A sunny day in Pelling !!

After strenuous 10 days trek in Goecha La; Abhay and me planned to stay back at Pelling for one day, before heading to the concrete jungle. We had an amazing party at Yuksum on 14th night after returning from Goecha La but we refrained to continue for long when our trek lead, Varun said that the shared taxi for Pelling would leave at 6 AM sharp.

Flowers are like friends; They bring color to your world.

Pelling is a small hill town in the district of West Sikkim, India. This place is nestled at an altitude of 2,150 m (7,200 feet). The town is located at a distance of 10 km from the district headquarters of Geyzing and 130 km from Gangtok. The Himalayas and the Kanchenjanga may be viewed at close quarters from Pelling. This small town also forms the base from where trekkers and other peripatetic adventurers undertake the strenuous and arduous treks in West Sikkim. The land around Pelling is still a virgin territory and is bathed with alpine vegetation, with numerous waterfalls lining the hillside.

Marvelous view from Upper Pelling

15th May, 2018

This is the morning when we had to say goodbye to Yuksum and our trek mates, who all were going back to the city. Abhay and I were bit happy that we had an extra day to spend in the mountains. We took our cab at 7 AM and reach Pelling around 8:45 AM. The journey cost us 120 INR per head from Yuksum to Pelling. After seeing few hotels, we decided to go for Hotel Daflhagang in upper Pelling which was quite reasonable for backpackers like us. After breakfast, we decided to search for shared cab for sightseeing, but we couldn’t find any shared cab as they all left at 8:30 AM for the whole day trip and we had to reserve a cab for 2500 INR. We left at 10 AM. Our plan was to see these places in Pelling.

• Rimbi waterfall

• River Orange Garden

• Tahi Choling Dharma Center

• Kecheopalri Lake

• Kanchenjanga Waterfall

• Dantem Valley View Point

• Singshore Bridge

• Changey Waterfalls

• Helipad point (Upper Pelling)

• Pemayangtse Monastery

Mighty Kanchenjanga

Our first destination was Rimbi waterfall. You can find this picturesque waterfall near Darap village, on the way to Kecheopalri Lake or Yuksum. The waterfall leads to Rimbi River and is placed at a distance of 12 km from Pelling.

Rimbi waterfall

Then we were headed to River Orange Garden which is created in the place of Rock Garden after Rock Garden being distorted due to flood few years back. It is a beautiful place by the side of scenic water stream, green leafy plants with flowers and the farming of Orange and Elaichi. We didn’t spend much time here as we were already delayed of our schedule.

River Orange Garden

We were very keen to visit Kecheopalri Lake but we have got one more destination added before that which we were not aware of and that is Tahi Choling Dharma Center. The unique fact of this monastery is that the whole monastery and dharma center runs by the nuns. It is situated just before the trail of Kecheopalri Lake. You can say this monastery is the starting point for the lake.

Tahi Choling Dharma Center

A beautiful chorten near Tahi Choling Dharma Center

Kecheopalri Lake

Kecheopalri Lake, originally known as Kha-Chot-Palri, is a lake located near Kecheopalri village. Located 34 km to the northwest of Pelling, the lake is sacred for both Buddhists and Hindus, and is believed to be a wish fulfilling lake. The local name for the lake is Sho Dzo Sho, which means "Oh Lady, Sit Here". There is a short ascend to the point from where you can have a top view of the lake, but we were allergic to ascend at that point of time after the great Goechala trek, so we decided not to capture the top view.

Trail to Kecheopalri Lake

It's lunchtime !!

Kecheopalri Lake

We visited Kanchenjanga waterfall next which is 25 km away from Pelling. Kanchenjanga falls is a perennial waterfall which is one of the major tourist attractions in the region. It is believed that the pristine waterfall originates high up in the glaciers of Mount Kanchenjanga. This waterfall is little inside from the actual road but the fall is very beautiful and it also has zip line activity.

Kanchenjanga falls

We came back to Pelling after visiting Kanchenjanga waterfall to have lunch. Our driver, Pintu stopped in front of a small Sikkimese hotel and that roti – chicken was delicious and we couldn’t stop ourselves to eating like a “bhukkad” though we didn’t have much time to enjoy the food since it’s already 2:30 PM and we had few more places to cover.

The brighter the light, the deeper the shadow

Our next destination was Singshore Bridge and we visited Dantem view point enroute. This is the place from where one can see the beautiful Dantem Valley. After witnessing the Dantem Valley, we headed to the second highest bridge in Asia. Singshore Bridge, with a height of over 100 meters and 240 meters in length, is truly a man-made marvel that offers the spectacular view of immense greenery that makes it difficult to distinguish between the lowlands and the mountains.

Singshore Bridge

You can feel the thrill when you are standing in the middle of the bridge and the strong wind blows. The river flowing through the uneven rocks seems breathtaking along with the effusive sound of the waterfalls. It is one among the oldest bridge that connects two hills and shortens the travel time as well as the distance for the trekkers. This engineer’s triumph is certainly one of the most popular tourist destinations in Sikkim.

Singshore Bridge

While coming back from Singshore Bridge, we saw Changey Waterfall on the way. The fall flows through the Changey village from Ranidhunga and is considered as a famous tourist destination. Situated at a height of about 300 metres, these falls are on the way from Dentam Valley to Pelling. While descending, these falls disappear into the extensive greenery around the waterfall and it appears like a great white line, with the backdrop of dense green vegetation.

