Trek to Trekkers Paradise - Sandakphu Trek (Part 1)

SANDAKPHU is known as the highest peak in West Bengal and also the trekkers paradise. Why you ask? You will get to know soon! With a height of 3636mts/11,930ft it stands tall and is the highest point of the Singalila Ridge in Darjeeling district. Four of the world's highest peaks: Mt.Everest, Mt.Kanchenjunga, Lhotse & Makalu are visible from the top of Sandakphu. Sandakphu Trek is a dream of every trekker and hiker.

Sandakphu Trek is a very common trek and people love this trek because of the view of massive Kanchenjunga Range, popularly known as the Sleeping Buddha. I've been planning to go on this trek since 2017. Either there was no holiday from my University or no one to give company. So ultimately I thought let's go a solo trek! But I wasn't allowed by my parents. After that again I became engrossed in my studies and projects and dropped the plan of going for Sandakphu Trek. Later last year I thought of giving it a try again. Maybe if I could gather one of my friends to come with me for Sandakphu Trek. So eventually I started planning again. I had few contacts on ground in Sandakphu. I asked them about the weather conditions, availability of accommodation and respective expenses. I contacted few of my friends and send them some lovely photographs over Whatsapp to see if they were interested, and voila!  Two of my friends replied and they were very much excited to go. I was elated! Finally I got a company. This was around November 2018. We planned to leave for the trek next month around 20-25th of December. Because that's the coldest period in the Himalayas, expecting snowfall and marvelous views. I surfed the Internet, collected relevant information. Made a Sandakphu Trek route map and finalized the itinerary. We decided to leave on 19th December 2018. 

In this series of post I'll share my day to day experience of the trek, where we stayed and all the things we did.

First let me share our trek's day to day itinerary:

Day 1: Kolkata to Siliguri
Day 2: NJP to ManeyBhanjan
Day 3: ManeyBhanjan to Joubari via Tumling
Day 4: Joubari to Kalipokhri
Day 5: Kalipokhri to Sandakphu
Day 6: Sandakphu to Aal
Day 7: Aal to Timburey via Gurdum
Day 8: Timburey to Rimbik via Srikhola
Day 9: Rimbik To NJP & NJP to Kolkata

Trek Route

Day 1 was not so interesting, so lets jump directly to Day 2.

DAY 2

We had to take a bus to Siliguri as there was too much of rush in the railways. None of the trains were having a single vacancy. So we booked our tickets on NBSTC. Took an overnight bus to Siliguri. Reached there at 9.30am. Freshened up and then we had to leave for ManeyBhanjan, as our Sandakphu Trek begins from here. There are various taxis available from Darjeeling More at Siliguri which will take you to Sukhia Pokhri and from there you can hire a cab to ManeyBhanjan. These are mostly shared cabs which takes around Rs. 150/ person. We took a shared cab. As we were three of us, we got the middle row and sat comfortably. It was around 1 in the afternoon, and the journey began. Checked on google maps and it said it would take around 5hrs to reach ManeyBhanjan. As we were a bit tired because of the last nights bus journey, we dozed off. As we were about to reach our destination we woke up and were again energized. The mountains welcomed us with cold winds touching our face, tea gardens and the bright blue sky. There's a point from where we can trek to ManeyBhanjan. It is about 2 km in distance. We decided to get off and hike to ManeyBhanjan rather than going to Sukhia and again back.

Way to Maneybhanjan

Reached ManeyBhanjan. I've been to ManeyBhanjan before when I went to visit Chitrey, which is placed on this Sandakphu Trek route. But that time I was travelling on a car. So I know the place a little bit. We had a booking at Master Ji's place. A very famous personality in this route. He is a former Head Master of a local school and popularly known as Master Ji. His original name is Jiwan Chetri. We asked some of the local people and located the hotel. Checked in. A simple triple bed room with all the basic amenities. We unloaded our rucksacks. We all were tired and it was time for some rest. But before that we had to book our guide as we had to leave early the very next morning. Remember no trekkers are allowed beyond the forest dept. check point at ManeyBhanjan without a registered porter or guide. We went out to search for a guide agency office. According to my knowledge there are two agencies at ManeyBhanjan. Their rates are same and standard so you can select any one of them. So we went to Himalayan Guides and Porters Association. We booked a guide for the span of our trek. The rate is Rs 1000/day. Then we explored few eateries and had momo and hot tea. After roaming around for about an hour or so, we returned to our hotel and started packing for the next day's journey.

