Sikkim is one of the nicest little secrets of India! A tiny state adjacent to India’s West Bengal state to the south, Nepal to the west and Bhutan to the south-east, Sikkim contains a lovely swathe of some of the finest Himalayan forests and is sparsely populated by simple and friendly people living as happy little isolated communities that stretch all the way into the Tibetan plateau beyond the high altitude lake of Gurudongmar – one of the highest lakes in the world! Gurudongmar itself is a tranquil aquamarine high altitude lake situated at over 17, 000 feet altitude in Sikkim, close to the active border between India’s state of Sikkim and Chinese control across the border with Tibet a few kilometers further. While shepherds graze their sheep in the bucolic environs of the high altitude meadows of the Tibetan plateau here, border tensions tend to simmer between India and China every once in a while. The drive from Chungthang to Gurudongmar is one of my favourites! That apart, it makes for perhaps the fastest altitude change that is possible while driving anywhere in the world. While everyone speaks of the highest motorable passes in the world which are situated at Khardung La and similar passes in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, this drive is truly something else! From a moderate altitude of 5600 feet at Chungthang, I usually start the drive at 6 in the morning. By 12 noon, we are at the 17, 200 foot in a narrow stretch of the Tibetan plateau that is very much in Sikkim, but one that stretches out north onto the plateau, allowing India to flavour the wonders of Tibet’s plateaulands. While one starts the drive to the south of the Himalaya, this remarkable six hour drive takes one right through the greater Himlaya, with high peaks of over 22, 000 feet altitude on both sides, and then suddenly, in one great upheaval of geography and landscape, one finds oneself to the north of the Himalaya, with the peaks far behind you. The landscape levels out around the eye, into a pleasing flatland with little streams running wild, Edelwiess and gentians profusely growing in all directions and the cold winds of Tibet cooling your sun-burnt face. The daytime heat can intense when you’re in the open sun, and the night-time chill even more intense, as the winds pick up and the mountain breeze collides with the high-altitude desert air. The peaks of Kanchenjhou and Chomiomo literally empty their glaciers out above the road, or so it seems! The Teesta flows alongside. Even more cataclysmic than the geographical changes are the rapid changes in the biota of the valley of the Teesta, as one ascends. Every few hundred meters of ascent leads to a change in the bird-life, plant-life and the animals around. The Rhododendron shrubs become smaller and smaller, from trees near Chungthang to large bushes above Lachen and down to tiny shrubs further up the valley. This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India