Changey Waterfall

Our last destination for the day was Pemayangtse Monastery, but before going to the monastery we stopped at the Helipad ground in Upper Pelling for a moment, to witness the mighty Kanchenjanga peak. She likes to hide herself in the clouds mostly, but we were lucky enough to witness her for a very short period of time. Since, the closing time of the monastery is 5:30 PM, we couldn’t wait much at the helipad ground and rushed to the monastery.

Witnessing mighty Kanchenjanga from Helipad ground

The Pemayangtse monastery is situated near the town of Pelling, one of the oldest and the most important monasteries of Sikkim. Built in the year 1705, the monastery belongs to the Nyingmapa sect of Mahayana Buddhism and it was founded by Gyalwa Lhatsum Chempo, one of the three lamas to have performed the Consecration Ceremony of the first Chogyal (King) Phuntsog Namgyal at Yuksam in 1642. The unique feature of the monastery is that there is an intricately carved wooden structure located on the top floor displaying a heavenly sphere known as ‘Zangdokpalri’. It is believed that ‘Zangdokpalri’ is a reproduction in the concrete form that appeared in the vision of Gyalwa Lhatsum Chempo.

Way to The Pemayangtse Monastery

Pemayangtse Monastery

The monastery houses a good collection of wall paintings, sculptures, precious images, thankas and a huge gold plated statue of Guru Padsambhava. The monastery was built for "pure monks" (ta-tshang) meaning "monks of pure Tibetan lineage", celibate and without any physical abnormality. This practice is still retained. Only the monks of Pemayangtse Monastery are entitled to the title "ta-tshang". The head lama of this monastery had the unique privilege of anointing the Chogyals of the erstwhile monarchy of Sikkim with holy water. Pemayangtse means "Perfect Sublime Lotus", and is said to represent one of the four plexus of the human body.

Pemayangtse Monastery

People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them

It was already getting late and there was no point of visiting Rabdentse Palace Ruins in the evening, so we agreed to visit the place next morning. Since we were on budget trip, we didn’t want to take a cab for only one place and our plan was to make this place our morning walk destination. The evening snacks in the hotel in unforgettable, we can never forget the taste of those finger licking chicken pakodas. We roamed around the town a bit in the evening, before dozing off around 9 PM.

Amazing view from Upper Pelling

16th May, 2018

We started our day at 5 AM as we had to walk 3.5 km to Rabdentse ruins and come back before 10 AM as our plan was to leave Pelling in the morning only. We started from hotel around 6 AM and we reached there around 7:30 AM.

Rabdentse ruins

Only the ruins of the palace and the chortens are seen here now

Rabdentse was the second capital of the former Kingdom of Sikkim from 1670 to 1814. The capital city was destroyed by the invading Gurkha army and only the ruins of the palace and the chortens are seen here now. From the vantage point of this former capital, superb views of the Kanchenjanga ranges can be witnessed. This monument has been declared as of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India. It was first established in 1670 by Chadok Namgyal son of Phuntsog Namgyal by shifting from the first capital of Yuksom that was consecrated in 1642.

The trail to the Rabdentse ruins

Rabdentse was the second capital of the former Kingdom of Sikkim

From the vantage point of this former capital, superb views of the mountain ranges can be witnessed

The Rabdentse ruins are part of Buddhist religious pilgrimage circuit starting with the first monastery at Yuksom known as the Dubdi Monastery, followed by Norbugang Chorten, Tashiding Monastery, the Pemayangtse Monastery, the Sanga Choeling Monastery, and the Kecheopalri Lake. Along the trek path from the gate, an avenue of chestnut trees with sodden moss leads to a stone throne comprising three standing stones called as “Namphogang”, which was the pulpit of the judges from where judgments were pronounced during the active days of the king's reign from Rabdentse. Further ahead, the 'Taphap Chorten' is seen in semi ruined condition. This was the entry point to the Palace and people seeking access to the palace had to dismount from their horses and remove their hat as a mark of respect to the King here. The palace ruins are at the center of the fourth courtyard.

The Rabdentse ruins are part of Buddhist religious pilgrimage circuit

Only the ruins of the palace and the chortens are seen here now

We got back to the hotel around 9:30 AM and we left Pelling at 10:30 AM. The direct cabs for Siliguri start at 8 AM from Pelling so we had to go to Geyzing to get the shared cab to Siliguri. The shared cab took 50 INR per person to Geyzing and we reached Geyzing around 11:30 AM.

Geyzing is not really a tourist place but it has it’s own charm with a small monastery and market places.

Abhay’s plan was to go to Darjeeling as he had two more days to be with the mountains and he had to go to Jorethang to get a cab to Darjeeling. His cab left around 12:15 PM and my cab’s timing was at 2 PM. The shared cab from Geyzing to Siliguri took 250 INR per person. I was roaming around the town since I had some leisure time before I left for Siliguri. Geyzing is the capital of West Sikkim and connected directly to Gantok and Siliguri or Jorethang. This small town is not really a tourist place but it has it’s own charm with a small monastery and market places.

Geyzing is the capital of West Sikkim and connected directly to Gantok and Siliguri or Jorethang