Proper weight distribution in your backpack is of utmost importance. If the weight is distributed unevenly it may cause pains around your shoulders, back or neck. To check, try to keep the rucksack straight on the floor after filling it up with all the things: if it stands upright then you're good to go, otherwise you should re-pack it. After we were done packing our rucksacks properly, we took out all the necessary things like sun cap, googles, gloves, balaclava etc. We completed our dinner by 9 pm and went to sleep as we were about to begin very early the next day.

Saptashwa, our guide Ashok bhaiya & Tunap 

Day 3 (ManeyBhanjan to Jaubari, Nepal via Tumling)
Distance- 15 kms

The alarm rang at around 6 am in the chilly winter morning, 5℃ to be exact. Everything was set, we freshened up a bit and got ready for the long haul. Our guide was waiting outside our hotel, so we took our rucksacks and headed out. We had our breakfast at a small Nepali restaurant. Normal Chapati, Alu ki Sabzi and of course a mandatory cup of coffee. I have already mentioned before that there are forest dept. check points on the Sanadakphu Trek route, there we were asked to get the permit tickets and pay the charges for our digital cameras. Each permit cost an amount of Rs 200 per person and additional Rs 200 per camera. We did the necessary paper work and started the trek. We were very excited as neither of my friends had any previous experience of trekking, but we were also quite tensed. First few kilometers of the trek was uphill along the tarmac road upto Chitrey, which is about 2 kms from ManeyBhanjan. After walking for around 10-15 mins, one of my friends wanted to offload his rucksack, as it was too heavy for him. One of the most important things to know before you go on your first trek: never, and I mean never over-pack your bag, take only that which is absolutely important. Incidentally we got a jeep which was going to Tumling, so we asked the driver to drop off the rucksack at the hotel we were about to stay at. The people there are very helpful, so they almost never deny such requests.

It took us 1.5 hrs to reach Chitrey, which was our first halt for the day! Chitrey is a beautiful meadow. It's altitude is 2540m. There's one monastery and very few home-stays and small eateries and shops. When I was in Chitrey around 4yrs back, there was nothing except a single home-stay and now everything has changed. We took some rest. Met other fellow trekkers and had a chat with them. Trekking is all about making new friends on the route and spending some quality time in the lap of mother nature. Read how I made new friends on My Trek to Brahmatal. While taking rest, I took my camera and shot some photographs. Here are some of the photographs I took. 

Chitrey

Monks at Chitrey

Lovely meadows of Chitrey

Prayer flags at Chitrey

We again began our journey. Our next stop was to have lunch at a place called Lamaydhura, which was about 3 kms from Chitrey. We met many more trekkers on the route. Many of them were from Bengal. We continued our journey. Stopped at places, took photographs and trekked on. The Sandakphu Trek route winds through the ridges of the beautiful mountains and sometimes through the tarmac road. So, after hiking for around 1.5 hrs we reached Lamayadhura. There were many tourists who were travelling in vehicles. This is the place where most of the tourists & trekkers eat their lunch on their way to Sandakphu. There were plenty of shops and stalls. We went a bit ahead of Lamaydhura and stopped at a local's house, who was a friend of our guide. When you're in the Himalayas the best and quickest bite for lunch that comes in mind is Maggi, but here there is also a different version of instant noodles that is Wai-Wai. We ordered Wai-Wai with boiled eggs. It was the most delicious food at that time, as we were all famished. Afternoon rolled in and we were left with 6 more kilometers which would take roughly 5-6 hrs to reach Tumling. So without any further delay we started our journey again. 

Reaching Lamaydhura

Lamaydhura

On the way we stopped at a place called Meghma which was 3.5 kms ahead of Lamaydhura. As the name suggests "Megh", meaning cloud, it was literally covered with clouds. It is at an altitude of 2600m and is in the Indo-Nepal border. Meghma also has a small monastery and SSB (Sashashtra Seema Bal) camps and a few local houses along with some restaurants. As it was getting colder we stopped to have some coffee to make ourselves warmer. I noticed a strange phenomenon that took place almost everyday of the Sandakphu Trek, that is, even if it was bright and sunny in the morning, the afternoons were always gloomy and cloudy, and it continued till late in the evening. So most of our trek was always through misty clouds and fog. 

