Beyond The Singalila Ridge by Asis Mukherjee

Where is Singalila Pass and where is Measures’ Club Tent at Kolkata Maidan? But there is a link between these two places. Actually the second one is the birthplace of our plan to approach Singalila Range standing to the far north of West Bengal as a demarcation line between our state and Sikkim and Nepal also. We four were there with a cup of tea in the courtyard of the club on an autumn evening. I was elaborating the idea of crossing the famous Singalila Pass to my elderly friend Pradipta Chakraborty alias Dipuda and Pradip Biswas, my friend cum colleague and partner of many treks and Pravat Ray alias Rayda Dipuda’s friend. 

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All of us, though we visited Sandakphu many times, were very much interested in my plan to cross the range and explore the unknown forest of Sikkim. I had once come from Versey of West Sikkim to Phalut with my friend Sunil Sen, who is no more now. So a team of four, consisting of two hextagenerian and two comparatively younger people in their forties,trekkers and mountain lovers was formed and I was to book the train tickets for New Jalpaiguri according to our itinerary. 

The very next day I booked our onward and return journey tickets with utter excitement. I always like to enjoy the thrill of a journey when the tickets are confirmed. On the scheduled date we all assembled at Sealdah station for Darjeeling Mail. After boarding the train Dipuda, I already informed Jeevan Chetri at Manebhanjan about our arrival. He appreciated me. Jeevan Bhai is a very popular person at Manebhanjan, who not only provides shelter and food to the trekkers but also helps them by providing information and guides or porters to them. He is a very well known person among trekkers. The next morning our train reached New Jalpaiguri station at the right time. We came out of the station and booked a car for Manebhanjan. It’s a couple of hours journey and we reached Manebhanjan at about eleven. Alighting from the car we checked in Jeevan Bhai’s homestay. After lunch we briefed our plan to Jeevan Bhai and asked him to arrange two porters for us. He assured us and requested us to take rest. In the afternoon we strolled along the motorable road leading to Sandakphu and noticed the check post of Singalila National Park. We came back to our nest. Meanwhile Jeevan Bhai brought two local young men to introduce us for our trek for the next few days. We discussed our trekking plan and they assured us to turn up the next morning. We rearranged our rucksack for the last time and went for our dinner. 

Morning wore a sunny face. We woke up at Jeevan Bhai’s call with steaming cups of tea. The porters also arrived to pack their loads. We got prepared to set out on the road again. After another round of tea I paid Jeevan Bhais bill for our boarding and food and came out of the lodge. Though everybody of us trekked along this route earlier, the call of the mountain made the familiar route even more interesting. We arrived at the check post and paid the entry fees and marched ahead. Dipuda and Rayda were not carrying any load. The porters were following us with their rucksacks. I along with Pradip were marching with our rucksacks on our back. We all were marching very leisurely enjoying our journey at every step. No hurry, scurry, no exhaustion. In one hour and a half we reached Meghma. Aptly christened the name of the village Meghma because in Bengali it means a place in the cloud. And in fact most of the time it remains behind the curtain of a mist. We took a brief pause with a cup of tea. Our porters also arrived and I instructed them to march ahead towards Tumling another small village at the Indo-Nepal border avoiding the steep climb of Tonglu. We again came down on the road and soon we arrived at the bifurcation of the road where one trail right to Tonglu and the left side motorable road went to Nepal. We took the left hand road and entered Nepal and crossed through many shops and houses, shortly we reached Tumling. It’s a bright sunny place on the slope of the mountain. Here and there the demarcation stones were seen showing the names of two countries, Nepal and India. The local shopkeeper arranged our seats and the table in the courtyard of his shop and served drinks and snacks for us. We deserved it because since morning we were marching and we got fatigued also. 

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After a brief pause at Tumling we started again. Our next halt would be Kalipokhari and it would be today’s final halt. Within three hours we comfortably reached Kalipokhari. We found a number of hotels there and put up in one of those. The arrangements were very nice and the hospitality of the owner was also very good. These hotels were built up en route to Sandakphu with the concept of homestay in Nepal. We occupied two adjacent rooms and put on our rucksacks and came to the dining place for lunch. Our porters also put up in a separate room. After lunch we went to our rooms for rest. It was our first night halt. In the evening we assembled at the lounge and ordered tea. Everybody was very comfortable and happy. I, myself, was very much satisfied seeing Dipuda and Rayda, in their sixties performed very well in the test of the first day trek. We could not feel how a couple of hours we spent chatting and gossiping within ourselves. Because Dipuda himself was a mine of many treasures of expeditions. We retired to bed after dinner early because we all were very tired and fatigued. 

The next morning we woke up early and received our bed tea. Within an hour we got ready and set out after breakfast. Today is the last leg of ascent from 10,400 ft. to Sandakphu at 11,930 ft. the highest point of West Bengal. But now we are accustomed to this escalation. Though today’s distance is only six kilometers, the ascent was very steep. Within one hour we reached Bikebhanjan and we entered into a small hut for tea. Our senior members deserved a tea break. We took a rest for some time also because our next halt would be the last halt for today. After a while we resumed our journey and gradually marched ahead. In two hours we reached our destination and checked in the trekkers’ lodge and immediately I ordered for lunch. 

