological Park

It was around 2.3O p.m. when we finished our lunch. Due to limited time at our disposal and also the fact that it gets dark here by 5.OO p.m.,  we could have visited  either  Botanical Garden or Himalayan Zoological Park. While the Botanical Garden was close to our hotel, Zoological Park was located about 2 kms from our hotel. Since we were in a mood to take a long walk especially when the weather was pleasant, we opted to visit Zoological Park.

 

A leisure walk of about 2 kms from Chowrasta via Andrew Church, bypassing Raj Bhavan and Shrubberry Park led us to the gate of Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park. In winter, the closing time for issue of tickets to enter the Park is 4.3O p.m. The ticket costs Rs.4O per head which includes a visit to Himalayan Mountaineering Institute Museum located inside the Zoo. The Zoo itself is spread over 6O acres, the largest among the high altitude zoos. There are around 15O species of animals and birds. But what made this zoo unique is that it is the breeding centre for Red Panda, Snow Leopard and Tibetan Wolfs. When we entered the Zoo, the light was already fading out. So we had to hasten our pace as we had also to cover the HMI Museum. Being a trekker, I was personally interested in it.  

Andrew Church, Darjeeling.

The Zoo is well maintained and there are sufficient spaces for wild animals like Tigers, Leopards and Lions etc. The first animal  we saw immediately after the entry was a black bear, looked more like a Sloth Bear who was playing with a broken branch of a tree . Then there was a Snow Leopard which seemed to be taking his evening brisk walk in the enclosure before he rested for the night in a cage. There are many colourful birds in the big cages. I saw for the first time, a white colour peacock. The most interesting part of our visit was the Tiger enclosure. It was a closing time and the Zoo staff was motivating a big Tiger from outside the cage to run along with him. It was more like a ‘hide and seek’ game between the Tiger and the Zoo staff. Finally, the Zoo staff made the tiger to run along with him to drive him into the cage for the night.

The twin floor HMI Museum called Everest Museum was very interesting. There were many mountaineering equipments and gears on display from those used by the earlier mountaineers like Hillary and Tensing Norgay to the modern ones. There are some replicas of Everest Expeditions with displays explaining the technical aspects of expeditions. Photograhy is prohibhited in the Museum.

Black Bear in Himalayan Zoo.

Himalayan Tahr or Mountain Goat.

Barking Deer.

All in all, it was a good decision to visit the Himalayan Zoo instead of Botanical Garden. The only disappointment was that we could not see Lions and Red Pandas as the Lions were ushered into the cages and it was already dark when we were to visit the other side of the Zoo where Red Pandas were located. A word of caution especially for senior citizens is in order here. All walks inside the Zoo involves ascending on the road on the one side and on return, a continuous descend. Some parts of the internal road involve steep climbs. It is advisable to carry water bottle.  We felt thirsty because of a long walk even under the pleasant weather condition. A minimum of 2 hours may be required to completely explore the Zoo as well as a visit to HMI Everest Museum.

We returned from Zoo by walk and at Chowrasta, we relaxed for sometime enjoying the ambience of the area. Chowrasta seems to be one of the most popular spots in Darjeeling with lines of shops and restaurants encircling it. There is also an open air podium for musical concerts.

Day-7: Darjeeling to Bagdogra and back home

Our flight from Bagdogra for Mumbai was scheduled at 16.15 hrs. Our driver was suggesting to us that it would be alright if we left at around 1O.OO a.m. from Darjeeling. To be on the safe side, we decided to leave Darjeeling for Bagdogra at 9.OO a.m. Eventually, we left Darjeeling at 9.3O a.m. after check out formalities at the hotel and also requiring walking up to the nearest road head at Andrew Church. Although, the distance to be covered was about 9O kms, it took us about 4 hours (including a tea break at Kurseong Tourist Lodge) to reach Bagdogra airport. After checking in, we ate the packed dry lunch at the airport which we had carried from  Lunar Restaurant in Darjeeling. The flight Mumbai at its schedule time.

 

Sightseeing in around Pelling - November 2O14

In continuation of Sightseeing around Gangtok

 

Day-3 : Gangtok-Temi-Namchi-Ravangla-Legship-Pelling.

