My Space...: Memoirs of North Sikkim - Visit to Lachung, Zero Point and Yumthang

Hey ! I am back with my North Sikkim post. Oops !! took long time to write on North Sikkim. Probably one month of my last post got published on Gurudongmar Lake. In case you missed it, click here to read them.

Lachung

So today I am going to write on Lachung, Yumthang Valley and Zero Point. From Lachen we headed towards Lachung in the afternoon around 12:30 so that we could reach Lachen before evening. There is a place called Chungthang which comes in between Lachen and Lachung and the town is immensely beautiful. Will give it a try if I visit North Sikkim again. While heading towards Lachung we visited Bhim Nala Waterfalls. Till that day I used to think Kempty fall was the hugest to me, but there was something different in Bhim Nala Fall. Most important thing in this fall was to me was the absence of human noise which is too annoying in Kempty fall. The sound of falling waters should be cherished. There was no one except our group. Yes later on one couple joined the place. But still the fall remained louder than any other sounds. Another beautiful phenomenon of Sikkim falls is they come up on the road itself. You don't need to struggle or walk Topsy turvy to check a fall. As the name suggests, Bhim Nala fall is huge in size. Huge means huge. Too tall and Water was falling down with extreme force. I didn't even go near to the fall, but I was wet and poor my sweater was wet too and it seemed like the temperature dropped there immediately. My teeth were clinging to each other desperately and I was shivering like hell. Funniest part was, I couldn't hold my camera properly due to continuous jerks my body was offering me and the result was a set of blurred pictures. Just infront of the fall, there was a view point to view the fall well. Though we found it a bit untidy and dangerous !! It seemed people didn't get up there for long and it was more of an abandoned type of place. Anyhow, the fall is a must try.

see the quality of the picture !! Shivers . Bhim Nala Falls

Even Driver was also shivering :P see the picture

We entered Lachung before evening and it was our damn luck that the room which we got in hotel was close to heaven. For me and Arpita di, the window view was enough to make us happy. Just imagine, you are staying in a chilled hilly region, a wooden room and you are opening the window for an instance and then you are seeing several falls are coming down to meet a river and that too from very less distance. The sound, the hill, the clouds and the small cottages (barely visible)over the hills - these are blessings. Gazing upon the houses from one mountain to another mountain has another charm and happiness. They seem too tiny that I feel immense pleasure to think and imagine how people are living there, or what they are doing right now or sometimes I try to increase my visionary and wish if I can see some people moving out there. It is like fantasy for me. I dreamed of this when I was a kid and I used to watch Heidi. Heidi was a kid living at the top of mountain. Clouds, sheeps, wind, Peter were her friends. She too lived in a wooden cottage and her simple yet beautiful life always made me pondering for long. Ahhh !! see where I am moving towards. Poor me.. Pardon. Just check out the pictures of Lachung now.

Zero Point
On the next day, morning we started for Zero point. The bunch of clouds and non stop rain was worrying us as nothing was visible when we went out at morning. It was chill, sorry too chill as the car started moving on. We just couldn't open the window glasses as the wind was hitting us and was giving a sheer chill. We had hot bread and butter as breakfast with us so that was giving us a pleasure. To visit zero point you must cross yumthang valley first. Our driver insisted us to visit yumthang valley later. So we headed towards Zero point. As we were going up, separate views were seen in different ranges of mountains. First we crossed Rock Valley. I have never seen such valley in my life. Don't know whether I will be able to see that again or not. A valley full of stones, stones and stones. All were huge in size. Driver was telling me that before few years heavy glaciers brought everything down and since then the place seems to be so rugged and rough. Even it is dangerous too to halt there for much time. It is unpredictable and at any time the stones can start rolling down. So we moved on . Did some of photoshoots and that's all. Check pictures below.

While getting top of the mountains, I found the view changing time to time.. From the rough, rugged stony rocky grey view to total green, yellow, orange,bright red and pink color appeared all of a sudden with a delight. The fog was playing hide and seek, sometimes disappearing and sometimes making a strong presence. Then we entered the old silk route which was a bliss to view from the top. I was feeling that yes I was luckiest to view that and also was feeling blessed to be born as human else would never know how beautiful Earth is. We were busy enjoying the scenic beauty, and suddenly felt some fur like particles were getting into our car and while touching the skin they were dissolving into water. Driver made a remark, snowfall. Oh My God. Can you believe that, we opened the half slit window totally and yes snow was falling in speed. We all cheered up and shouted with joy. Driver told that we were just near to zero point and the temperature was decreasing and then after spending few minutes in car we reached Zero Point - the cold chilled heaven on a big valley. In the beginning of October it was -4°C and we could realize that our bodies were not sensing anything at all, we were hardly able to move and talk. It was too chilled. We spent around 1.5 hours there and the climate was breathtaking. Sometimes sunshine was smiling at our face and sometimes snow was falling with flowing speed. Unlike Gurudongmar Lake, zero point was much crowded. Mostly people of our age were present there and their shouts of fun were making the place happening. Check out the pictures.

I love this picture

See the color

Zero Point

Like a Queen

Arpita Di !!

Praveen and Arpita Di

I loved the color

Yumthang Valley
From Zero point we moved back to Yumthang Valley. Unfortunate we were as in October the real beauty of yumthang was not seen properly. It is said to be the Flower Valley. you can even google it. Anyhow the view which we witnessed was not that bad either. The time I kept my feet over the valley, I felt like running fast. It was sheer happiness. Big green valley surrounded by mountains, falls and accompanied by the speedy loud river. Yaks were all around and their movements were making that sweet Dhong Dhong sound of Bells. Me and Arpita di, both went back to our childhood when we used to watch Heidi. We ran, sang and shouted Ohiyo just the way Heidi used to utter. We found ourselves as the free pigeons. Free spirited, open to nature, close to river and that sound of flowing waves was so enthralling that it just made us happy. Super happy. Check out the pictures.