North Sikkim- Yumthang & Katao

Bhim waterfalls

In my previous Blog I described our journey from Gantok to Gurudongmar lake. In our return journey from Gurudongmar to Chumthang we retraced the path. Road condition from Chumthang to Lachung was much better. Flowing Lachung river accompanied us throughout our journey from Chumthang to Lachung. On the way we were first greeted by Bhim waterfalls. The water was jumping from a height of 250 to 300 ft. Strong wind was sprinkling the falling water all over the place. It was a wonderful sight. You can enjoy the beauty of this falls from my video.

 

Lachung

We arrived Lachung via Maltin, Bitchu. Lachung is a border town close to Tibet under Chinese occupation. ‘Lachung’ means small mountain. There is an army cantonment to protect the border. In ancient times Lachung was a trading centre between Sikkim and Tibet. Lepcha, and Bhutia are the majority inhabitants in Lachung. Languages spoken here are Nepali, Lepcha and Bhutia. Bhutia village has a local self-governing body called the Zumsa which substitutes for panchayat. Lachung has a small monastery.

When we reached Lachung weather was cloudy. We saw the picturesque beauty of Lachung from the balcony of our hotel. Accommodations, room facilities and food qualities were much better than Lachen. We enjoyed that evening singing and gossiping along with hot Pakoras.

Rhododendron

In the next morning we set out for Yumesedong via Yumthang valley. Yumthang is 24km from Lachung. Though the weather was cloudy snowy peaks were peeping through the clouds. Hide and seek play were going on between cloud and mountain.
On our way we passed through Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary. Spread over an area of 43 sq.kms this world famous Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary can boast of its large varieties of Rhododendron. More than 40 specious of Rhododendron are found in this sanctuary. But we could only see three to four types of Rhododendron. Picturesque glacial streams were flowing through this sanctuary. Apart from Rhododendron the sanctuary is also famous for diverse species of primulas, potentillas, gentians, saxifrages and poppies.

Yumthang valley

At last we arrived yumthang valley. Some ice were found scattered here and there at bottom of pine and sprush trees. But by and large the yumthang valley was ice-less. Generally in the month of April whole valley remains covered with thick snow, but we were not fortunate enough to witness that heavenly beauty of nature. Yumthang Valley is situated at an altitude of 11,800ft. Lachung river flows through this valley. We heard of a hot spring located in the yumthang valley,but we could not go there. It looked very funny when we found some tourist walking with ice-shoes in the snow-less valley. We took rest here for a while. 

Shiv Mandir

Our next destination was Yumesedong, 15km from Yumthang. On this way we passed through a small village Samdong. Here we saw a police check-post. We took some pictures here. Next came a Shiv Mandir. The scenic beauty of this place was very nice. Basically it was an army base-camp which was abandoned in the year 1990. The soldiers built this Mandir. One Shib linga and a photo of Lord Shiba was still there.

Yumesedong

As we were approaching Yumesedong the road condition was getting bad to worse. Through the rugged mountain road we reached Yumesedong (15,300ft). On one side of the road there were deep pits, and on other side mountain seemed to be tumbling over the head. Due to snow the road was closed few kms ahead of zero point . We could not reach the zero point. Here the shape of the mountains have an artistic design. We spent sometimes here playing with snows. It was an exciting experience.

Katao

In the next morning at 9’O clock after breakfast we left for Katao. March to June and September to November are the best times to visit Katao. Katao is 24km from Lachung. From hotel the car took left hand-side road. Crossing a small bridge over Lachung river, we saw a small helipad. The road kept ascending steeply and was getting narrower. From a good distance we saw a waterfalls flowing through mountains. Gradually as we arrived nearer to the falls, it looked as if a group of colourfulchildren were sliding down a large slip in a large park.
The road was getting narrower and both-sides of the road were covered with thick snow. The Army did not allow us to proceed further. We got down from the car. The tourist were enjoying this snowy beauties of nature in different ways. We joined them. It was joyful experience. 

Yumthang as I have seen