One fine cold evening in Dec ‘20 at home in New Delhi, I was relaxing and listening to some sufi music, I received a call from Prashant, who is from Gorakhpur, a member of my riding group and he asks, Bhaiiya i am in Gangtok and i want to go to Gurudongmar Lake but the taxi fellows/union state that private vehicles are not allowed to ply there and hence you will not be allowed to take your Honda BRV. Please guide me what I should do ? I am traveling with my better half and have brought her on a road trip and we wish to go there!!

I told him hang on, don’t get upset, let me find out, speak to some of my close contacts there and figure out the current status for you. Then I called up my friend, asked if the road to Gurudongmar was open and if a car could make it there ? Quickly, she put me on hold and checked with her husband whether the roads were open, to which he answered that nowadays even an Alto is also making it up there quite easily.

Hearing this I said if I could get permission for Prashant and he could make it there with his wife it would be a great opportunity for him to impress his wife and there I was taking all the info I could. 

Happily I informed Prashant that he had to get to Mangan, 59kms, almost a 2.5 hrs drive towards the North of Sikkim, visit the police station and he could seek for the permission easily, if he was carrying all the required copies of the documents. The documents :

• Driver’s License
• RC in your name/undertaking depending upon the terms & conditions.  
• Aadhar Card/Passport/Voter’s Card
• Covid formalities of the Permit to travel in Sikkim with the respective dates mentioned

He said that he would do so and make it early to Mangan and seek the required permissions. I got back to my usual routine and disconnected stating that in case you face a challenge, please do let me know and then will figure out a way.

It was 9pm in the night and it got me thinking that even I hadn’t visited Gurudongmar Lake which is said to be beautiful and moreover the lake was frozen then too.

With the travel kick in me always, I called my then new travel buddy Hitesh and asked him where he was and what he was doing…to which he answered that he was in Goa and was to be there for a week and would be working from there. I told him about my plan about Gurudongmar, to which he also stated that he hadn’t seen it either, that it was frozen too…and said thik hai Bhaiiya…let’s go

Hurray..was I excited and ban gaya program and instantly i cancelled all my plans of a 5 days pre planned trip to Bihar and decided to head to Sikkim. Told about this plan to my wife and she said – what’s in your mind, Bhagwaan jaane…you told me this morning about Bihar and now you’re telling me Sikkim instead of Bihar. I said yes, and she said when are you getting back …and all those questions which I’m sure all the married folks know…which I need not explain here. 

I said after 5 days, I will head to Kolkata post Sikkim and meet you there. You could fly to Kolkata from Delhi and we can spend the rest of the days of the year there…which is our usual program every December. 

It was 4am the next day, and I had packed my bags in excitement in the night itself, as I was also planning to be in Kolkata for a week after Sikkim now :).

The route decided was – 

Delhi – Greater Noida Expressway – Yamuna Expressway upto Agra and then take the Lucknow Expressway – Ayodhya – Gorakhpur bypass – Kushinagar – Gopalgunj – Darbhaga bye pass – Muzaffarnagar – Forbesganj – Asian Highway – Siliguri – Sevoke Road – Rangpo – Mangan – Lachen – Gurudongmar Lake.  

The total distance of the trip – 1710 kms. Night Halts would be Siliguri, Lachen, Lachung, Siliguri.

Started the trip, was worried about the fog enroute but I said to myself I will see when I am. I was lucky that day as there was almost no fog or smog which was a hindrance for me on the highway. I sailed smoothly and my first halt was at Starbucks, Jewar for a quick cappuccino and spent 10 mins and continued. 

I called Vivek Lochan, a friend and a fellow Pajero Club member from Siliguri. This was the 3rd time I was going to meet him this year…who stayed 1500kms away. Told him I was heading for Gurudongmar Lake and would meet you around 8am the next day, while I was crossing Agra which was  224kms already by then. To which he said aajao daada, will be waiting for you. 

