Wild Beauties

The variety of flora to be found in the Lachen valley is simply amazing. The great explorer botanist J.D. Hooker was completely awed by the variety of flora he found in the Lachen valley during his exploratory trip in 1849, making the following entry in his diary ” At first it appears incredible that so limited an area should present nearly all the types of flora found in the north temperate zone” . These  wild flowers held a captivating fascination for me as well. Managed to capture a few of these beauties during my excursions to Lashar, Thangu, Dewthang and Tarum.

  

Primula glomerata

  

Blue poppy -Meconopsis grandis

 

Enjoying the Marigold

Rhododendron slopes

You can check out more pictures over here

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Zipping to Zachu valley

Both of us were ready by seven am, waiting for our guide Pema to accompany us to Lashar valley or Zachu, as the locals popularly called it. Last evening Pema had seemed a bit skeptical about our intention to go to Zachu valley in a day. According to him, it would take us a good five hours to reach there, contrary to the three hours we had been told in Lachen. So we readily heeded his advice of leaving by seven in the morning so that we could be back in Thangu the same evening.
From the very beginning itself Pema was sprinting up as though he were getting late to catch a train. Our walking path criss-crossed the motorable road, which was in the process of  being built, all the way to Bamzay. It made me wonder if a road would be built all the way till Lashar, but I really hope not.

Quarter of an hour into our climb I am panting like mad, finding it difficult to keep pace with Pema who always seemed to be running away. My mind drifted, thinking of one of the crazy Vijay-type hikes back in the Sahyadris. My dear friend Vijay is quite fabled for killer hikes, having a sort of a faithful imaginary clan to which I belong. His unassuming physical appearance does not give out much – just a glance at his thin stumpy legs gives a feeling of being barely able to walk. But once these sticks pick up pace, they never seem to tire, making me wonder how such thin legs could have so much power. To be a part of this crazy clan your backpack must weigh a minimum of 20 kgs, almost like an entry criteria. But it does not end over here. This is the minimum weight after which we’d compete as to who is carrying the most weight, as though we’re training to be mules. The irony of this being that despite all the stuff we carry to weigh our bags like water, stones (literally) and other impertinent paraphernalia, we never seem to carry food or enough of it, the most essential of all things. Once the hike starts there is not much opportunity for a break except if you are lucky enough to get lost or have to answer nature’s call. Even the few fruits we carry are generally had while we are walking. Well it’s not as bad as it sounds, for I am party to this insane clan and completely enjoying it.

 

By the time I came back to my senses Pema and Nima were way ahead of me making me pick up my

Rhododendron slope

pace. The one and a half hour climb was quite a killer though I have a feeling it was the height rather than my fitness that was getting to me. At this point we took a much needed break to quench our parched throats and also to eat sometime to replenish energy. From here, the path became relatively easy with gentle ups and downs. Now that I was more relaxed, I could really marvel at the view ahead and behind us, enjoying my walk. After about an hour we reached an open expanse of green meadows completely laden with rhododendrons , wild poppies and other wild flowers. I was gleeful to be in the midst of these vivid wild flowers, like a small child who had just received a surprise gift. This time I had ample opportunity to photograph the blue poppies, making me go completely trigger happy. Rejuvenated, we begun our walk towards Damboche village from where the path gently descended down to enter Lashar valley.  

 

Once we entered Lashar valley we were in altogether a different world. Everything seemed so serene and still as though the earth had stopped rotating. The serpentine river meandering through the valley floor flowed so gently giving one an appearance that it had come to a complete standstill. A little further down we saw a large heard of sheep on the grass less slopes being tended by a Dokpa, with whom Pema immediately got into conversation. Dokpa are the nomadic Tibetan herders who inhabit these high valleys of Lachen, most of their settlements are in Muguthang valley but there are a few in Lashar as well. Further down we could see the snow capped mountains with their hanging glaciers like a spectacular necklace meant to bedazzle the onlooker, and a little ahead was Sebu la – the connecting pass to Lachung. Crossing this 17,000 foot pass is supposed to be quite challenging but very rewarding too, the major issue in this region is arranging for the logistics which is a nightmarish activity. Though sometime in the future I would really love to do this three-day trek from Thangu to Yumthang. One more hour of walking through the calm Lashar valley got us to a small, dilapidated hut which was seemingly used by the Survey of India people while mapping the valley. This hut marked the end of our five hour journey to the base of Sibu la. Took a half hour lunch break over here, enjoying views of Kanchgyao (22600 feet) and other mountains to our North.

 

Sibu - la (to the right)

Now that there is some food in my tummy and my body sufficiently rested, am able to keep my pace with Pema on our return journey. The path skirts over the bank of the Lashar chu unable to give us a good perspective of the serpentine river meandering through the valley. Pema makes us climb the ridge to Phalung from where he says we would get excellent views of the river, beginning our

Lashar chu

scramble over loose rocks and steep slopes, puffing and panting as we move further up. To our misfortune dull grey clouds decide to envelope the entire valley at this very movement, turning our climb into a futile exercise as we are unable to get any good snaps. The downward journey proves to be extremely tricky, being more of a sliding cum balancing act rather than a climbing down. Over here we spotted a pair brahmini ducks playfully flirting with each other, while quacking out loud to break the silence within the valley. For a few minutes we watch their constant ritual of landing over the river, to take off again the next instant. Pema shows me the watch to indicate that we need to keep moving to reach Thangu by early evening. Our amazing and arduous trek finally came to an end at three in the afternoon, eight hours after we had left.