After lunch we relaxed on our bed. Now the ascent was over, the strains on our body were almost endured. It’s enough time to relax and enjoy. Dipuda was telling his experience of his first visit to Sandakphu. It was an exhilarating experience around forty years back. We went outside as the sun was preparing to set down. With magic of colors it bade adieu to us. The cold wind from the north drove us back to our room. The evening also brought us rounds of tea and coffee and stories from Dipuda. After having our dinner at around 8-30 we took shelter in our bed. 

Next morning we were prepared to experience the sunrise from the highest point of West Bengal. In the dark of the night wrapped in woolen cover we came out from our room to welcome the sun. The cold wind was trying to drive us back to our room but we were determined to behold the sunrise. Magic of indescribable colors of nature compelled us to stand perplexed and behold. We came back to our room for warmth and morning tea. After having our breakfast and second round of tea we set out for Phalut. It’s the longest march of twenty-one kilometers of the route but almost flat above eleven thousand feet from sea level. Despite that altitude we all were moving very comfortably. All along our way we were accompanied by the beautiful Mount Kanchenjunga on our right in the clear sky of November. The cold breeze was very soothing. After a continuous march of three hours and a half we halted for a while at Sabarkhum where once a forest bungalow was there but now only the ruins remain. And there we discovered the entire panoramic view of the Himalaya expanding from Mount Kanchenjunga to Mount Everest. It was obviously a rare chance to have a glimpse of such a wide panoramic view of the Himalaya. Our mission was accomplished.

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After a while we resumed our march and in two hours of continuous trek we reached Phalut trekkers hut. Immediately I ordered for our lunch. We all were very hungry after a long march. After having our lunch we occupied our bed arranged at one side of the hall and began to revise our plan because so far we thought we crossed the highest point of our trek but the route was very familiar to all of us. The real trek in that sense will start from tomorrow towards the unknown. Though I came from Versey of West Sikkim crossing the Singalila Range to Phalut last year, I can’t lead my team through the dense forest of Sikkim. And that’s the reason for hiring two local porters cum guides who could help us to negotiate the route. In the evening we enjoyed the sunset from a different viewpoint. 

Next morning we woke up as usual and after having a heavy breakfast we set out for Singalila Range. The trek route to Gorkey took the right track down hill while ours went straight towards Toriphule at the base of Singalila Range. We went straight towards Toriphule and after reaching there we paused for a while before the final ascent. We began to climb again until we reached the top of Singalila Range. The steep climb for an hour made us exhausted and after reaching the top of the Singalila Range we unleashed our rucksacks and sat down. There also we came to notice the demarcation pillar showing India’s border with Nepal. The other side of the range extending from east to west was covered in deep forest. Dipuda asked which direction we should move now. The porters cum guides got confused and ultimately surrendered with their disability to locate the foot track through the deep forest towards Versey. Dipuda now suggested proceeding towards the west along the ridge where at the far end the “Chhiwabhanjan Pass’ ‘ at the border of India and Nepal was visible from here. So we again took our rucksacks and began to march along the foot track leading towards Chhiwabhanjan. Gradually we entered into the forest as we began to descend. Keeping our direction towards the west we reached Chhiwabhanjan in less than two hours. We found the Border Security Force’s camp over there. Seeing two senior persons with us they cordially invited us to their mess house a far long away beside a playground. We took shelter at their camp and got tea and biscuits very shortly. That night we stayed in the room instead of the tent and fortunately had good food also offered by our BSF Jawans. 

Next morning we started our journey after two consecutive rounds of tea and breakfast for Utterey, a small village in the West Sikkim district. As we descended through the forest we discovered two marvels on our way, one was a forest bungalow of “Chitre” a nice place to stay amidst a small field surrounded by big trees of the forest and the other was a small rivulet coming down from Chhiwabhanjan Pass which formed “Little Rangeet” river at Jorethang. While dashing through the dense forest we realized that yesterday’s discussion of proceeding towards Chhiwabhanjan instead of approaching for ” Khuldhap” was very much correct. Because of the Chhiwabhanjan Border Post this route to Utterey was apparently far better, though we were pushing through the Moss and Fern and Bush at every step. Sometimes we had to cross the rivulet on our way down. At length we came to the border of the forest where we discovered a “Trout Breading Center ” of the Fisheries Department of the Government of Sikkim. We saw the green cultivated fields of the village. It’s almost a flat stretch of land extended up to the houses of the village. We gradually descended and came through it.

Soon we discovered the “Green Valley Resort ” a nice hotel located in a quiet and nice place. We checked in with leaden feet and we all thanked Dipuda for his correct decision at the right time. Now it’s our time to celebrate and recapitulate the essence of our hard trek through the unknown. Because tomorrow we will leave this heavenly place and return to our usual place of din and bustle.

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