I continued till Gorakhpur, about 600kms from Agra bypass and decided to call up my school friend Govind Singh, whom I was meeting after almost 22 years after we had finished school. Meeting point was Royal Darbar Restaurant, Indira Nagar, Gorakhpur as it would fall on the highway and close to his workplace too. He quickly wrapped up his office work and came to meet. A big smile we had on our faces, when we looked at each other from a distance and had a big jhappi.

Then the discussion continued…literally like headless chickens the topics were comic up…we wanted to ask, discuss, know about everything in this gap of 22 years within 30-45 mins or so. The food also was ordered..the food was yummy but our discussions were more interesting. 45 mins went away within 15 mins it felt…and unfortunately it was time to leave as I had to cover a long remaining distance of another 700kms…bid goodbye and left at 9pm. 

Traffic by then on the highway had reduced with trucks on them and around 4am just before the Kosi Mahasetu Toll which was 1235 kms from home, I felt sleepy, parked my Pajero Sport opposite to some of the local shops and took a quick nap for an hour or so, woke up and started my journey again. Hitesh had by then confirmed his flight tickets from Goa and I had to receive him at Bagdogra. 

I entered Siliguri at 10am by then Vivek had already enquired twice as to where I had reached. Meets me on Sevoke Road and took me to his home and made arrangements for my stay at his guest room…absolutely a sweet gesture and  I couldn’t thank him and then took some rest and freshened up. Then I get a message that Hitesh’s flight is delayed till the evening at 4pm instead of an 11am arrival. Spent some good time getting my Pajero’s alignment checked and washed before beginning the journey to the hills. 

Then Hitesh arrives at Bagdogra airport (the nearest airport for going to the West Bengal Hill stations) and by the time he settles down, it’s time for dinner where Vivek and a couple of his family members are also present.

We spent some good time discussing our stories from various trips and how we planned and how we came together and began traveling together (Hitesh & self ).   

While all this was happening a challenge was thrown to us by Vivek’s sister saying that I will consider you guys as travellers if you are able to make it to “Tsolamu lake “ also known as Cholamu Lake which was beyond Gurudongmar to which we happily said “Accepted”.

Next day we bid goodbye and made it to Mangan, North of Sikkim and I called Karma Ma’am, whom I had met in our Sikkim Drive – Dec 2019, where I had made some good friends from across India.  I called her to give her a surprise and obviously she was taken aback stating that “ I just spoke to you 2 days back and you told me that you may plan to visit in Jan 2021 and now you’re telling me that you’re already in Mangan. It was exactly one year after which I was making a visit to Sikkim.

Hearing this she immediately invited us for breakfast and there we (Hitesh, Prashant and myself ) were with her and her family. We got a warm welcome, spent time chatting with her, and got our permissions by then. It was almost 2.30 pm and time just flew by and it was time for us to leave for Lachen, 56kms via the Singtam – Chungthang Road and then take the uphill left to Lachen. It was 7pm when we reached Lachen and it was already -3 degrees that we were experiencing. 

We reached the hotel and now the most important part of the travel to the hills is to find an apt parking space. No matter how long you’ve driven, how tired you may be but if a parking space meets your satisfaction nothing like it. 

If you reach late…the limited parking within the premises is already occupied…as its first come first serve basis. Our vehicle was long hence we had to adjust somewhere outside but was safe that the hotel caretaker arranged for. It is equally important to make sure that your car is protected from the cold air, minus temperatures so that there are no challenges in the cold start….all that has to be taken care of and that’s when you tend to have a good sleep. 

While our friend had taken care of our lodging and accommodation, we were literally shivering in the cold. Our hands and feet were going numb and the first thing we wanted to check with the hotel was about a room heater. We checked in, had dinner and went off to sleep in the cosy warm bed, quilt and of course with a complimentary heater in the room too.

We woke up at 6am and it was -6 degrees. We had no wish to get out of the bed but the excitement made us do all that we weren’t wishing to. We just couldn’t wait to reach Gurudongmar Lake which was still another 67kms away. We were to cross Hema, Yathang, Thangu Valley (30kms), close by is the Chopta Valley View Point, amazingly in Sikkim too before we entered the Gurudongmar Lake zone. From the last checkpoint it’s about 16kms to the lake that one needs to travel. 

