Sandakphu – See four of the tallest mountains in the world
Sandakphu, being the highest peak in West Bengal, offers grand views of the world’s tallest peaks. Lhotse and Makalu, the fourth and fifth highest peaks in the world stand tall at 8,516m and 8,463m, trying to outdo the world’s tallest peak. But how can they? After all, the Everest stands between them, towering over everything! On the other hand, Kangchenjunga, the third highest peak, stands with its family at 8,586m.
The Kanchenjunga cluster is famously called The Sleeping Buddha, thanks to its appearance. Mt. Kumbhakarna forms the head and face of Buddha, while Kanchenjunga forms the upper body. The other peaks that make up The Sleeping Buddha are Kokthang, Rathong, Frey, Kabru South, Kabru North, Simvo, Mt. Pandim, Tenzingkhang, Japanu, Narsing.
The route of this trek lies along the border of India and Nepal. In fact, one constantly moves in and out of Nepal during the trek. The mighty mountains, of course, know no boundaries. They stretch through Nepal, India, Bhutan and further.
This trek can be done in two seasons, each providing a unique experience. The months of October and November offer crystal clear mountain views and you can enjoy glorious sights of sunrise from Sandakphu and Phalut. If you trek later in winter, you can even experience fresh snow at Sandakphu! Trekking on this route in the spring gives you colorful forest vistas, interspersed with rhododendrons and magnolias.
The Trek
Day 1: Getting to the base camp – Jaubhari
We believe that Jaubhari is our prettiest basecamp! New Jalpaiguri is the closest rail head and Bagdogra is the closest airport to Jaubhari. The drive from both the places takes you on mountain roads meandering through tea estates and villages bordering India and Nepal. The duration of the drive is 4-5 hours.
- Altitude: 6,400 ft
- Time taken: 4-5 hours drive from NJP. Pick up from NJP station at 9.30 am
Day 2: Jaubhari to Tumling
- Altitude: 6,400 ft to 9,450 ft
- Time taken: 6-7 hours, 11 km
- Trek gradient: Moderate. Steep climb for the first 1.5 hours, followed by a gradual ascent and descent for another hour. Last 3-3.5 hours is a combination of gradual ascents and level walks.
- Water sources: Chittrey (1.5 hours), Lamyadhura (3.5 hours), Meghma (5 hours)
While this trek is categorized as easy to moderate in terms of difficulty, rain can make it more challenging. Hence, ensure you start on time to reach your destination by early afternoon and avoid the mountain showers, which typically arrive post noon. The trail today is a combination of gradual and steep ascents and level walks. There are a few rocky paths (gravel roads) with muddy sections and a few walks through meadows as well.
To begin the trek, climb up to the main road from the homestay at Jaubhari. Across the road, you will find a trail going up the hill to Upper Chittrey. This is a steep climb of 3 km, through a thick forest, and takes about 1.5 hours to reach.
As you climb higher, pause to take a look at the villages and mountains around through the small openings that you find in the forest.
Towards the end of this section, the trail becomes steep and an approximately 10 minute walk leads you to a meadow with two small shops. You will sight a motor road going upwards; a little below, towards the left, is the Chittrey Monastery with Buddhist prayer flags fluttering in the wind. This is Upper Chittrey, where you can take a break.
From here, the trail gradually goes uphill. There are steps cut into the mountain to help locals and trekkers climb through the forest until Lamyadhura. At Lamyadhura, the forest opens up to a lovely meadow. The motor road can be seen constantly, with a few odd Land Rovers taking tourists to Sandakphu and Phalut. This can be used as a reference if you ever feel lost. This road goes till Phalut and you may even choose to walk on it. However, the mountain trail through forests is very beautiful, with a variety of wild flowers blooming in the spring.
Lamaydhura is a small village with a handful of Tibetan families that run a small tea shop. It is a cozy place to take shelter and enjoy a hot cup of tea and biscuits.
The trail from Lamaydhura to Meghma is a 3 km hike up a steady incline. It also has some leisurely walks over grassy terrain and motor roads. This is the easiest gradient of the day’s trek. Chimal and magnolia trees are scattered along the route and if you’re lucky and very quiet, you might be able to spot a red panda. Around 1.5 hours of walking brings you to a SSB check post (keep your visa/ID card handy for checks here). From this point, walk straight until you find a Buddhist monastery to your left. You can enter the monastery if it is open. A 4-minute-walk from the monastery will lead you to a fork. Take the road to the left and break for lunch at one of the tea houses.
The road going straight from Meghma leads to Tonglu. The trail from here to Tumling is a 2 km flat walk on the motor road, and takes 30–40 minutes. Tumling is on the Nepal border and has a few good private guesthouses on the Nepal side. This is where the day’s trek ends. If the clouds have not covered up the mountains in the distance, you will be greeted to views of the Sleeping Buddha as soon as you arrive at Tumling.
