Guru Dongmar Lake

This Sunday will sees the return of Sikkim Sojourn, my journeys in and notes about Sikkim, India. I resume writing my travelogue over Sikkim from the day when I visited Guru Dongmar Lake. Enjoy the post !

 Guru Dongmar Lake

Location Board besides the lake

Sitting in the SUV and moving forward, we see the greenery melt away before our eyes. Giving way to a brown and barren horizon where the air is cold and thin. As we leave the civilization behind and move through the heart of Himalayas, the silence is palpable. Only the howling wind and the noise of tyre's disturb it. It is in this solitude that we realize our presence in this inhospitable yet fascinating country, and we realize that we are in the realm of Mother Nature.

 Brown Hills with ice caps lay besides the Guru Dongmar Road. These hills are located in such a location that  man has rarely ever walked over them

From the SUV

Brown Barren Horizon

We appreciate that this is a place where man does not toy with the nature but vice-versa. While making every movement, while taking every breath we understand that this is a place which we cannot master, just respect. While moving through the valley where the unpaved GuruDongmar road ran parallel to the heavily mined border with China; I realized that I was at the outermost edge of India. 

Since ages people have passed through this ancient path. Borders have been drawn and re drawn, but the immortal panorama unfolding before our eyes has remained the same. The conditions kept challenging us just as it challenged everyone before. This land has seen many a travelers walk across its breast to visit the turquoise colored speck of water across its brown horizon and will continue to see people walk across it. It will continue to challenge everyone. If you win you can get a glimpse of serenity, harmony, and through it a glimpse into your inner soul.

Information board about the lake

A shot of the snow laden Khangchengyao Ranges (these ice caps remain under perma-frost*) (*permanent ice cover)

See the reflection of the nearby snow laden Khangchengyao Ranges on the lake's surface

After visiting this jewel of a lake and seeing the snow capped peaks, the quietness of the environment in which we only hear the howling of the winds and our breath we realize why a holy Buddhist sage like Guru Dongmar settled at this place for many years and meditated. A temple stands at the place where he sat. This lake has got an aura of enchantment and observing its beauty will make you completely forget the troubles you faced while getting here.

Entrance to the Temple or Gurudwara where Guru Dongmar sat and meditated and where Guru Nanak visited (during his third journey) to provide support to the Karmapa Nyingmapa sects who were forced out of Tibet by the Gelugpa sect. His footprints, a water carrying utensils and a robe is still preserved in Lachen Gompa (Lachen is the Base town for reaching this destination).

Prayers written on the wall of the Temple in Tibetan script

Before leaving this place Guru Dongmar keeping the wishes of people in mind touched a part of the lake and ensured that it would not freeze during winters. Till date the lake stands testimony to his miracle. It is believed that the water of this lake has medicinal values and people who visit it take some before returning. 

The portion of Guru Dongmar Lake which never freezes even during winters

The No Nonsense Travel Advice
Destination	Guru Dongmar Lake
Location	Sikkim, India
Elevation	5136 mts/17100ft above sea level
When to Visit	Oct-May
Days of Visit	Tours start from Gangtok only on Mondays and Tuesdays
You require	Only Indian citizens can visit after getting a Permit from the Army, as the lake is next to China border
Advice	Altitude Sickness could be a bother
Base Town	Lachen (2750 mts) or Thangu(4267 mts)

 

 Visit the official website of Sikkim Tourism for more information.

Om Mani Padme Hum
.......

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Guru Dongmar Lake - Black and White Thursdays

For this edition of Black and White Thursdays I am presenting you the immortal picture of Guru Dongmar Lake, Sikkim, India. It is the one of the worlds highest lake. This lake is a significant part of Indian religion and history as Buddhist Tantrik guru, Guru Padmasambhava(Dongmar) practiced various rituals besides this lake over 1000 years ago. What makes this lake even more significant is the fact that the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak visited this lake where Guru Padmasambhava prayed.

Guru Dongmar Lake (17100 ft/5136mt above sea level)

This lake is a turquoise colored jewel in the heart of a brown and white landscape which surrounds it. What makes this lake one of the wonders of this world is that it never completely freezes even during peak winters. It is for this reason this lake and this picture which tries to capture its beauty becomes immortal and thus a part of Black and White Thursdays.  

This February will see the introduction of a new series called Sunday Specials which will have travel destinations from across India and around the world.. yes around the world. Delhi-iteful Tuesdays and Sunday Specials will be published alternately each week while Black and White Thursdays will continue as usual. 

This Sunday will see the return of Sikkim Sojourn, my journeys through Sikkim, India and then I am waiting to write about another beautiful destination which is in my library. So, wait for this Sunday Specials which will be over Sikkim. Till then TC

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I have marked this location on my uencounter.me map.