We got out while we were on the journey and after a few kms, i accidentally pushed the wiper controls and the water froze on the windscreen and i literally couldn’t see anything. I had to stop my Pajero and wipe the snow off the windscreen else there would be scratches..…then remembered that I had old monk rum kept in the side pocket and poured it into the wiper washer reservoir and that was because I recalled a story that rum wouldn’t freeze unless it was too,too, tooo cold.

We saw no. of taxis mostly xylos, innovas and taveras crossing us and overtaking and moving ahead to reach the last check post before entering into Gurudongmar Lake region. I had then installed a new YSS suspensions that i had ordered from Kerala and I was eager to test it and that’s it….didn’t leave any chance to show them off and i paced ahead of all the cabs/taxis and reached the checked post situated at 15000ft ahead of all of the ones who had overtaken. 

When I got down at Giagong, to show my inner line permit, which is open between 730am – 1030am and you need to exit this place by 1230pm since the weather here is very very unpredictable. 

Some of the young taxi drivers walked up to me to ask what vehicle is this ?, is it available in India, how did i get permission to self drive and what suspensions do you have that its running so smoothly when we see you pacing ahead of us, from behind and i had that grin on my face saying it all – full paisa wasool mere bhai.

First of all, everywhere I go I am told that I seem to look like I am from the army because of my build and especially my haircut.

Secondly, the best surprise those drivers got was when I used to answer their questions in their language, Nepali and then they got into questions and more questions….and i always enjoy those conversations etc.

At Giagong checkpoint, there’s a Cafe @ 15000 ft – a Gurkha kitchen run by the Gurkha regiment army men mostly from Dehradun and they served yummy veggie momos, i don’t remember last, when i had tasted such wonderful, lip smacking, served hot momos anywhere else in such terrains. We couldn’t hold ourselves and we had 5 plates, 10 pieces in each plate at that altitude. It’s a small shelter where you are served hot piping tea/coffee for free, a small souvenir shop run by the army and also some sweaters etc to support the tourists in these cold places. You also have restrooms built in the premises for public use.

After such a wonderful food adventure….it was time for us to head towards Gurudongmar. We were heading and along the black tarmac roads were these beautiful peaks covered with full snow on your right and the barren hills with the Chinese posts along the left. 

We were still searching for the lake and then we saw one of the taxis taking a right turn uphill and it was a steep climb so then we saw a small board mentioning our destination and then we did the climb and reached the parking lot of the lake next to the Gurudwara and the Monastery. 

What a view it was !! Unbelievable ….i loved every bit of the terrain, the mountains and ofcourse what lovely weather we were in. The various shades of the mountains falling on the frozen lake…white in color, the snow capped mountains all around. 

Finally we made it to Gurudongmar which was frozen, a rare glimpse especially when the roads are open and it was a bright sunny day, chilly winds blowing, fresh air and 7 taxis around us in the designated parking lot. 

Gurudongmar Lake is one of the highest lakes in the world and in India, located at an altitude of 5,425 m (17,800 ft), in Sikkim. It is considered sacred by Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus. The lake is named after Guru Padmasambhava—also known as Guru Rinpoche—founder of Tibetan Buddhism, who visited in the 8th century.

We were not happy parking our Pajero there as it wasn’t at all a photogenic spot so we decided to take a trail near to the lake, switched to the 4×4 gears and took the trail as oxygen was low and didn’t want to push the vehicle up the hill in the 4×2 mode. 

Spent almost an hour there…loads of pics, of-course I was lucky to have Hitesh with me, a brilliant photographer. We then went to the lake below, spent some beautiful moments and finally decided to move on.

Now our next halt was to be at Tsolamu lake as we had taken up the challenge and so we did so….it was about 4 kms from the main road on the road which if made functional could be a round route to Zero point without having to go via Lachung or Yumthang.

We were welcomed by the BSF men with some juices and biscuits and were told that the entire region was full of snow and no vehicles could make it there and so like good samaritan drove a lil below and took some memorable pics and completed our challenge.