Short trip to Lepchakha and Buxa Fort

Travelling is in our blood but in my case it's offbeat places that I love to travel. This time I along with my younger brother and two other friends visited Buxa Fort and Lepchakha (A small hamlet on the foothills of Sleeping Buddha Ranges).

Lapchakha Hamlet

When we were planning to take a break from our day to day life and get lost into wilderness we had two things in our mind, pristine jungle and isolation.

 

Buxa Fort

According to our plan we visited Lapchakha on the first week of September, 2015. We boarded Kanchankanya Express at around 9.50 pm from Sealdah Junction. An interesting fact to share is that we started our journey from Sealdah but were not sure about our destination station. Through out the journey we argued about where to drop down whether at Siliguri, Jalpaiguri or Alipurduar Junction.

Members of Lepchakha Expedition

Finally we all came to a conclusion and dropped down at Alipurduar Junction.The train journey was more or less pleasant. We reached there at around 12.30 pm.We finished our lunch at a local Indian restaurant. Our target was to reach Santhal Bari on that day but sometimes things don't go according to the plan.As there is not much transport facility from Alipurduar to Santhal Bari we had to wait for long. On top of that as it was the pick of rainy season so local transports were prohibited from entering the core areas of the jungle which added to our miseries. 

Overview of Santhal Bari

Santhal Bari is a small hamlet within the dense jungle of Buxa Tiger Reserve. The bus dropped us at a convenient point near the Buxa reserve where we spent a quality time shooting photographs of the nearby jungle and wildlife before the weather turned for worse.

Way to Buxa Fort

It started to rain so heavily that we were unable to move any further. We got help from Rastriya Sena Bal while they were on their daily patrol. They picked us up on their way to Santhal Bari. It was an amazing experience altogether. They shared their thoughts and feelings about the place, animals and last but not the least locals living there. We got enriched.

Ever green jungle of Buxa Duar

Hamlet of Santhal Bari

Finally we had to make a tough decision whether to halt in Santhal Bari or to move up and stay at Lepchakha crossing Buxa Fort which was 2 hours trek from current position. Finally we decided that we would go up further to Lepchakha. The very next moment we were back to trek again. Finally we reached Lepchakha in complete darkness guided by a local and his son. We quickly finished our dinner and then sat in the balcony of our small hut, chatted for hours reflecting the day's experience. Finally we retired to our bed at around 11 pm. It rained very heavily that night but when we woke up next morning, an amazing scenic beauty welcomed us.

Lepchakha Hamlet

The small hut where we sheltered for the night

I was so tired after the previous day's exhaustion that I woke up at around 9.30 am. It was a bit too late to wake up in a place where normal routine begins from 4.30 in the morning.

An unknown river that snaked between Buxa Tiger Reserve

On that day, we decided to visit the Buxa Fort known for it's historical importance. As we were running late we had to rush soon after having our breakfast. Down hill was comparatively easier as we reached the Buxa Fort within the next forty minutes. It was a mind boggling experience.

The Buxa Fort

A place with immense historical importance

After reaching there one thing that touched my heart is how a place with such historical importance can be situated at such a remote place. It was only the ruins of the fort that was left and the rest is surrounded by dense jungle. There was an eerie feeling at that  place as the place is completely vacant and covered with shrubs. The place is historically so rich that every thing we touched had some kind of history to share with us. We left the place early as there were lot of leeches and snakes at that time of the year. Although it enriched our experience a lot.

Standing by history

 As we were going round that place, we met a local who was also a guide for birdwatching. He arranged chicken for us and invited us on a birdwatching expedition some day if we ever return to that place again.
With overwhelming experience and fond memories we left Buxa Fort and trekked our way towards Lepchakha. It was only dark when we reached our hut. The owner of the hut told us that we need to leave the hut by next day as they had bookings from another party from the next day. So on the very next day our priority was to find a new hut to shift. Fortunately we got a better one next day.

A lonely hut on outskirts of the hamlet

Surrounded by clouds

Next morning we decided not to go to any other place though we had our plans to visit Phungseling in Bhutan. Instead we decided to enjoy the homely village atmosphere. We had our lunch with rice,soya bean and egg curry. After lunch we visited the local jungles and water falls.

