Our mesmerizing Sandakphu Phalut trek experience

For the call of the Himalayas,
For the love of the mountains.
Here we go on another Himalayan trek,
They say no pains no gains.

Towering above the clouds,
These majestic, beautiful peaks.
Some answers, more questions,
Thoughts, whatever one seeks.

To be able to sight four of the top five highest peaks of the world in almost a single frame is a surreal dream for mountain lovers – absolutely divine for the devotees of Himalayan peaks. This is what we experienced at our Sandakphu Phalut trek, thanks to blessings from weather gods and incredible support from the IndiaHikes team. A six-day hiking journey taking us through some beautiful forests inhabited by pine trees, white & silver oak trees, bamboo and maple trees, two summits to watch some brilliant mountains, stunning sunrises and gorgeous sunsets. If the weather god is kind to you as it was for us, the Sleeping Buddha mountain ranges will give you company all along. What a brilliant experience this one turned out to be!

Day-0: Drive along beautiful villages in this hilly terrain

Our Indiahikes experience started from Darjeeling, where they arranged for vehicle to pick us to their Sepi base camp. Having enjoyed a unique hilly experience at Darjeeling, we looked forward to the Himalayan trek. The driver, Tikaji, hailing from town of Rimbick, picked us at 9:30am, and soon started engaging us in good conversations. He told he would take the village bound round rather than the main highway/forest route as it would mean better mobile connectivity and less traffic. We enjoyed passing by the beautiful villages of Pulbazar, Bijanbari, Khainjale, and as we got close to Rimbick, his hometown, he pointed us to his home perched on a mountain, it was picturesque.

It was already 12:30pm, and Tikaji stopped us for lunch at the Sumitra Wayside Inn, lovely eatery pitched around some breathtaking geography.

We enjoyed some delicious Veg Momos and Maggi. Black tea was a pleasure to have standing next to the beautiful river stream.

As we drove along, Tikaji pointed us to a village perched on a hill across a narrow river, and told that was a Sikkimese village, with the river separating West Bengal and Sikkim. Along the curvy roads and beautiful forest area, Tikaji bumped into many of his buddies and excitedly told that all of them were going for a local football match, final was starting in few hours’ time. After a while, we had to stop at the Rimbick checkpoint, it was 1:30pm. After handing over our Aadhar card copies and getting a nod from the lady officer (whom apparently Tikaji knew), we moved on and reached the Indiahikes Sepi base camp by 2pm.

Satya, the trek lead, excitedly welcomed us along with rest of the Indiahikes crew and told we would have team gathering as soon as the rest of trekkers arrived from Siliguri. We relaxed at the room provided to us. It was basic, but clean and hygienic.

It was serenity all around with vast expanse of green mountains in front of us. Our eyes and ears got treated to this beautiful landscape and sounds of nature. We did some bird watching and relaxed in this lap of mother nature.

This amazing moment deserved a poem, coming right from my heart:

Nestled amidst beautiful green mountains
Sounds of river, birds, Cicada & the likes.
White clouds blanketing the greenery below,
We are at the Sepi basecamp of Indiahikes.

The Siliguri gang reached around 5pm and we all met at the hall to enjoy some black tea and quick introductions. Kaljang, nicknamed KJ, local from nearby village of Srikhola, was the main trek guide and he handed over the declarations and collected our Aadhar copies and medical certificates. He was supported by two other local guides, Dawa daju and Amir Rai. “Daju” is used for elder brother as a mark of respect. Within couple of conversations, I realized KJ was both humorous and knowledgeable.

When I casually asked about why this trek was labelled “moderate”, he explained there were three factors that determined the trek difficulty level – Altitude, Walking mileage and the ease of evacuation. The Altitude quotient for this trek was considered “easy” compared to other Himalayan treks. Evacuation was “easy” here as there were multiple places along the way with vehicle accessibility. However, the walking mileage could be considered difficult with a total of around 70kms in 6 days, that’s a lot in the mountain terrain. Overall, the trek difficulty averaged out to “moderate”. Nice information!

