Travelogue

If you ever have experienced sheer terror, you would know that after some time, mind and body adjusts somewhat. Wild fluttering of the heart turns into numbness. We trudged on and on. I am more or less sure we didn’t have much faith in reaching safety that night. As in life we move on by habit, mind unthinking our legs moved us forward...

We had reached the Gurudongmar lake. Wherever you could see, it was all white and covered by fresh snow. Just below the hump was the Gurudongmar lake. On the right side of the lake, stood the majestic Gurudongmar peaks which seemed to grow out of the lake shining against the deep blue sky punctuated by sporadic white plumes of cloud...

White mountain peaks were glittering in the morning sun behind the black ranges. Just beyond Lachen is Zema, the place where you can turn left and trek the route towards Green Lake. This is also the route taken by early mountaineers attempting a climb to Kanchenjunga via Zemu glacier...

Gurudongmar is a high altitude lake at 17,300 ft in Sikkim Himalayas. The road travels up the river Teesta among the green mountains from Gangtok via Mangan and Chungthang to the breathtaking pristine blue lake...

In keeping with its sweet name, Koina looked also slim and sweet perfectly at home amidst these multi-colored hilly forests. The Sal flowers nearby formed a tapestry as my eyes touched the faintly rippling waters through them.

After a short walk along the narrow road running in front of the rest house the view on the left opened up. The ground rose gently to a small hillock and then went down again. Just time enough to watch the sunset from the top of the hillock, we decided.

Unlike Betla, the forest was very thick in this area. The tall trees jostled against each other. Thick undergrowth covered the forest floor. Our guide told us in a low voice that the trail belonged to animals. On this trail only animals moved. We felt a touch of danger..

Suddenly faint roar of rushing water could be heard on the right side of the road. Glimpses of hint of a river could be caught through the now thinning wall of trees. Without any warning, the bus turned right and the wheels rolled on the surface of a bridge across the till now hidden river. Angry muddy waves roared on down below...

We felt free. Now it was time to go down to the river that waited for us. No hurry anywhere. Slowly we savored the atmosphere around—the two feet deep river leisurely flowing towards its destination, the brown leaved trees giving way to sparkling bright greens and reds; our jungles are full of colors...