The feeling of first Snow in Sikkim

by Sufikul Islam (India)

A leap into the unknown India

Sikkim is a small state in India. It is called the 'Switzerland of India' because of it's scenic beauty and snow caped mountains. We traveled Sikkim on February 2020, the time of snowfall. We arrived Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, on a shared cab enjoying the beautiful hills and Teesta river throughout the journey. The most happening place in Gangtok is the famous Mg Marg. You will find everything here except any garbage, it's a litre free area. The first day was for sightseeing, for which we hired a Royal Enfield Himalayan. The top attractions in Gangtok are the Banjhakri waterfalls, Gonjang monastery, Tashi view point, Hanuman tok, Ganesh tok, Do-drul Chorten, Himalayan Zoological park, Namgyal Institute of Tibetology and finally the Gangtok Ropeway to get an aerial view of the city on hills. Next day we visited Baba Harbhajan singh temple wich is situated at an height of 13000ft surrounded with snow covered mountains. It's a sight to be seen. Next stop was the Changu or Tsomgo lake Which was completely frozen at that time. The white frozen lake at an altitude of 3753m surrounded by majestic mountains makes the scene not less than paradise. The road to Changu lale is the road of dreams. There were mountains, snow on the side of road and lots of waterfalls. Amitabh bachchan waterfall being the famous one. Sometimes the journey is more beautiful. And the same goes for our next day ride to Lachung, a small village in North Sikkim situated at an elevation of 2700m. The road to Lachung is famous for it's scenic beauties and waterfalls. You can witness the majestic Mount Kanchanjanga in it's full glory on the way to Lachung. The journey will take you a step closer to nature. On arriving Lachung, the weather changed and we experienced snowfall for the first time in our life. It was a once in a lifetime experience. A village surrounded by huge mountains and a romantic shower of snow. We enjoyed watching the sunset in snowfall. We tried some local brandy of Sikkim to keep us warm in -10°c at night. The other morning we woke up early to see the sunrise. The mountain peaks were sparkling gold as the first rays of sun hits the peak. It was a view we cannot forget. Out next and last destination was Kato, which is 27km from Lachung with a temperature of -12°c. The place was really "Paradise On Earth". Snow snow everywhere. The beautiful Christmas trees covered with snow, the roads shining because of the sun hitting the white snow. There is a beautiful waterfall named Khanda waterfall. It's a beautiful waterfall where the water make it's way through the snow. After having a wonderful time in Katao, we headed back to Gangtok for departure.