A mountain stream

An engineering way of drinking

Soon time flew by and we were in the verge of returning home. Mostly when people plan for a holiday their priorities are living in  luxurious rooms, eating delicious foods, marketing and going round comfortably. But honestly speaking,with my experience I have realised that these are only partly true. I would rather say spending a quality time with the poorest of poor families, sharing their daily lifestyle, happiness and experiencing their food are far more appealing to me.I feel when god takes away one thing from any person, he tries to fulfil the gap with other things.For instance, people here don't have money but what they have, money can never buy. One can surely disagree with me but as the old proverb says, "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder".

Near Buxa Fort

Look for the bare necessities

Lepchakha will stay for long in my memories but what will stay for ever are the people living over there and the tender love that they showered on us.

When you find out you can live without it,
go alone not thinking about it.

( Picture Courtesy : Sandipan Mandol, Piangshuk Mukherjee and Arijit Ghosh)

Trekking in Nepal

Langtang Valley Trek

Langtang Valley

It's being long since I had last posted about my trekking adventures. To start with, this year I along with four of my close friends and my younger brother visited Langtang valley in Nepal for trekking. Nepal is a country known for it's beautiful treks. Annapurna Base Camp (ABC), Everest Base Camp (EBC) and Langtang Valley Trek are among three reknowned ones. We were planning to trek Langtang Valley for a long time but just could not gather courage to go for it as it is a moderate trek. In today's busy schedule, getting ten-fifteen days leave from office,college or school is very difficult but when it comes to trekking nothing can dominate our will power. So anyhow we managed our leaves and started for Nepal on 23rd December,2014. A foreign country though neighbor was more than enough to create excitement in our adventurous souls.

Mithilla Express (13121)

Raxual Junction, Bihar

Accordingly we borrowed Mithilla Express (13121) on 23rd December,2014 at 3.55pm from Howrah. When the train started our first status updated on Facebook was "Adieus India, here we come Nepal". The train journey was a pleasant one till we reached the borders of West Bengal, from where Bihar started and local people rushed inside reserved compartments. We reached Raxual Junction at around 12:30 pm on 24th December,2014 as our train was running late by 1.30 hrs. Raxaul is a congested industrial area in Bihar bordering Nepal. The place is so congested that a mere 2 Kms journey to Birganj took us nearly 2.5 hrs. The security checkup near Indo-Nepal border is not that strict and only a photocopy of identity proof was enough to let us in.
From Birganj we borrowed a car to reach our next destination, Kathmandu (Capital of Nepal).

Hitting the road

The capital city

We stayed at Thamel in Kathmandu which is just like Park Street in Kolkata. We reached Thamel on 24th December to find the whole place ready to celebrate the Christmas eve and painfully for us the tariff of the hotel rooms have gone very high. Our bargaining experts Mr. Sandipan Mandal and Mr. Soham Nayek set to work and we managed a decent hotel at moderate price. The night we spent there is an unforgettable one as the whole place celebrated all night, we went to sleep early as we had to wake up early next morning to fetch TIMS (Trekkers Information Management System) cards. The very next day we shifted to Machapokhri, famous for the biggest bus stand in Kathmandu and stayed there overnight.

Machapokhri Bus Stand, Nepal

Next morning 26th December, 2014 we borrowed a bus towards our base camp Sybrubensi, a remote village in the mountains of Langtang Valley. It was one of the longest bus journey till date. We started at around 6 in the morning and reached base camp at 3.30 in afternoon in between we crossed several hamlets and beautiful mountain ranges with 360 degree Himalayan view at times. I personally don't like bus journeys as long as mountain roads are concerned but apart from that it was fun. We halted several times in between for refreshment and to answer nature's call. Finally we reached Sybrubensi thoroughly exhausted as the road was troublesome.

Sybrubensi Hamlet

While traveling we studied the route map and came to a decision that we will start trekking that very day and try to reach Pairo, a hamlet of merely 2-3 houses. As per plan we set out.

It feels good to be lost in right direction

We crossed few over a few hanging bridges which are trademarks of Langtang region. We studied the terrain and got lost in it's beauty. Standing in a different country and enjoying the mountain we are so familiar with was indeed a special feeling.

Keep close to nature's heart, wash your spirit clean 

Obstacles do not black the path, they are the path......

Finally we managed to reach Pairo at around 5.45 pm. Just before reaching Pairo we passed a small tributary of Trisuli river and infamous hot water spring of Pairo. It was so tempting to take a bath in hot water spring as the temperature outside was 4-5 degrees but our priority was reaching Pairo as it was getting dark.