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Magnificent Desolation of the Tibetan Plateau - Sikkim Sojourn Part 10

The Khangchenyao Ranges

When you are sitting in the SUV and move towards the heart of the Himalayas, you see the greenery gradually melt away, giving way to barren lands, barren hills where the air is cold, the air is thin. Gradually, you begin to realize yourself, you begin to realize your existence, and you realize that you are in the domain.. in the territory of Mother Nature. You understand that this is a place where you do not toy with the nature but the nature toys with you. While making every movement, while taking every breath you understand (to your delight) that this is a place which you cannot master, just respect.

 This vast expanse of nothingness stretches through the entire Tibet region

 Army outposts monitoring the border (Beyond these ridges you can see the international border with China)

 

When I moved through the valley where unpaved roads ran parallel to the heavily mined border with China you realize you are at the outermost edge of India. People have come and gone. Lines have been drawn and re drawn, but the image remains the same, it is immortal unlike us. The land keeps challenging us just as it challenged all of our ancestors.

 Snow capped crags(mountains) overlooked us on the other side of the valley

 

This land has seen many a people walk across its chest to visit the turquoise speck of water(Guru Dongmar Lake) across its brown horizon and it will continue to see people walk across it. It will continue to challenge everyone. If you win you can get a glimpse of serenity, harmony, and through it a glimpse into your inner soul.

These features obstructed our view of China and China's view of us, but we did not take the risk of climbing this hill (an easy task) because of the fear of landmines

 The ancient road which we took to our destination has existed since ages (Picture taken from inside the SUV)

The way to Cholamu Lake (Highest Lake in India)

  

Next stop Guru Dongmar Lake (Taken from inside the SUV)

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Sikkim Sojourn Part 9 - On the way to Guru Dongmar Lake

After breakfast at a home-stay in Thangu we resumed our trip to Guru Dongmar Lake. For the first time in my life I was going to cross the greenery of the world and go to the nothingness beyond it. My mind was filled with anticipation as to what would I see. These pictures will show you the area where the greenery ends and the desolate landscape of the higher Himalayan plateau or the Tibetan plateau takes over-

 Tall trees and dense vegetation gave way to grass and moss covered soil

 A fine example of boulders hanging over the road, ready to fall anytime. I can say with confidence that the trip to Guru Dongmar Lake will not exactly be the most safest one that you have ever taken.

 From afar it might look like a bus but it actually is a temporary construction built possibly by the army

 A road rarely taken. The telegraph poles are meant for army communications.

As you have been seeing my previous posts and now in these pictures the trees gave way to shrubs, shrubs gave way to grass.. The soil became more and more loose. In this region we came across the Indian Army’s Café, it is certified as the World’s Highest Café. After our permits were checked by the army men we resumed our journey. The pictures will reveal what I saw at the edge of all vegetation and habitable areas.

 The road to desolate landscapes of Himalayas

 Grass covered hills

 Loose soil with rocks under it are what you will find in mountainous areas

 Crags or mountains like these kept overlooking us all our way

  

 This was the last natural color(apart from green) I saw before the land turned brown everywhere

 

Observe the whiteness on the sides of these hills which might have been caused by repeated accumulation of snow and melting of it over centuries !

 A tributary of the important Teesta river which is shared by India and Bangladesh. The source of this tributary is the Cholamu Lake (5 kms away from Guru Dongmar Lake and the highest lake in India)

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Sikkim Sojourm Part 8 - Glimpses from Thangu

Settled in a Green Valley with wooden houses having slanted roofs and a stream flowing besides it, 

Thangu looks just like the drawing of a simple village which we all used to make in Kindergarten when we were children

Thangu is a tiny village while on the way to Guru Dongmar Lake. It is nestled at a height of 14000 ft. It is the last settlement before the Indo China border. An ideal place to stopover and acclimatize for the journey (in high altitude terrain) ahead this village has a mountain stream which passes by right next to it. The village is dotted with prayer flags and in the picture you can see the temple of the village as well. Small shops selling chocolates (very good in helping you to deal with altitude related problems) and biscuits abound. 

 The village temple perched over the line of houses. Notice the row of white colored prayer flags 

on hill slopes

While we stopped at Thangu for breakfast I slipped out of the room to take some snaps of the last village before India's international border with China. The Guru Dongmar Lake for your information is just 5 kms or 3.1 miles from the border.

Thangu is a small picturesque village predominantly agricultural in nature. The people are from the Lepcha tribe who are considerd to be the original inhabitants of Sikkim. A stream flows from the village and looks not only beautiful but also provides the village with water. As always I will let my photographs do the explaning :-

Inside a usual Lepcha household having breakfast. Notice the wood fired cooking stove which is also doubling up as a heater for the little one.