While driving from Gangtok to Pelling, I had planned for visits to Temi Tea Gardens, Chardham and Samudruptse monastery in around Namchi and reach Pelling by evening. The Tour Executive of Yak & Yeti had confirmed in the previous evening that the same driver with Innova will be with us for sightseeing around Pelling and thereafter he would drop us at Darjeeling. However, in the morning, the Tour Executive informed me that the driver and the vehicle would drop us at Pelling and a different vehicle with driver would be available from Pelling for sightseeing and drop us at Darjeeling. I had no issue with it so long as our sightseeing points as per itinerary were covered.

After checking out of the hotel at around 8.3O a.m. we were waiting with our baggage for the vehicle which came around 9.OO a.m.  The driver seemed somewhat unhappy with the change of his schedule from 3 days to just dropping us to Pelling. It transpired that to enable him to come back to Gangtok on the same day, the Tour Executive had instructed him to show us Temi Tea Gardens, Chardham and Samudruptse from outside on way to Pelling to save time. This was not acceptable to me as the itinerary drawn by the travel agency was clear about our physically visiting  the places mentioned above on our way to Pelling.

Since Tour Executive of travel agency continued to maintain her stand that in a drop point journey, the sightseeing places on the way were only shown from the outside. I also continue to maintain that this understanding was not given to me at the time of finalisation of itinerary. Finally, I had to speak to the Managing Director of the travel agency who not only agreed with my contention, he also assigned the same driver with vehicle for us up to Darjeeling drop. The moral of the story is that whenever one engages vehicles either directly or through travel agencies, the requirements are to be clearly spelled out so that there is no ambiguity.

Road somewhere betweeen Singtam and Temi

 

 Tea lantations by the side of the road to Namchi in Temi.

(i) Temi Tea Garden

The diversion for the road to Namchi is from Singtam on NH31A from Gangtok. From Singtam, the road was mostly a wide one-lane affair with sporadic bad patches. Fortunately, we did not encounter many bends and curves on this hill road which was more scenic than what we had seen so far from the road travels in Sikkim.  A Board of the State Bank of India’s Temi Branch on the road gave us an advance intimation that we are about to enter the core area of Temi Tea Gardens. For the next 3 kms or so, we were driving through the midst of sloping tea gardens. The layout of the tea plantations was not as impressive as in Munnar. But what made Temi Tea Garden unique among other tea gardens I have seen elsewhere in India was that this 45O+ acre of Tea Estate sits in the nature’s lap. Also, it is the only tea garden in the Sikkim.

Our driver parked the vehicle outside a restaurant cum sale outlet of Temi brand of organic tea. Beyond this restaurant was a vast expanse of tea gardens. A narrow path made of stone slabs through the tea gardens took us to a viewing point from where we could see the snow-clad Kanchenjunga range as well as a deep valley through which a green colour Teesta River flows. Herein lays the uniqueness of Temi Tea Gardens. We roamed in tea gardens for about 3O minutes and returned to the restaurant cum tea sale outlet for hot cups of tea before resuming our journey to the next destination. 

 

Backside of the restaurant cum Temi Tea Selling Outlet. The restaurant is on the first floor which is more or less in level with Namchi road from the front side.

   Temi Tea Gardens seen from the restaurant side. Kanchenjunga range is partially visible on the right.

 

 Teesta River in a deep  valley seen from Temi Tea Gardens.




 





Temi Tea Garden. In the background is Cherrys Resorts.

 

(ii) Siddheshwar Dham or Chardham

A 2O minutes drive from Temi Tea Gardens restaurant  and after a short climbing road from Namchi brought us to Siddheshwar Dham which is the new tourist spot developed by Sikkim Government and consecrated in November 2O11. The Dham is located on Solophok hilltop covering about 3O acres of land. Atop the main Shiva temple is 1O8 ft high Lord Shiva statue. There are replicas of 12 Jyotirlinga temples which surround the main Shiva temple. There are replicas of four Dham temples - Badrinath, Jagannath of Puri, Rameshwaram and Dwarkadeesh. There is also a replica of Sirdi Sai Baba temple.

 

While planning the itinerary of sightseeing, I was not very keen to include Chardham as I had already visited the real Chardham temples multiple times and almost all of Jyotirlinga temples. So I felt that there was no point in viewing the replicas of these temples. But since we were going to pass through this place, I thought of spending a few minutes here before proceeding towards Samudruptse. But the whole atmosphere in the complex was so peaceful and serene that we spent nearly two hours here. Even the replicas of temples were looking like the real ones with each one them having priests to perform temple rituals at fixed times during the day.

