Day 1: Mirik | Day 2: Darjeeling | Day 3: Tiger Hill, Tonglu & Tumling
Day 4: Takdah, Tinchuley & Lamahttah | Day 5: Kalimpong | Day 6: Lava
Day 2: Darjeeling Sight Seeing
What a beautiful morning it was, the moon was yet to set and the skies were a mellow crimson. A sight like this would melt anyone’s heart. But where is Kanchenjunga???
Oh my god!!! There it is.
Quick rush back to the room, get the tripod, no way can I keep my hands steady in this freezing cold if I use the 300 zoom. Phew!!!! Just in time.
Clear, bright and beautiful. Good things happen to those who wait. Since the Sikkim trip in July 2009, this awe inspiring vista has been 10 years in the making, brought back fond memories of watching the Annapurna range go golden at sunrise from Pokhara, Nepal, Dec 2000. A sumptuous breakfast and Anand was there, ready for a day of sight seeing. With his beaming smile he conveyed to me, “I told you so”.
First stop was going to be the Ropeway: Rangeet Valley Passenger Cable Car. The 45 minutes ride provides panoramic vistas of the snow capped Kanchenjunga over sprawling tea gardens looking on to the valley of the river Little Rangeet. The mountain air was crystal clear and the views were spectacular. The hill slopes tea gardens were frequented by women tending to the shrubs. Given it was January it looked as if they were pruning the plants rather than picking tea leaves.
I had to share the cable car with another five tourists, which may be an issue for taking photographs as the space is fairly cramped, but with a bit of ingenuity I manage to move across to the sides from where the best angles were. One of the passengers was really excited, not only did he enjoy the ride himself and with his wife and two children, he video called at least a dozen of his extended family to show them what he was seeing, after all Indians just want to share :).
I did find out a bit more about the ropeway. It started life in 1968 and was extremely popular with the tourists. However, it met with an unfortunate accident in October 2003 when three cable cars slipped out of its tracks from the Darjeeling station, falling 100 feet below into the tea gardens killing 4 passengers. It was closed for over eight years and reopened in 2012. It was a sobering moment to learn about the accident and reminded me of the impermanence of human life and the permanence of what I was starting at. Its a feeling that I have had everytime I come to the Himalayas. I was determined for this knowledge not to dampen my spirits so without any disrespect to those who died, I told myself that these views are truly to die for.
Next stop was at a tea garden, where I spent some time walking up and down the steps. From there it was time to go to the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park or the Darjeeling Zoo. Zoos generally fill me with sadness and this was no different. Sum of the cages of snow leopards, pumas and jaguars were desperately small and filled me with despair. Perhaps the endangered Red Panda Conservation Section was the only one which was acceptable.
However my interest was more in the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI). it is a combined entry to the zoo and HMI, spent an hour and a half going through the well labeled equipment of famous mountaineers. There adventures are indeed awe inspiring. I then watched a film on a recent successful expedition to Makalu from HMI, in a decent size movie theater I was the only person which if you think of it is a bit sad given the hundreds of people milling about the cages of the tiger and the snow leopards. Tenzing Norgay, stands proudly in its courtyard, capturing the glory of HMI and all that mountaineering stands for. Tenzing and Edmund Hillary were first on the summit of Mount Everest in 1953. Himalayan Mountaineering Institute was built as a tribute to Tenzing so that he could impart his skills to all those who pursued climbing activities in the Himalayas. The statue was inaugurated by Sir Edmund Hillary, knighted after their successful attempt.
Next stop was Barbotey Rock Garden. It was about a 25 minutes downhill drive, but the cascading waterfall at different levels, make it worth the drive. There are a number of hairpin bends but the scenery is beautiful. Once at the Rock Garden, one can follow the waterfall up along stairs and small bridges. Given I had gone much later in the day I had the site pretty much to myself. Don’t forget to take your tripod. Plenty of long exposure shots to take here. It had been a long day already so I took my time, calling friends, sharing the sound of the waterfall. There is plenty of seating at every tier and the sound of the water had a soporific quality.
Time to get a move on, the last destination of the day was the Japanese Temple and the Peace Pagoda.
The Japanese temple is about a 10 minutes drive from the Darjeeling town center. The temple is also known as the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Temple. The two storied white building was built in a traditional Japanese style in the year 1972. Fujii Guruji was the founder and preceptor of ‘Nipponzan Myohoji’, a Buddhist order for world peace. He was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and had seen the tragedy of atom bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
About 100 yards away is the Peace Pagoda. The foundation stone was laid in 1972 and it was opened in 1992. According to the Lotus Sutra, the very appearance of the Peace Pagoda is an embodiment of Lord Buddha that radiates peace and non-violence. The Peace Pagoda here showcases four avatars of Buddha in four postures (sitting, sleeping, standing and meditating). This is the tallest free standing structure in Darjeeling. By the time I arrived, the Sun was starting to get low on the horizon and the pagoda looked beautiful. The views from its steps of the Japanese Temple in the foreground and the pine trees of the mountain ranges as the backdrop is breath taking.
On the way back to the hotel, mad plans with Anand for tomorrow. Sunrise from Tiger Hill was priority number one, after that I would have a decision to make regarding what to do. I knew the road to Sundukphu was closed but could I get as far as possible. Anyway, I was starving, I was so captivated by what Darjeeling had to offer that I completely forgot lunch. Although the resturant was closed, the hotelier made me some rotis and a mixed veg curry, within minutes I had devoured whatever was put in front of me. The late meal gave me energy to hang about just to see the sun set.
Darjeeling is a game of light and mist. Particularity during the critical hour, it is amazing to see how they change minute by minute. As the natural light goes down, humans begin to light up the landscape.
If morning shows the day, all is well that ends well. What a beautiful day it had been. Did some research on the road to Sandakphu, spoke to a few families who were there as well as the hotelier and another driver, who all informed that the road was closed. However one could get to Tumling and if lucky to Tonglu. I decided that I will make a call early tomorrow based on the weather and called it an early night after all had to get up at 4 am to get to Tiger Hill.
Day 1: Mirik | Day 2: Darjeeling | Day 3: Tiger Hill, Tonglu & Tumling
Day 4: Takdah, Tinchuley & Lamahttah | Day 5: Kalimpong | Day 6: Lava