Day 3: Tumling to Kalipokhri
- Altitude: 9,450 ft to 10,400 ft
- Time taken: 6-7 hours, 13 km
- Trek gradient: Moderate. Gradual ascent for 1.5 hours followed by a 40 minute descent; steep ascent from Garibas for about an hour, followed by an easy descent. Level walks on the motor road for the last 2 hours.
- Water sources: Garibas (2 hours), Kaiyakatta (4 hours)
Wake up early for a brilliant view of the Sleeping Buddha bathed in the first rays of the sun. The Everest cannot be seen from here, but the entire Kangchenjunga family of peaks opens up, taking your heart away.The peaks that you can see from the left are Kumbhakarna, Kangchenjunga and Simvo in the background. Below Kangchenjunga are Koktang, Rathong, Frey, South Kabru, North Kabru, Kabru Forked, Goecha and the ridge of Pandim just ahead of Simvo. The depression between the ridgeline of Goecha and Pandim is the Goecha La, which is a popular and beautiful trek in Sikkim.
As you proceed from Tumling to Kalipokhri, you enter the Singalila National park. You can choose between a hiking trail and a motor road. The motor road goes into Nepal and reaches Gairibas via Jaubari (not the base camp), both villages in Nepal. We suggest you take the hiking trail, which passes through dense forests and meadows, and is much more scenic than the motor road.
This route will take you directly to Gairibas, 5 km away from Tumling. Through the forest, the trail climbs to a flattish top from where you can visually trace the route all the way to Sandakphu, which stands tall before you.The trail then descends from this point and a 10 minute trek will land you in a beautiful meadow with majestic views of wide valleys. To your right is India, and to your left is Nepal. You will also find a border stone there.
Another 40 minutes of descent from here will bring you to Gairibas.
Gairibas is a small village with a few hotels and guest houses on the Nepal side. On the right side of the road is India’s SSB camp and Singalila National Park Entry Check Post. You will need to pay the entry fee here to proceed with the trek.
It is advisable that you take a break here since the next stop, Kaiyakatta, is 2 km away and the trail to reach there includes a steep climb of 1.5 km. There are steps cut into the mountain for trekkers. One also has the choice of trekking on the winding motor road, which gives fantastic views of the Nepal side. Once you reach the top, descend a bit and in 10 minutes, you will be in Kaiyakatta, where you can stop for a hot Nepali lunch.
Kalipokhri, your final destination for the day, is 4 km from Kaiyakatta. The trail goes on a level motor road. Vehicles are not allowed on this stretch. This is a beautiful trail on which you can encounter many kinds of birds. After 1.5-2 hours, you will reach a bean-shaped black lake surrounded by waving Buddhist prayer flags. This is Kalipokhri, which translates to Black Lake. There is a small Buddhist temple at the opposite end of the lake. Note that you are actually standing on the border between India and Nepal. A 5 minute walk from this point will lead you to your tea house. The motor road that you find running behind the shed near the lake goes to Ilam district in the interiors of Nepal, which is the district town for all the Nepali villages on this trek.
Find a small shed and a motor road running behind the shed. That road takes you to the interiors of Nepal, to Ilam district, which is the district town for all the Nepali villages on this trek. With a short walk of 5 minutes, you are done for the day. Rest here for the night.
Day 4: Kalipokhri to Sandakphu
- Altitude: 10,400 ft to 11,950 ft
- Time taken: 3 hours, 6.5 km (to Goat campsite)
- Trek gradient: Easy – moderate. Gradual ascent for the the first 30 minutes followed by a steep ascent for about an hour, and finally, an undulating path on the motor road.
- Water sources: Bhagsa, Bikheybhanjang, both of which are reached within the first hour of trekking. Ensure you refill your water bottles before proceeding from here.
Take a break at Bikheybhanjang and look out for Sandakphu, which lies ahead of you. The trail from here to Sandakphu is a steep incline of 4 km and zigzags up the hill. You can choose between two routes here – the left one which goes via Nepal and is a longer trail with a gradual ascent, or the more popular shorter route with a steep ascent.
An hour’s steep ascent on the second route followed by around 15 minutes of level walk brings you to a place where trails from Nepal and India converge and further break up. You can sight huts and tea stalls dotting the Sandakphu landscape.
The main attraction of this spot is the 180-degree panoramic views of the Himalayan peaks, one of the world’s most coveted panoramas. Makalu, Lhotse, Everest, Nuptse, Baruntse, Chamling, Chomolonzo, Machapucchare and other peaks of the Annapurna range spread out towards the west. Three sister peaks stand tall towards the north and of course, the Sleeping Buddha lies before you. Towards the east, you see the highest ranges of Bhutan, where Chomolhari the highest peak, rises above all the others.