Pairo Deberto

We stayed at Himalayan Lodge and that night temperature outside was -4 degrees centigrade. The sudden change in temperature restricted our movements to minimum though we were prepared for it. For dinner we had noodles Nepaleese style. After reflecting on the day's adventure and sharing few light moments near the fire place we went to sleep. An interesting fact about mountain nights are it start from 7.30 pm and continues still 7 am so nearly 11.30 hrs, a long time indeed.

Day-1 : Pairo-River Side

Mr. Avijit Sardar, one of our team member is an early riser . Every time we go trekking, he is the one who works as an alarm bell. That morning as usual he woke up at around 5.30 am and called us up.
Temperature at that moment was below freezing point, so going up was not at all easy. We started our trek at around 8.30 am after having a light breakfast with a cup of hot tea , biscuits and cakes. The night before we planned that if we can manage to reach Langtang Valley next day, we shall try to trek towards the sacred  lake of Goshaikund. When we started trekking we realized that "it was easier said than done" and soon dropped that plan.Trek towards the next place Bamboo was relatively easy and through the dense forest. We all were in the prime of our energy and managed this part quite easily.

Road from Pairo to Bamboo

Hanging on heaven

On reaching Bamboo we were thoroughly exhausted. We rested there for 15-20 mins and refreshed ourselves with glucose. Our next halt was the hamlet of Llama hotel. Llama hotel is one important halt in Langtang Valley Trek. People coming from western countries stay over here. We don't like commotion so we preferred to move ahead to the next hamlet of Riverside. That was a challenging decision and nearly went very wrong.

Near Llama Hotel

We started from Llama hotel at around 3.30 pm according to the local it's a 1.30 hrs trek so we had ample time to reach next hamlet of River Side. We had 2 hrs time to complete the trek so we jogged at snail pace. After walking for 1.30 hrs, we met a lone trekker from Poland who told us to hurry as we had another 2 kms of uphill trek left which according to our fitness demands at least 2 hrs while we were left with only 40 minutes of sunlight. We halted there to revise our plan whether to go back or to march forward as both are equidistant. Our biggest fear was that if we cannot manage to reach River side we might have to spend the night inside the jungle in bitter cold and surrounded by wild animals. Our biggest strength was that the entire group was together and we were mentally prepared to handle the situation.

Night vision of the mighty Himalayas

Pristine jungles on Himalayan foothills 

We stood there for 5-10 minutes reviewing the situation and gathering courage. Finally we decided to march on towards the next possible hamlet. We had no knowledge how far it might be and how long we have to walk. That time we had one mixed feeling that can't be explained in words. The moonlight was so bright that the path was crystal clear and the surrounding jungle with it's wildlife added to the eerie feelings.It was God's grace that we only had to walk 30-40 minutes before reaching the next hamlet of River Side.

River Side (2769m)

Only trekkers hut in River Side

We reached River Side at 7.15 pm thoroughly exhausted but soon regained our energy through the warm reception of the hut owner. That day we were very tired and went to bed early. At 1.30 am I went outside to answer natures call and find Himalayas glowing brightly in silver moonlight, simply amazing. Next morning we set out for Langtang.

Day-2: River Side-Langtang Valley via Ghoda Tabela

After leaving River Side we reached Woodland, a lone trekkers hut in midst of tropical forest received us, after a refresher for 10 mins we started moving up towards Ghoda Tabela. On our way we had to cross an army camp. They halted us, checked our TIMS card and photo proof. However we reached Ghoda Tabela at around 11.30 am.

Ghoda Tabela

Himalayas from Ghoda Tabela

After reaching Ghoda Tabela the landscape completely changed, prior we were trekking through steep mountains and dense forest here it opened into a broad valley. From here Langtang was 2-2.30 hrs trek.We spent quality time in Ghoda Tabela and enjoyed the beauty nature had to offer.

Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery

May your best miles be those covered by foot

From Ghoda Tabela the trekking was comparatively easy though at times we had to negotiate with steep up and down hill terrains.We reached Langtang at 12.30 pm exhausted yet extremely satisfied and overwhelmed by conquering something really big. Reaching Langtang was our dream for the past two years and that was the moment.

Dream come True

You cannot create experience. You must undergo it.

One of the most valued and precious moment of my life was reaching Langtang top with all my close friends and brother in one piece, was an out of the world feeling.

Picture that represents my life

Langtang here we come was our dream and we are living it right now.We halted that night in Langtang and planed to go further for Kyanjin Gompa very next day. An unexpected thing happened as two of my friends started suffering from altitude sickness. They were feeling very weak and severe headache, so after further discussion we had to make a tough call of leaving them in Langtang and going forward. Kyanjin Gompa is a remote village in the foothills of greater Himalayas up to which one can trek. After this point climbing to summit of Mt. Serkori peak starts.

