Gurudongmer Lake is situated at 18,000 Ft above sea label on the Lap of the Himalayas in Sikkim state. We visited in the month of November sneaking a short 6 days period to to do a quick qora or a round through east and north Sikkim.
The first day was spent in settling the hotel at M G Marg of Gangtok, dealing with travel agent, giving documents for the necessary permissions etc. We reached in the late afternoon by bus. Next day, we started off to Lachung. We reached at about 5 pm to Lachung and boarded in a homestay. The conduct of the owner was very congenial. He offered us snacks, tea apart from looking after our needs and tantrums. The temperature soon went down to 4 degree Celsius. I couldn't even wash my hands with normal water. They would pain immensely. By 9 pm we had our dinner and forced ourselves to go to sleep.
Next day, the natural ambiance we encountered in the morning was never to be forgotten. A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever. I realised this. The snow-capped mountain peaks together with the greenaries around took our breath out. But, Little did we have time to pause and ponder.
We started off for Zero point. It's about 15,000 Ft above sea lebel. We reached there at around 1 PM. There was ice all around. I was carrying Oxygen cans, medicines to counter breathlessness. Susmita madam and Dipta had a little breathlessness. Oxygen can came handy for them.
I went down to take pics and videos by the side of the tributary which later turns out to be Tista down the Hill. The beauty was awesome. The sky was clear blue and there was white all around. People were busy sliding across the slope on ice. It was really a fun to enjoy and watch.
On our way back, we gave a stop over Yumthnag Valley. The same river was found flowing here. Yaks were an added advantage for those who wanted to enjoy their back and be jerked around.
Before 3 pm, we started back to Lachen. This time around, we reached our new Home stay at Lachen at about 7 PM. We're warmly entertained by the staff of the homestay but they were too formal and commercial. No extra benefit would they provide. The food, for me was awful. I'm vegetarian. Even those Non-veg around were not given chicken as promised. Every one fretted.
Next morning, after tea, at 6/30 am we started towards Gurudongmer Lake. I'll not forget the natural beauty on our way around. There were ice and white sheet all around. This entire route is supervised by Indian Military. They have caffe canteen for refreshment. There is no hotel, shop here. We had snacks, local food, coffee and kept moving.
At about 1 PM, after a tiring journey, we reached Gurudongmer Lake, the highest lake in the world. Here, Susmita Madam, Dipta had to constantly take puffs from the oxygen can. I offered a gentleman oxygen puffs till he recovered from severe breathlessness.
I walked down the stair to reach the lake and had my heartful of snaps. The beauty was mesmerising. I walked around the lake to some 30% extent where no one dared. It was spiritual !!!
Caveat is , do not dare if you have COPD, or breathlessness. You can walk down the stairs but it will be very difficult to walk up. One should pause at places while climbing up the staircase. After spending full 50 mins, we were ripped out of the place by our driver, Prasant. Again the tedious journey began back to Gangtok.
[The writer is a family traveller. He prefers planning and execution of travel trips on his own. He is a private tutor by profession www.dbhattacharjee.com
See the pics travelled by https://www.google.com/maps/contrib/114888648064172409549/photos/@23.134734,87.6473368,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m3!8m2!3m1!1e1
[By profession this author is a private tutor. Visit www.dbhattacharjee.com to know more.
Linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dbhattacharjee-dot-com-07335054/ ]
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