GURUDONGMAR LAKE

AN ACCESSIBLE ABODE OF PEACE AND TRANQUILITY

The Gurudongmar Lake

Suddenly the car came to a halt. I looked up from the map I was looking at and realized that finally after an hour-long drive (from the last checkpoint) through the barren Himalayan deserts we reached our destination. After folding the map I stepped down from the car. The fresh, chilling air caressed my cheeks. I try to gulp in as much air as I could. It was but difficult, after a few minutes, it felt nauseated. It was because of the paucity of oxygen. It’s a common phenomenon where I was standing. After all, I was standing on a barren landscape facing an emerald blue lake at an altitude of 17100feet above sea level. I was at Gurudongmar Lake. The view was breathtaking. On one side were the majestic snow-capped mountains and the glacier across the partly frozen lake which shares the same name as the lake. The other three sides of the lake were surrounded by slightly elevated barren desert. The clear blue sky was without a hint of clouds except for the few patches near the mountain peak. 

The journey towards this paradise, located at North Sikkim starts from Siliguri, where innumerable options are available to reach Gangtok (the capital of Sikkim). It takes almost 6 hours to cover the 114kms journey from Siliguri to Gangtok. Then another 176kms from Gangtok to Gurudongmar Lake via Lachen. Sikkim is an eastern state in India.

I took a shared taxi which left Gangtok around 10 o'clock in the morning from the vajra taxi stand. It’s a taxi stand specially allotted to the taxi for the north Sikkim trips. The first day was spent to reach Lachen were I stayed overnight only to resume my journey towards Gurudongmar Lake the next day. Next day started quietly early that’s 3 in the morning. Around 4:30 we all left for our final destination. 

Road towards Thangu

It took us almost 2 and half hours to reach Thangu. It's a small village where we were served the breakfast and also hired some heavy woollen garments as the temperature was going to drop to sub-zero from then. Thangu is the last civilian village to our destination. It's also a checkpoint where army officers check whether tourists are able to cope with the extreme weather conditions. I noticed that two vehicles were not allowed to go further as there were children and aged people who were not feeling well. Thank god my taxi didn't face any such problems and we continued towards our destination. For the next one hour, I didn't notice even a single shred of grass. It was all barren and rugged. I had never seen such latitudinous landscape of nothing except solitude and void before. What surprised me more was the idea of such a heavenly bliss hidden beyond this desolate terrain. 

Way To Gurudongmar Lake

The spell bounding view kept me stuck to the spot where I landed after the car stopped. The spell remained but I felt unbounded after (which I thought) a long time.

I hardly took a few steps towards the lakeside when I heard a young man vomiting (Yes heard. Cause he was vomiting hiding behind another car). That’s another side effect of high altitude. To avoid such consequences one should continue chewing popcorn all through the way. 

Never mind. I decided to visit the religious enshrine situated just a few metres away from where I was standing. It was a small structure which is known as ‘Sarv Dharm Sthal’ (religious place for all religion). Photos of all gods and goddesses could be found here. Not only enshrine, but Gurudongmar Lake is also highly revered particularly by Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus. It a little warm inside, felt soothing. According to legends, this place is guarded by the spirit of an army officer served in the Indian army. He fought during the Indo- Chinese war and sacrificed his life to save other soldiers. There’s a belief that the officers serving here safe because they have guarding spirit around them to protect them. 

The Enshrine

After offering my prayers I went out to endeavour my senses in the ever magnificent beauty of this heavenly place. Around the lake, there were many coloured religious flags where religious inscriptions are written. I walked towards the left side of the enshrine and took the stairs towards the lake. The railings of the stairs were all full of colourful religious flags. There are few things in life which we don’t understand or not know the meaning of but still, they remain coherent to you. These flags are one such thing to me, very close to heart.

Gurudongmar Lake

The lake was mostly frozen. The temperature was sub-zero. I was shivering with all my sweaters and jackets and whatnot. The view was what made it worth it. It was so pleasing that it gave me a sense of tranquillity. The best part about this part of the earth is that the phone doesn't connect here. In this era of technology, it’s sometimes a bliss to keep yourself away from the hustle and bustle of our everyday life and this is enough to give you the feeling of tranquillity. Haha. On a serious note, I was standing in front of a pristine lake which engulfed all my worries and tensions for some time. What else do you want from life, few moments to relax your senses and recharge your cells for all the struggles that lie ahead.

Gurudongmar Lake is located in the north district of Sikkim. It is 5kms away from China (formerly known as Tibet) and lies on the northernmost part of Kanchandzonga mountain range. This lake and its surrounding area are very sensitive due to its proximity to the Chinese border (as I already mentioned no cell phones, haha). Thus entry to this region needs special permission from the Indian army. Not to worry any travel agent will look after the documentation required but make sure you contact a trustworthy travel agent (ask the locals or hotel you are staying at). The best option is to contact the tourist information centre located at the M.G. Road in Gangtok. I did the same when I visited Sikkim for the first time.

Even if you don't ask I would say this should be a "must visit before you die" destination. I have been there twice and the charm of this paradise lives in my memories as fresh as the fragrance of a flower that presently blossoms in my garden.