Lashar valley

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Lachen – Part II

Was really glad to be back in Lachen, after spending nine long and boring days in rainy Gantok. As luck would have it the weather in Lachen was much better, it being bright and sunny and with slopes having more chlorophyll induced grass and plants due to the melting snow on top. Everything seemed to be much more infused with life. The next few days things went a bit downhill as I was completely alone , without my helper – Tshering and Gokey’ (my host) sons was completely bored and pretty frustrated. Most of the village was empty as many people had gone up to Thangu to tend to their farms or collect forest products. A dull gloom set over me as the days passed by; at one point I thought that my second trip would be completely futile, unable to make any progress on the guidebook or any other front.

 

One thing I forgot to mention in my last post on Lachen was about the kitchen, the epicenter of their household existence. It is the heart and soul of the household, acting as their hall and dining room, a place where families socialize and guests entertained. They have a really large kitchen completely encircled with  pots, pans, kettles and cutlery of all shapes and sizes which  sit proudly on the shelves, showing off the social status of their owners. I doubt that even half of the vessels must have ever been used as I guess they are more ornamental than practical. The size and variety of vessels I saw in all the kitchens never seized to amaze me; they actually held some sort of fascination for me.

 

 

The turning point of the trip came with Nima’ arrival three days later, as he pushed the pipon in his gentle way to get the ball rolling. The next morning Nima arranged for me to go to the base of Lama Angden , the guardian mountain of Lachen. This plan materialized on the spur of the movement putting the Gokey family in a bit of disarray as a guide had to be arranged for and my packed lunch had to be prepared. Lama Angden (5868 m)  is a very beautiful snow capped peak sitting right above Lachen, which I never had the luck of viewing during my one month sojourn. The hike to it’ base takes around 5-6 hours depending upon one’ speed and the condition of the route, making it a strenuous one day affair.  

My guide taking a breather

  I was introduced to my guide an old Lachenpa who understood neither English nor Hindi, resulting in us communicating in the cosmic language of human expressions and signs. Our progress was a bit slow as the old man had to keep catching up with his breadth, which he did by taking numerous cigarette breaks. An hour into our hike the climb really became steep and we had to start scrambling over loose rocks and grassless slopes, making the old man to mutter a bit. As luck would have it the weather gods chose to be displeased this very day, the entire valley being blanketed in dense clouds after it being bright and sunny for the past four days. As the going became tougher the length of his muttering and frequency of his cigarette breaks proportionately increased, but I was only beginning to enjoy the rugged terrain within the confines of the clouds. Finally when we reached the first plateau after climbing for two hours his muttering became way too much for me to handle. He was explaining that there was no defined path ahead of us with a good three hour climb still remaining, and the visibility was truly becoming very bad , so I conceded to turning back. Now the roles were reversed as I got down slowly and cautiously over loose rocks, while by guide seemed to be as sure footed as a mountain goat literally running down. I was really amazed at his skill as I saw myself fumbling in a hesitant manner over my footings. Mrs. Gokey was surprised to see me back before lunch time, maybe even a bit disappointed after all the effort she had taken.

 

One very important thing I learnt while working in Lachen was that things never and I mean never go according to the plan while working with communities. Dates and time do not mean much to these people, who luckily, still live in a peaceful and laid back world. We had to wait out one more day to go to Thangu for our reci trip to Lashar valley locally referred to as Zachu valley. At last the morning came when we set out to leave for Thangu. Our jeep seemed to be quiet abused as it was coughing it’ way up, having occasional spasms. At two points we had to push the poor tormented soul so that it would start in hope of transporting us to Thangu. Despite our apethtic progress we reached Thangu by 10, giving us enough time to walk to Dewthang for seeing the meditation caves of the Lachen rinpoche and Alexandra David-Neel.

Alexandra David-Neel' cave

Alexendra David-Neel was one of the most famous French explorer cum spiritualist and the first women from the western world to have set foot into Tibet. On her second visit to Sikkim in 1914 she met gomchen Aphur Yogden at the Lachen monastery with whom she retreated to the caves above Dewthang to study and meditate for two years.  The path for Dewthang commences from Kalep, taking around two hours to reach the cave. Wild flowers like marigold, primula sikkimensis, rhododendrons and blue poppy colored the route all throughout, making our walk all the more enjoyable. The blue poppy immediately became a favourite with me , proving a bit difficult to photograph due to it’ shy and illusive nature, The ones near the path were closed or withered away, and the ones which were well bloomed were in between inaccessible thickets. The path gradually climbed on top through lightening struck tree trunks and an incompletely built monastery to get us to the main cave where the first rinpochi of Lachen monastery had meditated for 13 years. The cave being quite big was compartmentalized into smaller spaces for meditating, cooking and sleeping.  Still it was pretty dark and damp inside and found it hard to imagine how somebody could stay in such a place for so many years, but then such are the ways of the venerable monks. From here we got some nice views of the Kalep valley below us , as we were wondering where the second cave of Alexandra David-Neel was. Climbed up a bit more over the rhododendron slopes, permeating their sweet smell in the crisp air of this serene valley.  Sat down for some time enjoying the natural beauty surrounding us , reflecting and analyzing my philosophies of life. While coming down we saw a small shallow cave which I thought would be the one used by Alexendra David-Neel as it was below the main cave of the rinpochi as described to us. After speaking to a few people and showing them our photos, it was confirmed that the shallow cave was the one where Alexendra Davis-Neel had meditated.

