Yumthang Valley

One of the things I wanted to do most in Sikkim was the 9-10 day Goeche-la trek, which would take me up to the base of Kachenjunga mountain and an altitude of 4940m, closer to its summit. However, as Northern Sikkim borders with Tibet, security in the area is very closely controlled and the only way to get into this area is as part of a group with a recognised guide and a permit. Usually I shy away from these organised trips but for a 10 day trek in this area you'd need a yak or two to carry kit and food, and a guide to get you in and out so I was prepared to sign up to a group and hand over the necessary cash for this part of my trip. The problem I found on arriving in Gangtok (Sikkim's capital) was that not many others where up for a 10 day hike now that the weather had turned really cold, and despite trawling around all the guest houses and trek organisers in town I didn't manage to find enough people up for the adventure in order to put together a minimum sized group of 4. There was rumour of a group heading out in 10 days time but I didn't have 10 days to hang around for a rumour so slunk back to my guesthouse to form another Sikkim plan.

Pouring over the old Lonely Planet I read about Yumthang Valley in North Eastern Sikkim which due to its location is off the beaten track of most tourists. Overnight my luck changed and I found a group of 3 Suisse and a Colombian (now living in America) who were also interested in going and had already started to organise a jeep. Yep, there was definitly room for me in the jeep and they were more than happy to have me join them so we set off early next morning for the long drive North.

Our days drive was broken by visits to a couple of stunning monasteries en route but we were all keen to get as far North as quickly as possible, knowing that the sooner we got there the more time we'd have to spend there. 'There' being Zero Point; the end of the road, quite literally where the tarmac stops and tips you out on to a snowy boulder field surrounded by steep mountains with the Tibetan Plateau stretching before you.

We pulled in at nightfall to an elaborate looking hotel that had been decorated at a temple and whilst waiting for dinner set off in search of 'Tongba' the local brew made from fermented millet. We eventually found some in the home of a local shop owner whose wife, dressed beautifully in Tibetan robes invited us through to their enormous kitchen/lounge/bedroom/bar. Filling up large bamboo handle less 'tankards' with millet she then poured on hot water and gave us bamboo straws with which to mash about the mixture. The taste is very bitter and acidic, like young wine, but it's warm and wet, which up here at 3,800m is very welcome on a cold dark night. We walked back to the hotel under some of the most beautiful night skies I've ever seen and with all that warm tongba inside me it wasn't long before I was fit for my bed.

Next morning we were up early and wrapped up against the bitter cold at 5am. Around 6am the sun rose over the mountains and the views around us became mesmerizing.


The jeep wound its way up literally hundreds of switchbacks and as we climbed the snow thickened and the rivers crossing our paths became more and more frozen. At just after 7am we could go no further, the end of the road! and there was a big sign to state the fact!


At this altitude (4,800m) and at this time of the morning it was bloody cold, but frankly that didn't register with me I was so overwhelmed by my surroundings. Along with the Swiss we took turns taking photos and playing in the snow and then I sat myself on a rock for a while to sit down and contemplate the view around me, letting my thoughts wander across that plateau to meet up with a future dream of a train trip to Lhasa.


On the way up that morning we'd picked up a Tibetan guy and girl who'd climbed up to the top of the jeep and bared the freezing temperatures on the drive up. I'd forgotten about them until one of them wandered over with a mug of boiling hot chai for me, making me realise also just how cold I was. The Swiss and the Columbian were huddled under a sheet of plastic masquerading as a tent and trying to keep warm when I found then and although I was pleased to be in the warm I really wanted to be outside with the mountains. I grabbed another mug then went back outside, where in the sunshine it really wasn't so bad. I'd just settled down with my tea in the sun when the guide came over to bundle me back in the jeep. "No!" I begged, " we cant go, we've just got here!" not wanting to leave the view. He pointed out we'd been there for nearly 2 hours, one of the Swiss girls was suffering with the altitude and the Columbian woman had turned into a popsicle so I relented and climbed back into the jeep for the long drive back to Gangtok.

Although somewhat pissed at not being able to do my planned trek and not having more time to spend at Zero Point this jaunt is so far without a doubt the highlight of my trip so far and for a short time has provided me with my mountain fix. I have the images of that Tibetan plateau fixed in my brain now and they'll stay there for a long time, at least until I get to see that view again.



xx