Dr Malleeka Bora, M.D.: “Great things never came from comfort zones”. One fine morning, in the month of June 2018, my soporific eyes were forced open by my better and adventurous half, Nitu, who was chomping on a plan to break free our comfort zones. Chock-full of excitement, he exhilarated the words “Let’s visit the Gurudongmar Lake in North Sikkim”. Me, being a travel enthusiast myself, joined in his exhilaration and jumped from the bed agreeing. Although we were planning on a road trip to North Sikkim in our beastly Thar, yet due to time constraints ( as we both are doctors), we had to take the easier option. So we got our flight tickets booked to Bagdogra. From Bagdogra, we took a taxi to Assam Gaucharan Village, East Sikkim where our dear friend Darol was eagerly waiting to welcome us to their beautiful and convivial homestay- the Malinggo Homestay in the light showery eventide. As we set foot in the canopied entrance of the cosy homestay, our smell buds were softly caressed by the aroma of a certain beverage (which we shall be later introduced to as something called “ Tomba”). Two pieces of Sikkimese traditional clothings were adorned around our necks as a form of greeting.
We were then given a taste of Sikkim- an alcoholic beverage called “Tomba” made from millet seeds along with rice cooked with chicken crumbs and local herbs called “Wachipa”. My mouth is watering as I am writing this. Next came our dessert which was honey laden honeycomb. It was my first time suckling honey out of honeycomb pieces. Thereafter we had a casual conversation over food. Before we settled in for the night, we, with help of Darol chalked out our travel itinerary for the following couple of days. Much to our relief, my friend took the undertaking himself to make our permits and arrange vehicle with driver to go to North Sikkim.
Basically there is no public transport plying on the roads to our destination in North Sikkim- the Gurudongmar Lake; so hiring a private taxi with pre-made permits is the best possible recourse. Hence early next morning , as planned, after a light breakfast, we proceeded from our homestay to Lachen via Mangan. Gangtok to Lachen is almost 121 kilometres and it took us an approximate 6 hours ( thanks to poor roads) to reach Lachen (9000 feet) via Chungthang- located at the confluence of Lachen and Lachung Rivers which combine to form the Teesta River). The road from Chungthang bifurcates to Lachen on the left and Lachung and Yumthang on the right. The dominant ethnic diversity of Sikkim is represented by “ Lho Mon Tsong Tsum” that identifies origin of 3 races. “Lho” refers to Bhutias who migrated from Southern Tibet, “Mon” refers to Lepchas who came from the Eastern Himalayas and “Tsong” refers to the Limbus. A majority of the population of North Sikkim comprises of Bhutias, Lepchas and a few Nepalis. The Lepchas are predominantly concentrated in Dzongu areas and Bhutias in Kabi-Tingda to Lachen- Lachung.
With the perfidious roads taking a toll on us, we called it a day and settled in early for the night in our humble homestay at Lachen after a not-so sumptuous yet soul-satisfying dinner. Waking up early the next morning in the small hamlet of Lachen was a vouchsafing affair. Dew drops on the alpine vegetation and the rhododendrons was an icing on the cake. After a humble breakfast at the Lachen homestay, we treaded onwards to our destination for the day- the Gurudongmar Lake.
Roads started getting more treacherous and our adrenaline stocks started gushing as the thrill expanded. Although our car jerked violently against the gnarly roads, we nonetheless were left bewildered and bemused by the changing flora and fauna- yaks and blue sheep grazing in the alpine pastures and among the rhododendrons and casual local folks lazying around with the interspersed Indian Army standing tall in the dense and tough terrain. Vehicles became all the more sparse as we advanced. After a whopping 1.5 hours (approximate 35 kilometres), we reached Thangu (13,500 feet).
Thangu is a small valley on the way to Gurudongmar and has a large military base as it is located near the border between India and China. An annual Yak race is held at Thangu every year in summer. We had an ultrashort halt at Thangu where we relished on boiled Maggi and yak milk tea at a small tea joint which surprisingly also sold liquor to liquor sots. My husband had his last puff of smoke here as advised, before reaching the lake. Finally we crossed the army camp at Giagong( 16000 feet) where we showed our permits. It is the final check post and we now heaved a sigh of relief as it implied getting nearer to our quest. One needs to cross this checkpoint between 7:30 am and 10:30 am as it is imperative to exit the lake by noon owing to its inhospitable conditions thereafter. Interestingly I noticed that one could also procure souveniers like holy water from the lake in small bottles and other items from this Army camp which by the way also provides hot tea or coffee to visitors.
We had by now honed our skills of surviving rough, terrible roads and couldn’t contain our excitement as we approached our “ raison d’être”. The terrain had turned into something more like a desert. It took us another 1 hour or so (approximate 32 kilometres) for us to reach our long sought destination – the Gurudongmar Lake.
As we opened our car doors on the Gurudongmar grounds, we were struck by a revelation – an inexplicable emotion and a beautiful rendezvous transpired. This was the essence of the Gurudongmar. A fresh cold breeze greeted our presence and as we turned to look towards the lake, we were left literally “ spell-bound” and “awestruck”. The mountains reflected in the pellucid waters and casted a spell on the onlookers. Oh! What a majestic first look it was!!!
Let’s get into a little bit of knowledge on this lake. The Gurudongmar Lake stands at an altitude of 17,800 feet or 5425 meters and lies about 5 kilometres south of the Tibetan border. Temperatures here range from -20 degrees Celsius to 10 degrees Celsius in different months of the year and has a low atmospheric pressure. This fresh water lake, covering an area of 118 hectares is fed by a multitude of glaciers and is one of the source streams of the Teesta. Located to the north of the Kangchengyao range, it stands connected to the Tibetan plateau. Legend has it that Guru Rinpoche (also known as Guru Padmasambhava ) blessed a portion of this lake with unfreezable properties during winter, so that the people of the area could have potable water all year round. It is he who lends his name to this majestic lake. Another school has it that during the 15th century, Guru Nanak, while passing by the frozen lake in winter, touched a part of the lake with his walking stick thereby rendering that part free of snow throughout the year.
However the lake did not fall short of political debates either. A matter of dissension arose when the Indian Army regiment of Sikhs constructed a Gurudwara on the banks of the lake in 1997-98. The local Sikkimese people were offended. Finally the Sikkimese Government intervened and the committee of Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Gangtok declared the lake to be a Buddhist place of veneration. Hence the Gurudwara was handed over to the Lachen Monastery in July 2001. A lama is placed as a custodian at the lake by the Monastery.
We were barely there at the lake for 10 minutes when we started feeling groggy. We realised that altitude sickness or AMS had started to sink in. Thankfully our thoughtful guide Mr Bhupal gave us some dried ginger pellets after which we started feeling slightly better. In this tiny hint of time when we felt better, we tried to capture as many memories of the lake as we could. Hardly had we overcome our grogginess and got into posing for photos, the wind started to pick up. Everyone ran into their vehicles and so did we.
But as we returned, contentment gleamed in our eyes since we had captured gazillions of pictures. It was a total life changing experience which left us humble and obsequious.
There are trips and then there is this Gurudongmar Lake trip. It not only satiated our hunger for adventure and nature love but also quenched our quest for spirituality. The urban life sometimes sucks out the zest of life and probably that’s why we yearned and pined for this trip. I am confident now that I will have no regrets on my death bed. This filled a void in my life and has repleted it with consummate elegance.
Photo | Nitu Deka