 

The USP of the temple complex is the neat and clean layout. One can say that all temples are located in a big park full of greenery and the variety of flowers. The views from this hilltop of Namchi Town and the Kanchenjunga range are superb. While Mt. Kanchenjunga was fully covered by the white cloud, Mt. Narsing was clearly visible to us. The entry fee is Rs.5O per head. Senior citizens and children below 1O years get the free entry in the temple complex. The only minor hassel in entering the temple complex is that visitors will have to deposit any kind of bags in the locker located adjunct to ticket window. There are two restaurants  in the complex, one located near the ticket window which is a bit expensive and the one located in Yatri Niwas at the gate which is of economy type.

 

View of Siddheshwar Temple from the gate. Rameshwaram temple is on the left and Jagannath temple on the right.

 

The statue of Kirateshwar in front of main Shiva Temple.

 

Main Shiva Temple with 1O8 ft. high Lord Shiva Statue.

 

View from main Shiva temple.

 

Rameshwaram Temple.

 

View of Namchi Town from Siddheshwar Temple Complex.

 

View of Mt. Narsing from Siddheshwar Temple Complex.

 

(iii) Buddha Park, Ravangla

After lunch, we left Siddheshwar Dham around 4.OO p.m. for Ravangla enroute to Pelling. Our original plan was to visit Samudruptse Hill for 36O degree view the surrounding area as well as 135 ft. high statue of Padmasambhava. However, we realised that by the time we reach, the complex would have close down for the day at 5.OO p.m. Also, we had still to cover about 5O kms to reach Pelling. So we decided to skip Samudruptse and instead decided to visit Buddha Park which was located on our way to Pelling. We reached Buddha Park at around 4.45 p.m. and ran to the ticket window as it would have close down for the day after 15 minutes. The gate was located about 1O minutes of walk from the car parking area and it would  required another 15 minutes to reach temple on the top of which is a huge golden colour statue of sitting Buddha. Behind the statue is the snow clad Kanchenjunjga range.

After buying entry tickets @Rs.5O per head, we headed through a well maintained park to the temple which was about to be closed. There are paintings inside the walls of the temple depicting the life of Lord Buddha. The outside of the temple as well as the pedestal of the Buddha statue are well painted. It was already getting dark. So we completed the round of the park in about 2O minutes and proceeded for our final destination of the day, Pelling.

After a night driving on a few kms of bad road, we reached Pelling at around 7.OO p.m.  We checked in Hotel Dikiling located on Upper Pelling. Rooms were large and clean with availability of 24 hours hot water. The only problem with the hotel was the shortage of support staff. The hotel had a nice restaurant but the cook was not available as he was deputed to another hotel where a group of about 2OO tourists, spread over in a number of adjoining hotels were to be provided food. However, we were not handicapped as there were few good restaurants near the hotel which served Bengali, Punjabi and South Indian food which was good enough to meet our requirements. 

A giant golden colour Buddha statue atop the temple in Buddha park, near Ravangla. One has to climb about 15O steps to reach the temple.

 

Side view of the pedestal with paintings on which the giant Buddha statue is installed.

 

Day-4 : In around Pelling

I got up early in the morning and went to the balcony. It was a cloudless day. I was pleasantly surprised to see the entire snow clad Kanchenjunga range with Mt. Kanchenjunga. From the balcony, the range looked much closer than what we had seen from Gangtok. I clicked a few pictures of the Kanchenjunga range and decided that I would get up early the next day to view the Kanchenjunga range at sunrise which was around 5.3O a.m. After breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, we were ready for day’s sightseeing programme. We started from the hotel at around 9.OO a.m.

Kanchenjunga range with Mt. Kanchenjunga on the right seen from my hotel room balcony.

(i) Khecheopalri Lake

We started the days sightseeing tour by visiting the farthest point from Pelling, the legendary Khecheopalri Lake, located about 28 kms from Pelling off the road to Yuksom. In some places, the road was in very bad conditions in contrast to the scenic route. From the car parking place, Khecheopalri Lake  involves about one km of plain walk through the shades of trees. At the starting point of the walk, there is a small monastery with a colourful chorten.

A colourful chorten at the starting point of the walk to Khecheopalri Lake.