Walking through the clouds

Contrast in Nature

Meghma Monastery

Meghma

From here there is a diversion of route. If you want to go to Tonglu you take the right from Meghma and if you want to go to Tumling, you take the left. Signs and directions are given and you can follow them. As we planned to go to Tumling, we took the left route. Tumling was another 2.5 kms from Meghma. It was around 2.30 pm and we projected to reach Tumling by  4.30 pm. The route from here was very uneven and there were many ups and down. Once you descend down for 5-6 mins and again you climb up for 3-4 mins. But the misty weather made it more adventurous. As we were getting tired, our pace slowed down. But as they say, after the hardest climb you get to see the best view. And boy was it true! We reached Tumling.

Tumling, which is at a height of 2980m, is a small village with numerous hotels and home-stays. The weather was again bright and sunny.  We were about to stay at Shikhar Lodge. This hotel is very famous on this Sandakphu Trek route & is a beautiful hotel also it was visible way before we actually reached Tumling, as told by our guide. Our guide Ashok bhaiya went on to talk to the owner there at the hotel. But unfortunately it was completely booked, our bad luck. We searched for other hotels, but Tumling had no accommodation. Another team was with us. They planned to go 4 kms ahead to a village in Nepal called Jaubari. Our guide too asked us to hike to Jaubari as rarely trekkers stayed there and accommodations should be available. 

After reaching Tumling

Tumling

Shikhar Lodge

As the sun was setting and we were about to trek more 4 more kilometers, so we made the decision and started for our last lap of the day's hike. We had the first view of the Kanchenjunga Range from Tumling, popularly known as the "Sleeping Buddha". All the tourists and trekkers were at the view point to witness a marvelous sunset from Tumling. As we were about to leave, I took out my camera and took some shot of the gigantic Mt. Kanchenjunga and hurried for our final stop of the day. 

Mt. Kanchenjunga Range or Sleeping Buddha

When I was awestruck by its view

The hike to Jaubari was awe-inspiring. The trail was not too difficult. Mostly it was down the hill but at few places we had to climb steep slopes. The golden light of the sun on the mountains made it a beautiful scene to watch and marvel at the magnificent mountain range. As we were entering Nepal territory, we were asked to make an entry of the number of members, our names and addresses at the checkpost of Nepal Police.

The clouds were way below us. Jaubari is at an altitude of 2750m. I witnessed one of the best sunsets of my life. This Sandakphu Trek route is also known for some of majestic sunsets over the Sleeping Buddha. It was worth hiking up to Jaubari. By the time we reached, it was almost dark. Our guide took us to a home-stay named "EVREST LODGE". There they offered a triple bed room or accommodation in a tent. My friends were excited about camping. But with my experience I asked them to choose the option of the room accommodation, as it was too cold and windy outside and none of them were carrying a sleeping bag except me. So we finally took the triple bed room. It was a lovely cozy wooden room, with a small window. The washroom was a common one for all, and we had to go outside on a lawn to reach the washrooms. 

Trail to Joubhari

Clouds below us

A magnificent sunset at Joubhari

View of Joubhari

Golden light and clouds

The lawn of our homestay at Joubhari

View from the little window of our room

We had mouthwatering local food for dinner. As we were in Nepal, our phones weren't working. One of my friends had to call his parents, so he asked the owner if he could borrow his phone to call at his home. The owner didn't even ask a single question and gave him his own cell phone to make the call. As we hiked 4 kms more than we had planned, we were tired and exhausted. We were about to leave to Kalipokhri next day early morning, so we dozed off at 10 pm.

I end this Sandakphu Trek blog post here. This is the first part of a three part Sandakphu Trek blog series. I will continue the journey ahead of Jaubari in my upcoming posts which will be followed. Till then keep following my blog and do share this post & comment below in section below if you liked it! 

Thank you.

If you haven't read about my trek to Brahmatal then you should read it here