Glimpse of Kyanjin Gompa from Langtang

Initially we never thought about the sincerity of the uphill climb but as time progressed it became eminent.It was only 4.5 kms uphill trek. The air was so thin that even without rucksack we started feeling exhausted.

Can we do it was the question?

We started our trek around 9 in the morning, which initially appeared to be 2 hrs trek ended up taking 5 hours.Thankfully we carried water and fresh apples which helped our cause. These were all the minor barriers because what mother nature offered made us forget all our ordeals and discomfort.

Now you know what I mean

On our way to Kyanjin gompa

In between we halted for a breather and finished the apples we brought with us. At that place we were surrounded by wild horses and uncountable species of birds that we hardly identify.

Destination wild

We reached Kyanjin Gompa at around 2 pm and could walk no more. We were so tired and exhausted that we thought of spending the night there. However a delicious lunch made by the villagers regained our energy and believe that yes we can do it, as downhill was much easier. Counting on this faith we started exploring the area. Few picture that we clicked at that time are as follows...

Climb mountains not so the world can see you. But so you can see the world

The road less traveled

There was something special in those snow capped mountains that mesmerizes me till today. Awesome is the word to describe.

Hamlet of Kyanjin Gompa

I enjoyed snow thoroughly

The uphill trek which took 4-5 hrs to reach Kyanjin Gompa unlikely the downhill towards Langtang was complete within 1-1.30 hrs and that gave me enormous confident for next days downhill till River Side. On the way to Langtang we saw wild boars as they come out for foraging during dusk time. Without further drama's we reached Langtang and took shelter for the night where two of my friends were waiting anxiously. I had a plan of  photographing glowing Himalayas during a full moon night but the temperature was so freezing that I had to drop that plan.

Adieus Langtang

We left Langtang at around 9.30 in the morning very next day and descended pretty fast towards River Side. In between we halted at Godha Tabela for refreshment. Finally we reached River Side to be greeted with a warm welcome from our old friend. We were so exhausted that we ordered tea and sat down by the river to enjoy the serene environment at dusk in mountains.

Sitting by the river with a cup of tea what more one can ask for...

 That night I still remember temperature dropped as low as -12'C. I will tell one interesting story that will help one to understand how cold it was that night. While we were sitting by the river my brother removed his socks and by mistake left it over there, next morning he went to fetch it and saw they were frozen rock solid. Check this picture out.

Socks got struck to each other

 Next morning we got prepared for a long down hill trek from River Side to Sybrubensi hamlet. It was on amazing experience, I counted on my experience that I gained from Kyajin Gompa and was first person to reach Pairo from where we started our journey of dreams. In between we halted at Upper Rimche, Lower Rimche and Bamboo for lunch. While we were walking our last miles, it was  already dark and the moon was shining brightly..and all of us were walking side by side. Though we were thoroughly exhausted we had a feeling of joy within ourselves, a feeling which only a trekker can experience once his/her destiny is reached... a feeling which cannot be described in words. When we reached Sybrubensi, we were left in despair as it's over, satisfied that we made it and confident enough that there are many more to come in the upcoming years. We reached Sybrubensi with a promise that we will return back to Nepal at any given opportunity. We left Nepal enriched and accomplished, by exploring our new selves. We even realized the greatness of the friendship bonding that the six of us share..which made this trip even more special. That day, in the evening, while we were having tea.. I got a cup.. on which there was something written. My friends called it a mere co-incidence, although I didn't agree with them. How can it be? It was saying the words that my heart was trying to speak out. Here goes the picture of that cup :

Langtang trek got over long time back but recently the devastating earthquake shook entire Nepal by completely demolishing Langtang which has made my memories for Langtang all the more special. Now even if one wants to reach Langtang it's not possible. Nepal government is trying their level best to reopen that trekking routes to Langtang at earliest although it's not possible to get that old Langtang back ever again.

Journey to a dreamland

 In my sweetest of dreams, I hope all those people I have met in that amazing journey and who will stay ever green in my memories are still alive and hearty.. doing fine in that heaven on earth.

Langtang is calling...what are you waiting for!!!

That's why one of my closest friend and fellow trekker in that journey of dreamland told,

"...as I live
with curious dreams
as I tread
with unquenched thirsts
I do crest
these untamed roads
I do travel
these unknown lands
and I humbly
dare a bet:
the Paradise there
if It is
isn't more beautiful..."