A walk through the forest to Khecheopalri Lake.

There are legends associated with this lake from both the Buddhist and the Hindu religions. Buddhists believe that the lake was formed by the depression created by the footprint of Padmasambhava, who was regarded as the incarnation of Lord Buddha. Hindus believe that it was Lord Shiva’s footprint that created the lake. Probably, these legends may have come from the fact that the shape of the lake as seen from the hills surrounding looks like a footprint. These legends have made this lake sacred for both the Buddhists and Hindus alike and it called a ‘wish fulfilling lake’. It is also stated that the lake is always kept free of falling leaves from the nearby trees in the forest as birds remove these leaves from the lake. Then there are a lot of fish which also ensure that the lake is kept clean. The surrounding areas of the lake have been well maintained and kept clean.

When we reached the lake around 11.OO a.m., there were hardly any tourists. The place around the lake is very serene and a small temple adjoining the lake gives an impression of a hermitage type of atmosphere. There are benches kept near a jetty type wooden entrance to the lake under tree shades. One can sit and relax for a while watching the lake and the surrounding hills with dense forest. At the car parking lot, there are a couple of stalls selling tea, coffee and cold drinks. We had a short tea break here before starting for our next destination.

  

 

Khecheopalri Lake seen from the walkway.

 

Wooden pathway with prayer wheels leading to the lake.

 

 Khecheopalri Lake.



(ii) Kanchenjunga Waterfalls

The road from Khecheopalri Lake  to Kanchenjunga waterfalls is mostly in bad condition. However, once we reached the car parking area of the waterfalls, things looked rosy as we could immediately see a stream flowing by the side of the road fed by the waterfalls. However, waterfalls were nowhere to be seen from the road. It was only when we crossed a small bridge over the stream and came to the other side, we could see the twin longish waterfalls. However, I did not find them attractive enough as there was not much force in both the waterfalls. After taking a few pictures of twin waterfalls, I was about to return to my vehicle when my brother in law told me that there was another waterfall which was hidden behind a small hillock. The path to this waterfall was through a climb of few stone stairs behind the line of the hawkers.



A village on the way to Kanchenjunga Waterfalls 



A few steps after the climb, we could now hear the noise of the waterfalls. At the end of the staircase we saw a gigantic single waterfall of a large dimension. The sprinkles from the waterfalls were felt even at a distance of about 25m. However, to reach near the waterfall, one was required to take some risky jumps from one slippery rock to another. There were some local boys who were ready to help the visitors to cross the slippery rocky path at Rs.1O per head. At last we reached very close to waterfall but not without some risk. First, from the ledge above the staircase, stones were falling sporadically. Secondly, the jumps on the slippery rocks were itself an adventure.

Having reached close to the waterfall, the water sprinkles resulting from the fall was so great that we were lightly drenched. After a quick photo shoot, we hurriedly return to the opposite side of the waterfall. While descending from the staircase, I was saved from a small sized rock fall in nick of the time as it fell from the ledge just in front of me. We returned to the parking lot and had Amul’s mango lassi before starting the return journey to Pelling via Rimbi waterfall.

The twin Kanchenjunga waterfalls.


This one is the broader Kanchenjunga waterfall which is not visible from the road side. One has to climb some stone steps before it becomes visible.
 

T

The twin as well as the single large waterfalls meet at this point after which they convert in to a stream.

 

(iii) Rimbi Waterfalls

Rimbi Waterfall is located around 12 kms from Pelling. We saw this tiny waterfall from our vehicle on our way to Khecheopalri Lake and Kanchenjunga waterfalls but decided to visit on our return if we had time. After watching the gigantic Kanchenjunga waterfalls, Rimbi Waterfall did not impress us. Since it was located by the side of the main Pelling-Yaksum road, we got down from our vehicle and spent about 15 minutes near the waterfall. Probably, this waterfall may look attractive during monsoon months. Otherwise, it would be suffice to watch this waterfall from the vehicle itself.

We returned to Pelling around 1.3O p.m. had a lunch at Anjali Restaurant at Lower Pelling. The food was tasty. At around 2.3O p.m., we resumed our remaining two sightseeing destinations. 

 



Rimbi Waterfall near Pelling.

Afternoon scene of Pelling. The road looks deserted eventhough, it was a tourist season. 

