We decided to travel northeast to visit this ideally situated, relatively obscure Indian state, nestled between Bhutan to the east, Tibet to the north, and Nepal to the west.
Legship is a small town in the west district of Sikkim and is the gateway to Sikkim. It is located on the main road connecting West Sikkim with the rest of the state, on the banks of river Rangit. We can feel the uniqueness of this state as we venture deeper into this special secluded region of India. Sikkim is divided into four districts, North, South, East and West. To visit North Sikkim, one requires an addition travel permit due to the sensitive nature of the bordering country's politics. Along with the travel permit necessary to obtain, it is advised by the state that local travel agents should be used to arrange for accommodations and guides to assist in your trekking, sightseeing adventures. As it turned out, costs were prohibitive for Lisa and I so we focused on the remaining three districts. The least populated state in India (620,000), Sikkim is the only totally organic state in the subcontinent. No plastic bags are used, green and blue garbage containers are utilized allowing for the separation of waste. Garbage is in our opinion the greatest scourge of India and it may be in this case that the way to deal with it will start from the top down, at least geographically. Just have to convince the other 28 states along with their one billion, two hundred million countrymen and women.
Above is a view from our first destination, Pelling, where we spent a couple of days. The food here is fantastic, Momo's (stuffed dumplings), wonderful soups full of spiced vegetables and a delicious broth. We're at about 6000 feet.
Thick dense coniferous forests cover all the mountain sides similar to what we have in many of the mountain slopes in British Columbia. There is a quiet tranquility about this region and off in the distance one can capture the awe inspiring views of the towering Himalayas which we have been pursuit of since travelling north.Kangchenjunga, the 3rd highest mountain in the world reveals itself to us. What a delight! About a year ago when Lisa and I considered this adventure together we determined that there were two specific locations we wished to visit on the subcontinent. The first being Kerala in the south of India and Bhutan in the northeast. So it wasn't long before we decided to leave this cool town of Pelling and proceed eastward toward Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, very close to the border of Bhutan.