Day-1: Heel up to the golden plate – Samanden

After breakfast and light warmup, everyone geared up for the road ahead. KJ told as part of the cultural experience, every day they would teach us a local word of the day. Today’s word: Tashi Dalek – Greetings! With enough greetings around, we started moving, and we managed to start hiking as a group by 8:45am. Today was to be mostly ascent. A short descent to Shrikola bridge was the warmup walk that we needed, this bridge was the starting point for arduous uphill climb that followed. We were ready!

An inclined tar road for 4km until we arrived at the water stream. From there it was 3km to guest house serving us hot lunch. Along the way we passed by some beautiful neighborhoods, sporting colorful flowers, this particular flower was named “I Love you”:

Walking amidst the pine and oak trees was a pure delight. Apparently Britishers had planted these trees, the pines imported from Japan, the wood from these trees was perfect to transport the local tea leaves abroad, for durability and freshness.

Plenty of oak nuts lay scattered in the road, Dawa Daju taught us how to break these to extract the eatable nuts, very bitter taste though.

After a nice introductory 7k walk today, arrival at the local Tibetan monastery meant that our lunch point was nearby. Colorful and calm, we took some time to sit down inside.

Food was good, and we ordered some extras like Omlettes and Coffee. The lunch break was for around 1 hour and we soon started walking. There was a surprise element just before we reached our camp – a short detour to the Yeti forest. Now, I have been to many forest areas, but this one felt special, it simply awed me.

Just walking through this forest, just being inside gave me an immense sense of calm and energy. The thoughts of Shinrin Yoku (Japanese term for forest bathing) kept coming to mind, as I caught myself letting out a “wow” every couple of steps inside this forest. KJ brought us to the main attraction of this place, the Yeti stone. And then he narrated a fascinating story about how two tribes, one from the Yeti side fought for this forest, and later Sikkimese King stepped in and negotiated a truce, a stone was laid to mark the boundary between the two warring factions.

It was an enriching experience to listen to KJ in this surreal forest ambience. There was little more incline, and we finally reached the camp at Samanden by 5:30pm, it was already dark. Dawa daju taught us some cool down exercises, and there was another interesting activity. We stood in line (different for ladies and gentlemen) and massaged the shoulders of the person standing in front of us. Everyone liked this activity very much and all of us seemed to get re-energized well.

Roopesh, the owner of the Silent Valley guest house introduced himself and explained the guest house arrangements. We later assembled at the dining area, had dinner served, with rice and dal, dhoodpak. The spo2 readings and heart rate measurements were promptly taken twice a day by Satya and team. While we were enjoying our dinner, Roopesh played his percussion instrument madal and sang the popular Nepalese song Resham Firiri, to our utmost delight. It was literally a nice note to end the day.

One thing he happily kept telling was how happy he was to see young kids in our group, two 10-yr olds, two 13-yr olds and one 15-yr old. He strongly believes in kids being the future and with this future of trekking was kept alive. He briefly mentioned about a local tradition where the groom ran away with the bride to get married. KJ quickly cut him off and suggested that he would share this particular cultural aspect later in our trip. Sleeping arrangement was like sharing rooms (gender wise), some with 4 beds, some with 7.

Etymology: Roopesh and KJ explained how Samanden got its name – standing atop the mountains, this village looks like a golden plate thanks to its golden colored crops like the corn. In the local language “golden plate” translates to Samanden.

Day-2: Holy Molley

Some of us woke up at 4am to walk around this beautiful village. It was quite dark, we just walked nearby the guest house, found a beautiful meadows. By this time there was a hint of sunrise, with the meadows and the landscape turning truly golden.

Tea was served at 6:15am, and we enjoyed aloo curry with Bukhi roti for breakfast. There was yet again warm up exercises orchestrated by Dawa daju. Roopesh talked more about his Indiahikes experience while we all assembled to depart. He used to be a guide before, and then started his home stay business 7 years ago, still working for Indiahikes. He was happy to meet people from outside, especially the Indiahikes folks helping them to teach how to turn waste into products and being self reliant. He also provided us a packed lunch for our hike today – Pulao with some nuts.

