Travel Chronicles to Ravangla: Part 4

To set up the temperature amidst the mid 5-6'C, Menam was the best place to be in. Ravangla, a nice serene, un-commercialized hill station (with everything except ATM) has one of the best place to be in. Apart from the Kanchenjungha, which bares its' brilliance when the gorge is mist as well as cloudless, Menam (or Maenam) Forest is a good Trekking trail. But before I type down the adventure on the slopes of Maenam, I would like to show you the glimpse of the aura, called Kanchenjungha, the third highest peak in the World.

Kanchenjungha, South Sikkim. Ravangla, 2011.

The Game begins....

The climb was estimated for 4 hours. We had a 13Km steep slope climb, at the peak of which we would be rewarded with the glimpse of Kanchenjungha, hopefully mistless, as the time when we would ascend, would be evening and we shall enjoy a peek into the eternal beauty of the Himalayas. Menam is a Reserved forest. which has a treasure of flora and fauna. The most notorious is the Himalayan Black Bear and the most harmless are the 1372 variety of birds, seen amongst the mountain flora!

After having a brief breakfast, we took a storage of biscuits, cookies, cakes, toffees and supply of water and tried to ascend up the slopes. You have to have a local guide, which you can fetch for Rs. 500/-. It can be arranged from the gates, but if you go with my advice, arrange from the hotel. Our one's name was Raju, a very amicable 17 year old lad.

There are three resting place, on our way to Menam top. Due to out of practise, I could only allow the group to ascend 10.2Kms, upto the third check point. A little more endurance would have had allowed us to reach to the top, but as it was, I was OUT to a lot of extent and then the electrically charged clouds started coming in from the other side of the peak, the point that we would have had ultimately taken  our souls too. Udayan Da, Niladri, Surya and myself along with the good advice from the local guide, decided to roam around at the place (refer video for more) and savored the feeling of being into cloud NINE! I always had the desire to feel the clouds with my hands and face. I even tried to "Taste It", out of excitation.



Over there I met up with something. In the video, as hosted on YouTube, taken by Niladri, you can initially find a voice shouting "EEEi". Its Udayan Da, who was yelling at me, and warning me not to go inside the clouds too much. That point I was "Tasting" the stuff! I felt the few hair follicles bared, thanks to shortened sleeves, stood to its end. I realized "Charge". Benjamin Frankling did it with keys, I could feel them by myself, 10,000 feet above sea level! Awesome! This is one excitement that made me undertake quite a number of treks in the past. This time round, I felt enlivened with that enthusiasm. Studies are gone...now lets enjoy the Nature, through Her Natural means!

It all ended, chilled.

The parting thought that this place can put forward for my palate comes up in a very tempting manner to revisit such places, again and again... I am looking forward for many such trips and one place to plan for or rather say, get assistance is : http://www.rimoexpeditions.com

Have a nice climb...

Travel Chronicles to Ravangla: Part 3

Drawing more from Silence of the afternoon, when we reached our lodging, the mountains called my lens towards a serene Sunset! Scenic, similar chrome with any Sunset, especially the ones that I witnessed the seas around... but this had a different meaning. A radiance with an welcomed heat amidst the chills! I loved it and snapped it!

Somnath Paul Mar 2011: Sunset from Ravangla, South Sikkim.

May be, spotting some UFO or even a Snowman/Yeti would have been more than awesome, beside this at that point of time. Fantabulous!

It was the time for a very late lunch, comprising of plain rice, fish (cold due to being late service) and a very good dal (pulses), papad and fried potato (aloo bhaja). The satiety center being filled to the full, the whole team comprising of 41 members, decided for an evening walk. Although the journey had eaten up most of the time, still the mist called me and my Nikon D5000. It gonna be something special. At least I hoped so!

Somnath Paul_Mar 2011: A part of the contingent.

Walking upto the gate of Menam point was a tough job for many and more over, dusk had already turned darker. Being in an unknown domain, it was decided that there ought to be a party in the eatery, large enough to hold all of us. Although Camp Fire was in mind, but it was too rainy outside! When the rounds of Antaksari was on its way, I was busy roaming around in the mists... dark they might be, but I loved the it.

Somnath Paul_Mar 2011: The Faculty Ready for In-house Party.

Over there, everything seemed so tension less. Silence prevailed in the night, with the fur coats of stray dogs looking at me, a overly dressed human, standing on the edge of a near desolate market. In front there was a big gorge, behind me was the faint laugh of 40 strong IICBians (new word)! Their laugh pierced the glass window and the woolen scarf that I had to prevent from catching cold! A very special and strict instruction from mom and a very good friend!

I waited for something to touch me... it did. The clouds, grey against the dark backdrop, suddenly smeared the Saffron Glow of the street lamps all around me. All I could figure out for 3-4 minutes, was a halo and moist settling over my specs!

