PELLING –A Honeymooner’s Paradise
When my wife anushree and I were planning for a honeymoon trip, Sikkim was our first choice. Sikkim, known for its natural beauty, has so much to offer from her bouquet. We were so confident that we didn’t give it a second thought. Tourists don’t usually explore
Tourists don’t usually explore whole of Sikkim in a single trip. They target for a particular spot or few spots. So, we decided to visit Pelling which is a town in the district of West Sikkim. It is situated at an altitude of 2,150 m (7,200 feet). It was the month of November so the weather was comfortable for us.
We started from Kolkata and reached New Jalpaiguri in the morning by Kanchendzonga Express. We reached pelling in the afternoon by a pre-booked car. It was a cloudy day. We were very much excited at the beginning of the journey because we both had a fascination for snow-capped mountains and we heard that the Himalayas and the Kanchenjanga may be viewed at close quarters from Pelling. We didn’t get the chance to watch the kanchendzonga on that day as the weather and rain played a spoilsport. We got even more disappointed when we experienced a foggy weather from the roof of hotel Pemachen. We shifted to Hotel Rabdentse Residency on the very next day as the booking in Hotel Pemcahen was only for one night.
We booked a Deluxe room at Rabdentse. At Rabdentse we enjoyed a wonderful hospitality as well as the foods. The kanchendzonga was visible on that day. When we saw kanchendzonga for the first time from the windows we both became speechless.
It was so close that we thought we could touch its summit. It was almost covered with snow. At first we didn’t believe what we are seeing with our naked eyes. The local people said that we would not have a clear view of kanchendzonga without a favour from our luck. They were right! Since then we saw kanchendzonga throughout the days in all kinds of light and shadows. We also snapped a few hundred pictures.
It was a different experience to see kanchenzdzonga in moonlight! The beauty and vastness of the mystic peaks were indescribable in moonlight! Unfortunately, we were not able to snap a picture of that phenomenal sight because our camera was not so powerful. A DSLR could have served the purpose instead. We also heard from the local people that in the months of winter, Pelling is sometimes covered with a blanket of snow.
We visited the rock garden and waterfall at nearby Rimbi, the imposing double-pronged Kanchenjungha Falls, the archaic quaint Singshore Bridge, the Chhange Waterfalls, the Khecheopalri/Khechuperi, Khecheopalri Lake holy to Buddhists and ancient, picturesque Pemyangtse/Pemyangshi Pemayangtse Monastery and Yuksom.Pelling has a helipad ground though there is no regular air service. Helicopters can connect Pelling with Gangtok on request.You can get a panoramic view of peaks from helipad.
We admit that pelling has fulfilled our dreams to some extent.We cherished every moment during those few days. We were thinking that, this is what our lives pray for; this is how God makes us believe in his creation. Sikkim makes sure that it never leaves you even if you leave it!