Faint mobile network is sometimes available at the highest point in Sandakphu. Your campsite is a 20 minute leisurely walk from here, and is situated at a slightly lower level.
In the winter months, the Sandakphu campsite is covered in snow. The temperature here dips to sub-zero levels after sunset, November till March.
Day 5: Sandakphu to Sabargram
- Altitude: 11,950 ft to 11,807 ft
- Time taken: 7-8 hours, 14 km
- Trek gradient: Moderate. Begins with a gradual decent followed by a combination of gradual and steep ascents and level walks. Rocky path (gravel roads) with few muddy sections and forest cover. Will get tricky if it rains.
- Water sources: Carry 2 litres of water from Sandakphu, as water is scarce on this route. Sabargram has an open pond close to the Forest Post.
Start early as there is lot of distance to be covered. The trails are the best you will encounter on this trek in terms of scenery and diversity of flora and fauna. You will walk on ridges and through meadows, and maybe even run down a few slopes with the wind blowing through your hair. This route, in April and May, has an immense concentration of rhododendron in full bloom, and you will also have yaks for company in some places.
Proceed north-east, following the logical trail. A 20 minute descent is followed by a 5 to 10 minute ascent and another short section of an easy descent. Gradual ascents and descents over 2 to 3 hillocks and you join the road again. This section takes 1.5 hours as you reach Thukumb Checkpost. Get your entry tickets checked here.
The trail to Sabargram is towards your right while the Nepal road goes via the left trail. Take a left via the Nepal trail and walk for 10 minutes till you reach a hut. Another 15 minutes on the same trail will connect you back with the trail to Sabargram.
This stretch takes around 3 to 4 hours till you find yourself at Forest Check Post of Sabarkum. This will be your campsite for today.
Day 6: Sabargram to Gorkhey via Phalut
- Altitude: 11,807 ft to 7,546 ft via 11,950 ft
- Time taken: 6 hours, 16 km
- Trek gradient: Moderate. Initial descent followed by a combination of gradual ascents and descents to Phalut. Level walks to Gorkhey except for the final hour of steep descent.
- Water sources: Carry 2 litres of water. You can refill your water bottles from a stream ahead of Phalut.
You will get the best views of Kangchenjunga while trekking to Phalut.
The trail from Sabargram to Phalut is a 7 km zigzag route, which will take you about 2.5 hours to cover. There are a series of gradual descents and level field walks, each coming in intervals of 15 minutes. After this is a 1/2 km flat meadow walk followed by 1 km of steep climb, which can be negotiated by taking shortcuts.Look out for the trekkers’ hut on your way. From this point, you will reach Phalut by climbing steadily for about half an hour. The view point is on the hillock to your left. Reach there early to get magnificent views of the entire panorama of mountains and peaks.
Phalut is a small grassland with minimal or no vegetation. There is only a SSB camp, a forest guest house which can accommodate 8 people, and a GTA trekker’s hut which can accommodate 18 trekkers. Though this is a remote place, you get the closest views of the entire panaorama.
If the weather is not clear on this day, you might have to head straight to Gorkhey.
From Phalut, you begin to descend. The trail passes through forests, with several openings. In the initial stretch of the descent, you will be able to view Pandim, Tenzingkhang, Japanu, and Narsing through the openings. Continue on this trail for around 10 km to reach Gorkhey. The final stretch to reach the village is a steep descent through fields.
While you’re at Gorkhey, make sure you walk through the village, across the bridge on the Gorkhey river to enter Sikkim. This will better enable you to absorb the beauty of the place.
Alternate trek routes from Phalut to Sirikhola: Route 1: Phalut to Gorkhey (15 km), to Rammam (9 km), to Sirikhola (4 km), total distance – 24 km. This is a longer route but very scenic. Experienced trekkers may want to take this route.
Day 7: Gorkhey to Sepi via Samanden and Ramam. Depart from Sepi
- Altitude: 7,546 ft to 6,234 ft
- Time taken: 4-5 hours, 15 km
- Time difficulty: Easy, mostly level walks interspersed with a few ascents and descents.
- Water sources: Carry sufficient water with you today. You can refill your water bottles at Ramam, where you will reach a little over an hour into your trek.
Start early from Gorkhey and proceed to Sepi via Ramam. The trail from Gorkhey to Ramam is through a forest with gradual and steep ascents. On the way, you will pass Samamden, a very pretty village with quaint wooden huts and lush fields. There is a tea house at Ramam, next to the SSB post, where you can take a break.
The route from Ramam to Sepi is mostly made up of descents through dense forest. Just before Sepi, you will cross a wooden bridge at Srikhola. To get to Sepi (our final destination), walk up the motor road for 30-40 minutes. You will reach Sepi around 1.00 pm.
After a hot lunch, depart for NJP. Vehicles can be arranged on demand. You will reach NJP at 7.00 pm.
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