We got up as early as 3 AM and got ready to visit the most important place of our tour - Tiger Hills. I had googled earlier about this place and had found out that this place was ideal to watch the sunrise & also the 3rd highest peak in the world - Kanchenjunga. But we had little doubt if the weather would be clear, as it had rained the previous day. We woke up the hotel guys & got the door opened. Our cab was ready to pick us up, & our driver had come there with his wife.
It took about an hour to reach Tiger hills. The roads were empty and our driver had indicated that we would be able to see Kanchenjunga clearly as it had rained yesterday, and that yesterday was Shivratri. We bought the parking ticket and also got to know that there was an observatory at the top. Hence, got the tickets for it also, as it was dead cold outside. Till around 5:30 AM, we were in the car itself. One by one, tourist vehicles arrived & it became crowded. Later, the observatory opened and there was a sudden rush inside. We took the seat in front of the window & waited for the sunrise. There was a small peak at the far end, and I kept on thinking that it was Kanchenjunga itself. Suddenly, something shook & I could see a big mountain on the window pane opposite to it. Whoa! That was actually the Kanchenjunga! It appeared so close to us. We felt very delighted on seeing this, and at once went out of the observatory in the cold. The Kanchenjunga stood majestically covered with snow in the dark, right in front of us.
At 6:04 AM, the sun just appeared and its first rays fell on the tip of the peak. The color on the peak turned pink & it was a pleasure to watch it. Totally unforgettable moment, that too on the day after Shivratri.
As the time passed, the sun rose fully & within minutes Kanchenjunga appeared full bright & very close to us. Nature is simply superb. We were just speechless, due to cold & otherwise also.
The Himalayan range, which consisted of 3 Sister Peaks was clearly visible.
We started to leave the place and then someone said that Mt. Everest was also visible. When asked where, he pointed out to a distant peak very far away. We could see it in bare eyes, but, my camera couldn't zoom that much. Heres one look..
On the way back from Tiger Hills, he stopped us at Ghoom Monastery. This is considered to be the oldest & holiest of the monasteries present. Inside, there was a big idol of Buddha.
By this time, the weather was all clear & on our way to Darjeeling, we could see Kanchenjunga thru out. All thru the previous day, the peak stood right before us - in the tea garden, in Batasia loop, in Dali Monastery, everywhere, but we couldn't see it due to the mist. Even when we were back in our hotel, we could see the peak from our room window. We felt some jubilation inside & wanted to see it more. How lucky were we!
This is how Batasia Loop would have looked if it were clear. (Source photo from wiki):
After having bath & breakfast, we paid some amount of the trip to the cashier and checked out of the hotel. By this time, it was already around 9:30 or so, and a different vehicle was now ready to ferry us to Pelling. It was a Tata Spacio, big enough for only 2 of us & well suited for the hilly roads.
At 6:04 AM, the sun just appeared and its first rays fell on the tip of the peak. The color on the peak turned pink & it was a pleasure to watch it. Totally unforgettable moment, that too on the day after Shivratri.
The drive to Pelling took nearly 4.5 hours with our backs having a very good ride. For most part of the journey, we could see Kanchenjunga, and it appeared that we were moving close to it. Teesta river, which is a very famous river here flowed all along the way. This river acted as a border between West Bengal & Sikkim. The drive was very adventurous & tiring, with sharp curves, very narrow stone roads & in the midst of nature.
We finally arrived at the beautiful pleasant city of Pelling at around 2:30 PM and checked into Aryan Residency. Our room was so good, we just fell in love with the room and also the place. Pelling is famous for magnificent view of the snow-capped mountains of Kanchenjunga. From our balcony, Kanchenjunga was near & clearly visible.
As we were damn hungry, we went out in search of a good restaurant, but all restaurants we saw were closed or they didn't have people in them. Finally some gang of tourists entered some restaurant & we too followed them. We ordered the same soup & rotis with curry. As there was nothing else to see in the days itinerary, we had it very leisurely. Before coming out of the restaurant, we asked if something was there to see, but they told that nothing of interest was there, and that we could go to helipad on the top to view the mountain ranges. We coolly walked uphill for about 1.5 kms, chatting nonstop. There were hardly any people on the road. We liked this place very much. We reached the helipad at around 6, but by then the clouds began to settle around the peak and so couldn't get a clear view of it.
On the way back to our room, we saw a tourist board of Pelling sightseeing and noticed that among other places, there was the second highest bridge in Asia was close to Pelling. We thought that it would be covered in the next day's itinerary. We came back to our hotel room, as it was getting dark, and settled on the cozy bed. We ordered dinner & by that time our tour operator called and asked us to be ready by 9 AM the next day for a day tour of Pelling. We were looking forward for the next day..
On the way back to our room, we saw a tourist board of Pelling sightseeing and noticed that among other places, there was the second highest bridge in Asia was close to Pelling. We thought that it would be covered in the next day's itinerary. We came back to our hotel room, as it was getting dark, and settled on the cozy bed. We ordered dinner & by that time our tour operator called and asked us to be ready by 9 AM the next day for a day tour of Pelling. We were looking forward for the next day..
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