Phadamchen – Rongli – Teesta Rafting – Char Dham – Namchi
Rising early and going for a walk has become a norm for us now. Enjoying the beautiful Padhamchen morning, me and Hiren followed a trail, here we met a local man. This trail, as it appears so, is Premlakha trail. If we continue walking on this path maybe for 6 hours, we could reach the Indo-Bhutan border. At times the Indian army uses this trail to reach the border or even the Bhutanese Buddhists use this trail to visit some monastaries across this side of the border. Premlakha is probably the last village before the border. It takes 4 hours to reach premlakha village and a few hours more to reach the border. This trek is definitely next on my bucket list. Our next trip will surely be Ladakh or Bhutan and am definitely planning a lot more treks and adventures here. However, there is a plan of building a highway over his road so it’s possible that this trail will be a highway whenever we get back to Sikkim.
Phadamchen Mornings
So, we meet the hosts at breakfast and get to talking (as usual this is what we do with every host) and find out a lot about the history and culture of East Sikkim. Our host even shows us some traditional herbs growing in the area useful for fever and body aches and even gives us a few twigs of it. He has farms of vegetables around him and we are informed that all fruits and vegetables that are grown here are 100 % organically grown. There is a big penalty for using pesticides. Now I know why the food tastes so authentic, full of flavor and tasteful.
Teesta River rafting
Our next stop is rafting in the rapids of Teesta river. It is a good 45 minutes rafting journey. Many options available for rafting. One can simply search the internet and simply go for whichever suits the travel plan. We took up rafting at Namchi as its our last day before we leave for Mumbai. Our rafting is done by 11 am. Namchi is closer to Bagdogra airport as well so we decide to stay overnight here. On recommendation of our Gangtok host, we called up Mr Gyaltsen and booked his home apartment for our last night stay in Sikkim.
Char Dham Tirth Jatra
After rafting, we head for the mini char dham jatra pilgrimage center built on top of Solophok hill. I had expected to be done in half an hour; after all, how much time would I spend in a tirth place. But this turns out to be a stunning imitation of the Chardham and a must-see place. We must have spent around 2 hours visiting each and every mini-temple constructed here – Badrinath, Jagannath Puri, Dwarka, and Rameshwaram; and all the 12 jyotirlings spread over India. This was constructed to attract Hindu travelers into Sikkim and I would definitely send my parents here once for a visit – highly recommended.
We reach our last homestay around 5 pm, and it’s a beautiful apartment with 2 big size-bedrooms (each with attached bathroom), furnished kitchen, Wi-Fi, a living room and a reading lounge area. Best way to de-stress and end our trip. After a little relaxation and talking with the host, we leave for dinner in Namchi downtown. The host was kind enough to offer his car and driver but we chose to go walking instead. It is a different experience walking on the road (which is downslope path) in the dark with no street lights. We reach the one and only Pizza place as recommended by our host and had good dinner and a walk around the downtown. Thus, ends our last night in Sikkim.
- Summary
- Distance traveled today – 90 kms
- Altitude of Namchi – 5500 ft
Homestay review – De’Renee Service Apartment.
- Rooms – Highly recommended – good clean, very spacious rooms. Fully furnished, luxurious (by Sikkim standards), furnished kitchen (cooking facility available).
- Food – excellent, package included only breakfast, the only host to serve us fresh cut fruits, corn flakes and fruit juice (Real brand) along with the other usuals (like puri bhaji), for breakfast.
- Location – Good location, situated on the main road.
- Contact person – Mr Gyaltsen