I walked back into the hotel, for the dinner to be served. May be I was not getting the feeling that I hoped for before I stepped into this journey, but again, I believe... like in a previous occasion mother nature fooled me, my disappointment was also going to be fooled.

Somnath Paul_Mar 2011: Ravangla Bazar, 8:20PM.

Although the land was booming with liquor, that night Niladri and myself voluntarily missed out on the plan, as the coming day was a big day... a dream day.... to be revealed soon!

Somnath Paul_Mar 2011: A Chinese chandelier.

Travel Chronicles to Ravangla: Part 2

Its here, where the fun begins. Respecting my reader's comment in the earlier post, I hope I can hold some expectation that you always have from my chip-ings!

We started our climb uphill from NJP. It was HOT! and Gosh, how I cursed the weather for being so Sunny and Windless. (Guess my curses were never ever reciprocated in such a way by nature, before!) Almost half way round, we had a halt at Teesta. A small village, deep within the Lower Himalayas, near the river bed of River Teesta. The river was gurgling with life, but what made me was to take some close snaps of the mountains. In a mini expidition, Niladri found his way to the Bed. The walls of pines and cedars, corrugated the brown soil and the black rocks. Ideal place for a climb or at least a hop or two over the boulders. I admit, I am bit fleshy to do that within the stipulated time of the halt... we were running 1 hours late!

Somnath Paul Mar 2011: The Village of Teesta.

Somnath Paul Mar 2011: The Mystic Winds and Walls of Teesta.

It was around 1:30PM. When asked, the driver meeked a smile announcing that our destination was still an hour and a half away. Mainak Da and Udayan Da mentioned that at that point of time, we were uphill by 6000+ ft. Ravangla, our destination is around 2200 ft away!

Just as I was getting cramped up, within the two seater front seat of the Sumo (Mayukh Da and I were Fleshy!), the ache and cramps of the right acetabulum vanished amidst the incoming waves of clouds and mists. Welcome to the mysterious Himalayas...

Somnath Paul Mar 2011: Dreams...

Dream... well, there were more in picture, but the real fun started with the incessant hail storm, battering against the windshield. It started to droop the temperature at a very fas rate, and sitting inside the Sumo seemed like being within the freezer. 15 KM from Ravangla, we witnessed something that I had longed to see, but the uniqueness lies in the fact that its not due to snow fall, but hail storm. Within the snap of the eyelid, the roads got a new blanket from Mother Nature...All white....

Somnath Paul Mar 2011: The White Blanket of Mother Nature

Even Raju, the driver commented, that such an incident occured for the first time in his life. Gosh, we were lucky!

By the time we moved out and after a few more turns, the Sun peeked out of the clouds. The body thermostat felt it to be running a -ve temperature, when it was wet and the temperature roamed around below 5'C. (Confirmed by Raju)

The last corner...

Somnath Paul Mar 2011: Round the Corner is Ravangla... Rabong.

Ravangla, actually colloqial term pronounce Rabong, which in Bhutanese mean, Ra = Old; Bong = Place.A place instilled with vibrancy in colours, temperature, views, flora and fauna. Even Adventure trekking is a good part of the trip, with Maenam Point in hand.

Loved the place.

Somnath Paul Mar 2011: Ravangla.

The place was bubbling with liquor shops, selling from the Sherry to the Rum. The unique feature of the place, although this is after 11 years that I have been to the Himalayas, I loved the chill, associated with the cordial behavior of the people and the lovely silence... I just fell for it!

More experiences yet to come...

Travel Chronicles to Ravangla: Part 1

Himalayas, the beauty lies within the depth of the mystic cloud clad peaks of the worlds longest and highest chains of mountains. Hindus believe it to be the abode of Lord Shiva, the All Mighty.... even if you dont see HIM, but you can feel the ambiance of being in heaven. Love it or shout in it... miles around there is always a serene silence that takes your heart away from your body and lets you soul wander along with it.

Chilled....

and thrilled....

Thats how I would like to place the trip to Ravangla (several names: Rabongla, Ravang and in the colloqial spelling; Rabong), Southern  Sikkim (INDIA) was in it self... intriguing!

Welcome to Ravangla (Somnath Paul, March 2011)

Travel Details:

Onward - Any train to New Jalpaiguri Junction (NJP). From NJP, hire shuttles (Gypsies / SUMO / MAXX) to Ravangla, which is a 4 hour trip uphill. Per shuttle can carry 9 people in comfort, rated Rs 3500-4500. Height of the place 8200ft (approx).

Coming Back is a reversal of the situation.

There are many stories and memories that I have had with the MHG Group at Ravangla, which I would share in the subsequent chronicles' subpart. Till then, enjoy the above picture, as Ravangla is nothing less than the land of Dragon... a part may be!