Today’s word of the day – Dami Dami aha that meant “extremely good”, we were not allowed to forget this word for the rest of our trek. Every day we shot videos where KJ asked us all how we liked the day or particular experience and we had to shout Dami Dami Aha, it did mostly come from the heart. We finally started from the homestay at 8:30am , it was a nice hike up along beautiful pine trees, there were muddy sections along the way.

We were apparently lucky, as few weeks back this section was completely muddy and even the guides themselves had tough time. The bamboo forest was simply brilliant.

We stopped at 12:30pm for the lunch break, the setting was so picturesque – nice place carved amidst beautiful bamboo forest. We started soon, by 1pm, and along the way we spotted interesting vegetations like orange mushrooms and Kali Jhar berries. While I clicked some pics, Amir told me these were poisonous.

We reached Molley by 4pm, very nice cottages, 5-bed and 7-bed rooms, I was privileged to sleep in the room with trek lead and guides. We were welcomed with delicious momos and sugary tea. We all gathered (rather cramped in) at the cozy dining hall for briefing of the next day’s hike to Sabargram and Phalut peak. Five teams were formed under five captains (five kids in the group) for trek leading, medicos, green initiative, kitchen and hydration, this was for the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) day.

Dinner was very good with dal, rice, bhindi sabzi, and Gulab jamun. Weather was getting colder as KJ merrily demonstrated how to use the sleeping bags and the hygiene liner. Head torches became evidently mandatory as the lighting outside the rooms was quite minimal. Washing our utensils in this cold weather started feeling like an incredible challenge with the hands going numb. We all slept by 8pm, had to wake up early next day to start the hike for sunrise view of Kanchenjunga.

Etymology: The area around Molley was full of poisonous plants. To prevent their mules munching these, shepherds put masks on their Mules. In the Nepalese language the masks are called mola. When folks encountered heaps of mola in this area, the place eventually came to be known as Molley.

Day-3: Phalut – the first summit

I woke up at 3am before the rest to use the toilet, change clothes and layer appropriately for the hike ahead. Soon everyone got ready, had breakfast and started moving. Head torches were on as it was pitch dark when we started. Slowly the dawn arrived, and we saw the mountain ranges when we walked little further, although still dark. Once we reached the viewpoint, we were all enthralled, what a landscape it was. There she stood forming the belly of the Sleeping buddha, her majesty Mount Kanchenjunga.

The stunning Mount Kumbakarna formed buddha’s face. Our eyes were treated with one of the most beautiful sunrises of our lives, stunning views of Kanchenjunga and Kumbakarna alighting with golden hues in the light of dawn, simply amazing.

We couldn’t take enough of this sight, but we had to keep moving. Today’s word of the day was Pheri Bhetaula – see you again. It seemed the right occasion today, and we did want to see Kanchenjunga again and again. Next up was sighting of the three other top peaks, Mt Everest, Mt Macalu and Mt Lhotse, all on one side, with the much closer Mt Kumbakarna and Mt.Kanchenjunga on the other.

This was our first sighting of 4 of top 5 highest peaks in this world, both these ranges visible from same spot with just a slight movement of your neck. It was beyond delight. We walked down to the Indiahikes Sabargram base camp to dump the heavy bags and walk to the Phalut summit. People had option to stay back and relax at Sabargram if they wanted and some people did stay back.

Rest of us walked on, it was such an amazing ridge walk 8km one way to the Phalut guest house. In terms of walking experience, this ridge section was probably my most favorite part of the entire trek, it truly felt surreal.

Beautiful walking path and criss crossing 360 degrees views of both the ranges was pure delight. This maybe a lot to walk, but it’s absolutely worth the efforts.

We arrived at the Phalut guest house for a quick break and some black tea. We could order something before leaving for the summit. There was some more ascent up to the Phalut top and we reached our first summit of this trek. This was brilliant, simply brilliant place to be!

After enjoying the views, clicking pictures in whatever angles we wanted, we had to walk down to the Phalut guest house to have some Omlettes and Maggi that we had ordered before the ascent. After this break, it was nice 7km walk back to the campsite although bit tough walking on the stoney patch. We reached around 3:30pm, did some cool down exercises ourselves and chose our tents (they were already pitched). Lunch was ready for us, and we enjoyed fried rice, paapad and soup.

