North Sikkim-visit to gurudongmar lake

The most widely accepted origin of the name Sikkim is that it is a combination of two words in the Limbu Su, which means "new", and Khyim, which means "palace" or house, in reference to the palace built by the state's first ruler, Phuntsok Namgyal. The Tibetan name for Sikkim is Denjong, which means the "valley of rice".Travellers mostly frequent North,West and East sikkim.For the first time I visited the scenic state of Sikkim in October 2005 where we visited the Rumthek Monastry,did some sight seeing around Gangtok and the next day visited Chhangu lake.The breathtaking flora and fauna took my heart away and I could hardly get my eyes off the beautiful valley.That is when I promised to be back again,living just 5 hours across border in Darjeeling I had never imagined the beauty of Sikkim to be such.The cold chilly ,freezing air which runs past thru to your lungs to make you live and active,can be experienced here.I returned to Sikkim again in October 2007 to visit the North.The best lake i have visited till date was Gurudongmar.It has somethingdramatic which cannot be explained but felt.Yungtham valley was awesome however i would like to return one day when the rhododendrons are on full bloom.West Sikkim I am coming.........now my trip account.
We tried to get information on Sikkim however there was very little information on the net.Tourist were allowed to North Sikkim in most recent time ,however trip to Gurudongmar lake is still restricted for foreigners.For indians we need to get inner line permit which the travel agency will acquire along with the package. A three days and two night package is avaliable with most of the travel agency to visit Gurudongmar lake and Yungtham valley also call the valley of flowers due to the different variety of rhododandrons that flower during the spring season.We were four people so we booked a shared trip.
We started our journey from Gangtok on 17 October ,the start was quite unpleasant,our tour operator did not inform us about the placement in the jeep we were the first ones to book so we thought we would get the choice of seats .We were informed we can take two seats in the front or middle and two has to be the back seats.We had to argue for some time and finally settled for two in front and two at the back front facing seats.We had to share this jeep with the Bengali group of six people.Our driver went to collect the remaining lot and as soon as they saw two of us sitting in the front they were not ready to board the jeep.They too had discussion with their travel company as they wanted to sit in the front two rows.We did not know what to do.Finally the owner of the jeep came to us to adjust and sit on the back row and he would refund some amount for the inconvenience as we were the only people who had to adjust they did not compromise at all,,further more these discussions were delaying our trip,so we agreed.As soon as we occupied the last row they happily sat in the front two rows .I could see them smile happily as they took their seats.Our departure time was 10.30 am we finally managed to start at 12.00 noon.We had not even crossed gangtok our driver started saying he needs to get the jeep repaired as this would be a long journey and there are no service station up north.

Finally we started towards Lachen our first base before we travel to Gurudongmar,as we wasted almost two and a half hours we travelled directly to Thikchum guest house where lunch arrangement was made for us. We happily gobbled local nepali food ,it was simple and filling .Our driver started washing the jeep so after sometime we left this place for further north. The scenery was good we passed several small villages .As we left each bend we could see beautiful waterfalls and cross deadly bridges. The distance from the bridge to the river below at places were so far below that, you would not give a second glance. Our next stop was at Chungtham,we reached around 4.30 pm.This village lies in the confluence of two rivers Lachen and Lachung chu.We had some tea and proceeded towards Lachen. Finally after much travelling we reached Lachen at 7 pm.It was already dark so we settled into our rooms, dinner again was simple nepali food ,however it was tasty.At dinner we met some guides and conversation started about the lake and altitude sickness,we had a nice time as they shared their experiences. The Bengali group were also sitting with us so we translated what the guides were saying. They were concerned about altitude sickness as they had a 10 year old with them. I informed them it might happen it might not happen at all ,but they just need to be careful and as advised by the guides we can have lots of popcorn(i do not know how they are connected with altitude sickness). After dinner we had tea and retired for the night, as we had to start early around 5.30 to 6 am, the reason being the weather will be unpredictable at the lake during the later part of the day.
We got up at 5 am ,got ready had tea still no sign of the other group. Daylight was just breaking towards the east, so I decided to have a walk and enjoy the fresh air. I met fellow travellers who were trying to capture the first rays of the sun on the mountain peaks, however as I headed out without the camera I just devoured the scenery and stored in my memory never to be forgotton.The air was chilling and a shiver ran down my spine, so I decided to jog for sometime .I returned to the hotel by then the driver woke up the other group only two people decided to join us to Gurudongmar,the remaining we not sure so stayed behind.
The journey uphill was breathtaking the water splashing on the banks and on the rocks that stood on their way, on the autumn background of red and yellow trees. This scenery will always be cherished. The same scenery kept on repeating but I was not tired of looking out in anticipation of something beautiful that I may miss. We took a short break for photographs and proceeded towards Thangu where we would halt for breakfast. We reached at 8 am.
Thangu came out to be a very beautiful village, with the mountain and hills as a protective barrier ,the prayer flags singing along with the wind ,the sound of the river breaking the silence and few houses dotted around the road. We went into a shop where we were shown into the kitchen. Surprisingly the kitchen was quite a large one, with a fire burning in the middle seats were arranged around the fire. It was a relief from the ice cold breeze outside. We had breakfast, bread and egg were provided by the agency however I had the local “tsampa” (roasted barley flour) with tea which would be filling till we again return to Lachen for lunch. We bought prayer flags to offer at the lake and few packets of popcorns as we were advised this would help us against altitude sickness.
After breakfast we started off towards Gurudongmar.The scenery is very beautiful as soon as you leave Thangu,however as you travel further up the vegetations change trees giving way to bushes, further up the landscape was devoid of vegetation because of altitude .The roads were bumpy and you can make your own road on the vast expanse providing you do not loose track of the destination or you will land up in China ha hate roads are dirt tracks made by frequent visits by jeeps. We could see the mountains all around filled with fresh snow and we were excited. As we drove we did not realise the time pass by slowly we climbed uphill and all of a sudden almost dramatically the Gurudongmar lake was in front of us. All we could do was look at each other smile breaking from each ones face as we were not able to believe we had reached.We reached around 10.30 am
We were given some time to spend around the lake, the driver informed us we cannot stay for long as weather might change suddenly. We wanted to skirt around the lake but our driver told us that will take quite a long time, so we decided to do a half circle. The lake was beautiful with sky blue reflecting back at us, the prayer flags lining the lake and the stones piled around the shore. The snow laden mountains ,the silence around it was a heavenly feeling. We did not miss an opportunity to shoot the lake from all directions.
After spending an hour at this lake we boarded our jeep with a heave heart wishing that we were given a few more hours at this awesome lake.
Some facts about the lake Gurudongmar Lake is one of the highest lake in the world at an altitude of 17100 feet. The lake is named after Guru Padmasambhava, who is also known as Guru Dongmar. It is located close to the Indo-China Border in the province of North Sikkim, India. The lake remains completely frozen in the winter months from November to Mid-May except for one small part of the lake which is supposed to be touched and blessed by the Guru Padmasambhava.The lake is highly revered by the Sikkimese and Buddhists and the waters are supposed to have curative properties.According to a legend, since the lake used to remain frozen most of the year, it was not possible to use it's water for drinking purposes, When the Guru Padmasambhava passed by, while returning from Tibet, the local residents are reported to have reached him for providing source of water. The Guru obliged, a portion of the lake touched by him does not freeze in the extreme winter. Since water of the lake is considered sacred, visitors carry the "holy" water in the bottles.

Gurudongmar lake in winters