(iv) Rabdentse Palace Ruins

Rabdentse Ruins are located about 3 kms from Pelling on Geyshing road. Rabdentse was the capital of Sikkim during mid 17^th century to early 18^th century. The Palace was destroyed by invading Nepalese army in early 18^th century. An arched gate by the side of the main road led us to a what appears to be an artificial round lake. First I thought that the palace ruins may be somewhere nearby. But actually, we had to walk about 2 kms from the gate through the wooded path to reach the first courtyard of the palace which was an entry point. Even though the walk involved a gradual ascent to the top of a ridge on which the palace was located, it was a pleasant walk.

The first courtyard was a square one made up of stone slabs. This was the place where the visitors in the olden days would get down from their horses, leave their hats or caps and walk towards the palace. A stone staircase leads to the second courtyard which is common to both the palace as well as the raised open platform where King used to meet the public. The walls of the ruined palace which has no roof now, has been restored. One can see the layout of the palace by climbing on one of the broad walls of the palace. The ASI has constructed the railings on the northern side of the courtyard behind the palace as beyond the railing is a deep valley. It is from this place that one gets a fantastic view of snow clad Kanchenjunga range as well as the deep forested valley.

There are three chortens by the side of the ruined palace where Royal families used to offer prayers. Because of its strategic location at the edge of the ridge, these chrotens are the most photographed area of the palace ruins. The courtyard of the palace has been nicely maintained with trimmed grassy patches bordered by a variety of flower plants.

The Palace Ruins may not be interesting to many visitors unless one has interest in the historical and heritage places. But the USPs to visit Rabdentse Ruins are the nice walk of about 2 kms through the wooded path, the fantastic view of snow clad Kanchenjunga range and the view of the deep valley. One would require at least 9O minutes to complete the visit.

 

A round lake after the entry from the road side for Rabdentse Ruins. The wooded path to reach the Ruins is from the left side of the lake.

After 2 kms of walk, the first courtyard of the Palace which is also an entry point.

 

The ruined of the Palace. In the background is Kanchenjunga range.

 Mt. Kanchenjunga on the right see from the Palace ruins.

 

Partial lay out the ruined Palace with three chortens visible in the left.

Three chortens of the Palace.

 

View of the courtyard from ruined Palace. On the left is the Platform where King used to meet his subjects.

 View from the ruined Palace.

 

View of the terraced field from ruined Palace.

(v) Pemayangtse Monastery

Pemayangtse Monastery is located about 2 kms from Pelling and close to Rabdentse Ruins. I found some tourists taking a walk from Pelling to this monastery which was not a bad idea. The monastery is not large but it is said to be the second oldest monastery in Sikkim. It was established in 17O5 and it had undergone renovation and expansion over a period of time. The monks from this monastery are usually selected from the Bhutia families. It is said that the main Lama of this monastery had a unique privilege of anointing the kings (Chogyals)  of Sikkim with the holy water.

The entry into the main temple of the monastery is though the left side even though the main door of the temple is right in front after climbing a few stairs. The reason is that this part of the temple is the repository of some of the finest collections of old antique Buddhist idols and old scriptures. There are some antique paintings also in the collections. These are located on the first and second floors of the main temple. This part also serves as residence of the Lama of the monastery.

We could not go inside the main temple as a Lama was giving sermons to all the monks of the monastery. However, the door was kept opened and I could see the proceedings. Photography both inside the main temple and the museum is prohibited. A unique feature of this monastery is that the Mt. Kanchenjunga is bang opposite the main door of the temple. Although we could not go inside the temple, I get an impression that Mt. Kanchenjunga may be visible from inside the temple itself.

We returned to our hotel room in Pelling by 4.3O p.m. We were fortunate that we reached in time to view the sunset on Mt. Kanchenjunga from our hotel room balcony. We had dinner in our hotels restaurant at around 9.3O p.m. The cook remained absent for the whole day. So it was the multi tasking Hotel Manager who himself cooked and served us the dinner.

With this, our beautiful two days in around Pelling was coming to an end and we were looking forward to our last leg of the trip to Darjeeling.

 

Pemayangtse Monastery seen from courtyard.
 

 A Lama giving sermons to monks in the temple.

 

 



 



 Sunset view of Mt. Kanchenjunga (right) from hotel room balcony in Pelling.

 

 

 

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