A sense of gratitude always showed up when enjoying these hot meals high up in the mountains, someone would have woken up early, carried the rations, cooked under difficult conditions and we always acknowledged that. People started having conversations about how tough today’s hike was for everyone. After a while we witnessed one of the best sunsets, call it mystical or magical, this was a whole different level I thought, rising above the clouds, so stunning.

I have never enjoyed staying in tents and this was no different. Cold and cramped is the discomfort I had to put myself against (taking a cue from the book Comfort crisis that I reviewed here). For the first 2 hours after lying down, I was just praying that I didn’t need to pee, and this was one of those nights where my mind seeks daylight rather than more snoozing. Waking up at 3am, I was disappointed that it was still 3am. If it were my normal day-to-day life, I would be happy that it’s still 3am and would happily snooze.

Etymology: Originally the place was called Fale long meaning stone wind in Limbu language. When Britishers reached here for vacation, they changed its name to Phalut. Originally called Shikhar ghum that literally meant top lost and referred to people getting lost amidst these clouds, over time it came to be known as Sabargram.

Day-4: Above the clouds at Aal

After a disturbed night of sleep in the tent, I finally got out by 4:45am and a bunch of us walked up a small hill to enjoy a nice sunrise. Yet again we were witness to another beautiful golden hues on Mount Kanchenjunga. Today all confusion about which of those large peaks was Mount Everest got sorted when the world’s highest peak outshone others by getting lit first, it was such a majestic sight to watch.

Today’s word of the day was Mo timilai Maya garchu – I love you! No, I wouldn’t tell this to the camp, but to the overall landscape a definite yes. Breakfast was poha and Omlettes at 7:30am. A quick round of warm up, today it was to be the DIY Day. Being part of the trek lead team, I led the warmup exercises. I was bit nervous as I was to lead the team from the front. I used the Gaia GPS app and tried to navigate as much as possible. On one hand, I was enjoying the beautiful views of the mountains, and on the other the mobile for directions. I did make mistakes, but it was interesting.

We reached lunch point at Thokum by 12:30, another day of fantastic trail walking. What a place to have our lunch, watching the great peaks right in front of you. The kitchen team helped to serve the dishes to fellow trekkers. Some sat on the bench, some on the ground, wherever you sat you were blessed with amazing views all around.

We started by 1:45pm and reached Aal guest house at 5pm, just in time for another beautiful sunset, this would become the best sunset of our lives – Watching the sun set while we sat on top of the clouds flowing like a river below us was magical.

Today was to be the day KJ narrated his marriage story and of the people in general.

When the bride and groom were of same caste, there was no issue. But if different, the couple would elope, the lady going to the man’s home, and after 3 days some of the people from groom’s side would go to the bride’s house to invite the elders and request for marriage with rituals. Interestingly, you could also run away with outsiders as someone who eloped with a German lady testified.

Etymology: There is a big ground around this place that used to be a very slushy. In Nepalese language, slushy land is called Aal.

Day-5: Sandakphu – the second summit

Yet another early morning, yet another stunning sunrise at the small hill atop the guesthouse. At around 5:34am we saw the golden glow on Mount Kanchenjunga, then Mount Kumbakarna. In another 5-6 minutes, we saw the glow on the Everest peak first and then the others in the range, simply amazing.

KJ was there today during the sunrise and patiently explained all the peaks and general geography. Kanchenjunga was shared between India and Nepal along the ridge pathway. Kanchenjunga was worshipped by the Sherpas and Tibetans; the summit is 5 meters below the actual top out of respect and request from Sikkimese king Chogal. KJ also mentioned about Mount Pandim being the right leg, and Mount Simbo the left leg of the Sleeping Buddha. Mount Kabru South and North formed the neck/upper torso. KJ also pointed out to a triangular peak in Tibet. So many beautiful peaks!

We came back to get ready and had breakfast at 7:30am, it was bread with Peanut butter and Jam. We started walking to the second summit of this trek at Sandakphu. Within an hour or so we reached a smallish mountain, and apparently this was to be the second summit. Although didn’t feel like a true summit, it was a good feeling. Final round of pictures was clicked here as the peak views would soon start fading away.