 

Kalep valley from Dewthang

By the time we reached Thangu it had begun to rain quite heavily forcing us in our room. Luckily the skies opened out in some time to reveal a bright blue dome giving us an opportunity to see the old rustic monastery as also the new one being constructed. After that met up with our guide who was to take us to Zachu valley tomorrow, though he sounded a bit surprised on hearing our intention to do the trip in one day as it was a long walk according to him. Will write a more detailed post about this outing in time to come.

 

When we were back in Lachen I had the fortune of experiencing Saga Dawa, one of the holiest Buddhist festivals. On this auspicious day it is supposed that the Buddha was born, attached enlightenment and died. The day started with a pooja at the monastery , with some of the monks continuing the prayers all through the day. The entire village had come with some sort of floral or culinary offering for the gods. It was my first experience of the Buddhist chants and quite a powerful one. The next morning we left to go to Tarum hot springs ,a very popular jaunt with the local people. The outing turned out to be a relaxed vacation of grand proportions for the two of us , would be putting a separate post for this trip too.

 

This brought to an end my second and final trip to Lachen. A trip which seemed really doomed in the beginning, finally turned out to be a fabulous one with a good deal of exploration. It was quite a challenging and at time frustrating experience working with the local community over here, none the less a very fulfilling one.

You can check out more pictures of my outings over here

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Dazzeled at Guru Dongmar

Thanks to madam Mayura’ beauty bath we were late by an hour . Bid farewell to Raj as he had to leave for Sillgury while Nima, Mayura , Tshering and Myself proceeded on our way to Gurudongmar with our driver Budul Lachenpa. The road upto Thangu is quite winding as it skirts the valley giving us good views of the waterfall ridden land with pretty rhododendrons and melodious birds. As one rides to the lake one can literally see the change in terrain from the temperate oaks and conifers, to the alpine shrubs, to the barren Tibetan desert. Our drive brought back fond memories of my trip to Ladakh, the barren mountains with the most amazing shades of red, brown and green standing beside snow clad mountains ornate with stunning hanging glaciers. The first thing I felt as I stepped out of the jeep was a tinge of dizziness due to the lack of oxygen reminding me that I was now standing at 17,100 feet.

 The lake is a pearl in the desert and has a spell bounding beauty. It is the largest lake in Sikkim and is considered a very holy one by the Buddhists and Sikkimese alike. Legend has it that Guru Padmasambhava crossed this lake when he went to Tibet in the 8^th century. On the shore of the lake you see all around stones which have been piled one on top of another (mostly four to five stones), like a pagoda called Lapse, this is to ward of the evil spirits and bring peace and harmony in the valley. Recently a footpath has been built around the entire lake, which supposedly takes around an estimated three hours to walk.

 

On our way back we took a brief halt at Chopta valley where there is a yak breeding centre, from where we proceeded to Thangu. Over here I had my first glass of Tibetan tea which I was over zealous to taste, as I wondered how tea with butter and salt would taste. My verdict was a mixed one and in anyways I was to get used to drinking tea with salt very soon. Thangu is the summer residence of the Lahenpa herders as during this time of the year they get their yak, sheep and goats to the green meadows of this valley. There was once a time when the entire village would migrate over here being nomadic tribes, but with changing times most people have settled down in Lachen. The flowering meadows were inviting us for a walk amongst their beauty , to which we readily obliged. Our driver Budul was quite an expert on flowers and had a good knowledge about them and identifies quite a few varieties of rhododendrons, primulas and wild flowers for us. The path meandered through the meadows and led us to the Chopta chu (stream) cutting right across it. The water had carved some amazing rock formations creating some spectacular light effects. Relaxed by the stream for some time before we left to go back and return to Lachen.

 The entire area near Thangu was covered with flowers giving an appearance of a grand flower basket. I was lost in this dreamy world when all of a sudden I find that Budul had taken a sort of a detour and we were driving on a mud road. He got us to some rustic village covered in clouds, where horses roamed about freely. This was the village of Talem, which somehow seems to have been lost in time. The houses over here are more than a 100 years old, made of mud and timber. There was an amazing tranquility to this place and for a few movements it appeared that I had actually traveled back in time. But a single honk from Budul awoke me from my dreamy state as we returned back to Lachen from a most exciting and enthralling day.

                 

                     

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