Day 4 - Pelling

We were ready by 9:15 AM and set out for sightseeing tour of Pelling. The itinerary included Rimbi Waterfalls, Rimbi Hydel Project, Khecheopari Lake, Kanchenjunga Falls, Pemayangtse Monastery and some palace. For local sightseeing of Pelling, a WagonR was arranged.

We first stopped at Rimbi Rock garden, after about an hours' drive from our hotel. There seemed to exist no roads, but only stony paths all the way. This rock garden was beautiful & was made adjacent to Rimbi river. We both only were the only souls wandering in the garden. The water was cold enough, and had we come in a troupe, I would have definetely bathed there itself. There were mountains surrounding everywhere and the garden was peaceful.

From the garden, we set further for Kanchenjunga falls. It took another 45 mins or so to reach the place via the curved roads. At first, there was a small stream which flowed. But, on climbing up, there was a big falls. Some college gang had just arrived and started playing there. The force of the water was strong and the rocks were slippery. We spent some time sitting there.. couldn't go out and play. Wish I was a student still ;)

Next, we went to Khechopalri lake, which was on a deviation from Kanchenjunga falls. There were hardly any people here. This lake was very placid and surrounded by dense forests. It is believed that birds do not permit even a single leaf to float on the lake surface. There was a wooden path towards the lake which had Buddhist bells along the way. Khechopalri lake is considered one of the sacred lakes of Sikkim. Only after returning from the lake we came to know that this lake is believed to have the power of wish fulfilling, so its also called as Wishing lake.

After visiting these 3 places, we proceeded back to hotel. On the way back, our driver asked us if we were interested in going to the monastery & palace or to the bridge. We said that we have seen enough monasteries, & we would be interested in seeing the 2nd highest bridge in Asia. He told that it would cost us extra of Rs. 700, and we agreed. While returning, we stopped a while at Rimbi falls and took a snap. It was just a thin stream.

We came back to our room by 1:30 PM, had lunch & started for Singsor Bridge at 2:30 PM. It was 27 kms from Pelling and one of the most treacherous routes I travelled till date. All the while when we were travelling, we were contemplating if we had taken the right decision to go to this bridge. But once we reached there, we thought it was worth it. It took around 1 hour 15 minutes to reach there. The bridge hanged between two mountains and a stream passed below it. The view was mesmerizing. We went to the other end of the bridge & our driver told us to enjoy this place and come back to the other side by walk.

We lazily hanged around the bridge for quite some time admiring nature. This place was as calm as heaven. No traffic, only the two of us & a pleasant weather. We felt good to be here.

We left the place as the clouds had started arriving. By 6 PM, we were back in our room and had settled on our bed. As it was Valentine's Day that day, we tuned into Set Max and watched Rab Ne.. Our tour operator called and asked us to be ready by 8 AM the next day for shifting to Gangtok. We had candle light dinner in our room as there was no power & slept off. 50% of our trip was over.