After the photo session, Satya asked us to pick up a spot and sit individually to contemplate on this trek and the experience for 5-10 minutes, this was an interesting solitude exercise for all of us.

Today was a hike down to Gurdum, and it again passed by some beautiful forests.

Although the walk was good, we slowly got hungry and Dawa Daju told we were running late. But soon around 12:40pm we saw our lunch point, and we dashed towards it.

Lunch was very good as we enjoyed it out in the open, our last lunch in this wide expanse of open forest, for this trip. After the lunch, Satya handed us all postcards and pens and asked to scribble down our thoughts on the whole experience, to jot down sense of gratitude, whatever we felt at the moment. I wrote one, and went for another, this time to scribble the mountain peaks, for whatever I remember it looked like.

After this nice contemplation, we set off downhill towards Gurdum at 7395 ft altitude. The beautiful village of Gurdum welcomed us all with really cute houses hosting colorful flowers, and we soon arrived at the Mingma homestay.

The owner, Mr. Mingma a soft-spoken warm person welcomed us all. I was tired of the hiking boots, so immediately took it off and started walking barefoot. Mingma soon came to me and told I could take one of the spare slippers, that was a kind gesture. We were quite famished and when they got us the amazing samosas (potato and peanuts), we were overjoyed and enjoyed it very much along with the spicy peanut sauce.

At the hall later that day, we had a nice debriefing session where all participants had to talk about how the overall trek helped them to connect with their own self, with fellow trekkers and mainly with the nature. The emotions were pouring and you could see that all of us were a transformed lot. Deprived of city-wide luxuries, we realized the significance of minimal living, the pleasure of small things in life, and lot of lessons to take home.

Dinner was amazing, with Chapati, rice, Paneer masala, dal, chowchow sabzi and Sheera. All of us felt very good to be back to reasonable altitude, comfortable weather, amazing food, convenient rest rooms. I promised to myself that I would return to Gurdum, it was so serene.

Day-6: Back to civilization

We woke up to the beautiful tunes of Tibetan prayers, and with this nature all around us, it felt truly divine. All while sipping a hot cup of milk tea. We all opted to start as early as possible from Gurdum to reach Sepi earlier, so we finished our breakfast and were ready by 7am. They had a cute shop selling books, keychains and other trinkets, some of us purchased that. We also bought the T-shirt for the completion of the trek.

Today’s warmup exercise was different – It was led by KJ, not Dawa Daju, and a happy dancing session followed. We all enjoyed dancing to the melodious Nepalese tunes and KJ’s steps, this was a great way to warm up. We started off on a final 5km hike that brought us back to the Srikhola bridge as we came a full circle back to the starting point.

Mixed feelings of sorts while we stood on this bridge. A great sense of accomplishment and happy to be going back home to our comforts on one hand. But then an even greater sense of losing something precious, maybe a connection to self, fellow humans and nature, and sadness to leave this amazing place behind.

We reached the Indiahikes Sepi basecamp around 10am, returned the rental gears and offloading bags. Did the packing and started by 11am towards Siliguri, each vehicle taking 5 people each. We had to take couple of pit stops, for lunch and tea, and finally got dropped at the Milestone Hotel at Siliguri by 7pm.

What an epic journey this trek turned out to be! We had missed out on the summits entirely on our previous Himalayan trek with Indiahikes with the weather gods playing spoiled sport. This time round, weather gods were firmly on our side, and it was a perfect weather the entire trip, our previous trek got well and truly compensated.

There are three reasons why I would highly recommend this trek to anyone, and everyone. First, apart from one night, you sleep in tea houses or guest houses, this is very comfortable compared to tents in other Himalayan treks in India. Second, you get to see 4 of the top 5 highest peaks in the world, no competition really. Third, the people here including the guides and homestay owners are very nice, welcoming and extremely fun loving. Indiahikes motto is “Everyone must trek“; I would go one step further and say, “Everyone must trek Sandakphu Phalut“. Amazing, simply amazing.