Okhrey – Dentam Alpine Cheese Factory – Singshore Bridge – Skywalk Pelling – Naku Pelling
Our day starts with a scrumptious and filling breakfast made by Mrs. Sherpa, our Okhrey Homestay host. She even gives us packed sandwiches for our forward journey. We definitely loved Okhrey and the Sherpa family and their cozy home. Unfortunately, we have to march ahead and leave this beautiful hamlet. We leave at 9 am with Pelling as our final destination. The next stop is the Singshore bridge it is 81.7 km away from Okhrey, approximately a 3 hours journey. En route, we pass through a small village called Shribadam. This is our driver, Tashi’s maternal hometown, his mom and her family stay here. He stops by to meet his mom, meantime we roam about in this sleepy little hamlet.
Singshore / Dentam Cheese
After the stop at Shribadam, we visit the Dentam Cheese Factory. Again, a small little factory, where we could see the process of cheese and butter manufacturing. We bought the world-famous Gouda cheese and fresh unsalted butter made from cow’s milk. We eat our sandwiches here with the local cheese.
Singshore bridge with its height of over 100 m and 240 m in length is the highest bridge in Sikkim and the second highest in Asia. It’s truly a man-made marvel that offers a spectacular view below if you have the guts to look down (I dread looking down). You can feel the thrill when you are standing in the middle of the bridge and a strong wind blows. All the time I hold hubby’s hands while on the bridge didn’t even dare to let go of him. My boys, on the contrary, are running from one end to the other making me all the more paranoid. This ordeal for me ended soon and we are back in our vehicle.
Pelling Skywalk
Just about 5 km from the Singshore bridge is Pelling, an hour and a half more to travel. In Pelling, we first visit the Skywalk, which is India’s first glass skywalk. The entry fee here is Rs 50 for adults and Rs 25 for students. There is a 137 ft tall statue of Chenrezig, which is a sign of Buddha’s sympathy. His name signifies “one who looks with an unwavering eye”.
We have lunch at around 3 pm at Pelling and proceed to our next homestay “Khi Gha Thang” (means peaceful home). It’s a beautiful homestay run by young civil engineer Jordan and his family, in Naku village on the outskirts of Pelling. We are given a wooden cottage. Built at the edge of a little cliff, overlooking the valley and a trail that goes down to another little hamlet. A pretty garden with a swing, a campsite, wooden benches and a wooden tent too.
Khi Gha Thang
As the weather has been so far, it starts to get cloudy post 3 pm and we simply relax in the room and explore the outdoors and enjoy the serenity. Pelling is at an altitude of 7,200 ft and our homestay, Naku, is at a lower altitude compared to Pelling. Post 6 pm, it’s thundering, lightning, and we order chowmein, momos, and sprout salad for dinner. Jordon’s mother is an excellent cook and post-dinner, we enjoy a couple of hours without any electricity.
We sit in the verandah of our cottage and gaze at the stars. In Mumbai, we barely are able to see stars in the sky. Here we try to locate the Great Bear Constellation, The Orion, etc. We spot the North Pole successfully and in this process of star gazing, we realize there is a stream of light coming from the top of a mountain in form of a Buddha figure. It then occurs to us it is the same ‘Chenrezig’ we visited earlier today. True to his name, he is actually looking over and protecting us humans endlessly. With the blessings of Buddha in our hearts, we blissfully and peacefully end the day hoping for clear skies the next day for our further journey.
- Summary –
- Pelling altitude – 7,200 ft, Pelling – Naku distance -20 mins
- Total distance driven today – 110 kms
Khi Gha Thang
- Khi Gha Thang – Pelling Homestay Review
- Rooms – Highly recommended – We had opted for a family cottage, good clean spacious room, good view of Kanchenjunga from the room. One double bed and 2 single beds. comfortable bedding and blankets, a little armoire for clothes, TV in the room, a tiny lobby with chairs. A very big outdoor garden with swing, tables, barbeque (camp fire) area.
- Food – Excellent, package included only breakfast (Aloo Paratha, bhaji, momos, tea, coffee).
- Location – excellent if you are a nature lover, direct view of Kanzhendzonga peak, located at outskirts of Pelling in Naku village, near Lamathang.
- Contact person – Mr. Jordon Sherpa
day 4 – Pelling sight seeing darap village – Rimbi – Yuksom
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