Another view of the house this time without the people. Notice the wooden interiors and the white sheet with religious inscriptions printed over it hanging besides the wall. Apparently the people of Thangu take their religious beliefs seriously.

The following pictures will give you a glimpse of what I saw around Thangu:-

From here(Thangu) onward we saw less of trees and more of rocks

A view of a snow capped mountain from the village. The mountain is at least 6000 meters high 

An old village structure obstructed my view of the mountain while I was taking its snap. On close inspection I realized that this might have been a religious structure built according to traditional Sikkimese architecture(notice the bamboo poles between the walls). 

A structure which would have seen Thangu in its older days and must have been in use during then. 

It would have been great to have been able to talk to it. 

You can understand the enormity of this mountain feature by taking a look at a road at the lower end of the picture which resembles more like a snake

These were the pictures I took from Thangu. Once we left Thangu the green cover of the land began to melt away giving way to a barren landscape. Despite being all brown in color this will be my most favorite segment as I enjoyed the thin air, clear skies and a quiet ambiance. Read all about it in my next blog Road to Guru Dongmar.... 

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Sikkim Sojourn Part 7 - To Thangu and Beyond.....

After a gap of a month and a half I am returning to my series 'Sikkim Sojourn'. The unfortunate earthquake in Sikkim was a prominent factor for the gap but now I have decided to bring the series to a culmination. I clicked quite a few pictures which I feel you and the world might want to take a look at. I am sure some of them will leave you pleasantly surprised. The places I found on my journey to Thangu and beyond is something you will rarely find on a map or anywhere else. This was the inspiration for me to name my blog as the 'Path Rarely Taken' because very few people know about these places and even fewer visit them. 

During my journey to Guru Dongmar Lake we had a stopover in Lachen (2750mts/9022 ft). We had to start early morning around 7 am in order to get to the Guru Dongmar Lake. We needed to do so because after 1 pm the Tibetan Plateau ( a part of North Sikkim) witnesses extreme windy conditions and also because it is a condition imposed by the Army. According to my guide the gales of wind are strong enough to make dust and fist sized rocks fly in the air and therefore it is not safe to move at that point of time. The pictures follow - 

Prayer flags dot the landscape of Sikkim (Notice the settlement on the side of the hill)

Green Green Green everywhere....

Observe another settlement between the rolling hills

 From Lachen to Thangu(4267mts/14000ft) on our way to Guru Dongmat Lake lie 2 Army Posts where our permits are checked before allowing us to travel further. One check point is before Thangu and one after it. The check point after Thangu is also an Army run cafe. 

Perched at approximately 4572 meters or 15000 ft it has been certified as the highest cafe in the world. The army men re check your permit, ask you to sit for 10 minutes in the cafe(it is compulsory) while you are served coffee and chocolates (you pay for them of course ! ) and observe you for any symptoms of altitude sickness in which case they ask you to turn back. 

And yes, please do not expect hospitality over here. Naam kya hain tera ?(Your name ?) and Idhar khadaa ho ja ! (Stand at a side) are the common verbiages used gruffly in the cafe... Refer to them as 'Sirji'(Hindi for Respected Sir) as I did and chances are that they will ignore you. Photography is glared upon and as I did not want to take a chance I did not take any pictures. But that said the Army men do a good job and they have tremendous goodwill amongst locals in Sikkim. Some more pictures -

 

One of the first snow-capped crags I set my eyes upon

 Sneak peak of the first army check post (Our guide is in the picture)

Clouds settle on the peaks which overlook the Army Post

Thangu

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(to be continued..... Glimpses from Thangu)

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Sikkim Sojourn Part 6 - Seven Sisters Falls

On the road to GuruDongmar Lake via Lachen I came across this extremely captivating waterfall named the Seven Sisters Falls. One of the most prominent features is the intensity of this water fall and the dull roar caused by the water crashing on the rocks. This falls are named so because it is said to fall in Seven stages.. The point from where we saw the falls we could see only three of them.. Our loss.. Here are some snapshots :-

Falls View(Notice the prayer flags). You could not help but become wet as the spray of water was intense especially at the bridge.

Observe the spot where the water falls touch the rocks with a roar. (Notice the water drops on the lens)

The course of the water after it touches the ground

Wooden bridges(One-Lane) with metallic pillars were a common sight throughout North Sikkim. The rumble of the wooden planks under the tyres are worth listening to. Initially I was a bit apprehensive about the strength of these bridges but during the course of my trip I realized that they are pretty firm.

One way metallic bridge with wooden planks across it. The name of this bridge is B-5.

Wooden Planks for road. These planks really rumble when tyres run over them

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