Trek-2 : Goecha La (Sikkim)

A warm welcome to my viewers,
I am, back after a long time to share my second travelling experience which was a beautiful and a lovely trek to the city (Sikkim)
As, i had completed my first trek to har ki doon which was at uttrakhand at an altitude of 12000 feet. I was motivated and fascinated to go many other challenging treks and to explore the mountains. So,after sometime i just started surfing about some challenging treks and i got one challenging trek to be done at 16,000 feet which was Goecha La and which made my trek and journey divine.

Description about the place:-
Goecha La is a high mountain pass in Sikkim, India in the Himalaya range. The Goecha La ("La" is a Tibetan word translating towards "Pass", as in a high mountain pass). Sikkim is one of the least populous state in India. The city is mostly covered with Sikkimese monastery. The language preferred by the people there are nepali with many other Himalayan languages such as Bhutia being commonly spoken as well. Sikkim is also blessed with an extraordinary biodiversity rich in hundreds of varieties of flora and fauna and is home to 36 varieties of Rhododendron, ,more than 500 species of birds, and the endangered red panda. and in some of

the snowy parts of the mountains snow leopard can be seen which are very difficult to be noticed and many photographers in search of them wait for nearly 6 months to capture the photographs of the leopard. Overall it would be an amazing place to have a visit at.

Brief Itineary:-
Region : Sikkim
Duration : 11 days
Grade : Moderate to Difficult
Approx : 90km
Altitude : 16,200 feet.
Cost : Around 20k
Medium to Reach : airways and railways

Day 1 : New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to Yuksom
The first day all the trekkers have to be gathered at the NJP Railway station from which everyone were supposed to be taken to a drive from where our trek would start which was Yuksom. The drive is about 150 kilometers away and takes about 8 hours to drive. the drive is beautiful with the scenic of views and this is also the last destination for all the trekkers to withdraw their respective cash ,to have a contact with their families (after which we could not speak for around 10 days as no network would be avaliable further) and to buy some of the eateries which would be required during the trek. the night stay was at a guest house for the first night.

Day 2 : Yuksom to Sachen (7200 feet)
The second day of our journey was the day we had to start hiking. the hiking distance which we had to cover that day was 8 kilometer which was approximately 6 hours and there were no shops on the trail there was no network. we usually used to get packed lunch which used to be really delicious and the best part was that we had an abundant water sources it was a great fun in drinking the fresh water from the streams which used to melt directly from the glacier and had no impurities in it. It was an crystal clear water which is highly impossible to get in the cities where we live. The trail which we passed through was dense in forests, with a frequent ascents and descents which did not make us get tired frequently.We had passed through three iron bridges which was really wonderful. and we also had to be safe around the animals such as yaks which used to carry the luggage on the trail. So,after all this we reached our campsite at sachen and spent the remaining time relaxing in

our tents, having some wonderful talks with each other and by playing various kinds of games such as (MAFIA) the unforgettable game ever just loved it.

Day 3 : Sachen to Tshokha via Bakhim (9700 feet)
So, this day we had to cover a distance of 7 kilometer which took us approximately around 5 hours. It was a quite good and pleasant hike then it between we had some short ascents and the trail was lined with rhododendron and alpine berries and had our packed lunch in between reached bakhim our destination for the day and relaxed and spent the day :)

Day 4 : Tshoka to Dzongri via Phedang (12,900feet)
So, this day we had to cover an distance of 9 kilometer which took us approximately around 7 hours of hiking and the trail for the first 2 hours was quite rocky and then it was a wooden zig-zag trail which we were hiking calmly enjoying the nature of dense forests the only difficult thing here was we did not have any water sources in between the trail for the day.

Day 5 : Rest Day in Dzongri ( To see the world's 3rd highest peak)
This was the rest day in dzongri. As we had climbed onto higher mountains the altitude had also increased so we had to acclimatize the weather to reach the Goecha La summit. And during our dinner time which was usually around 7:00 pm and our guide informed us that whoever is comfortable and fit enough they can come with him at morning 3:00 a.m to have a hike of 2 hours and to see the worlds 3rd highest peak and the beautiful sunrise THE KANCHENGUNJA PEAK.
though i was feeling sleepy and lazy in the tents covered fully with my sleeping bag.but it was a great challenge to kick yourself out of the tent at 3:00 a.m with an frezzing temperature of -3 degree celsius. but the view was just amazing and spectacular

Day 6: dzongri to Thansing (13,650 feet)
After a rest day, we had to cover a distance of 10 kilometer hike which took us approximately around 6 hours. It was a Gradual walk through meadows and we reached the destination for the day.. took some rest:)

Day 7 : Thansing to Lamuney ( 14200 feet)
This was a day prior to the summit day where we had to reach the place Lamuney from where we will be going forward to reach the Goecha La summit. This day we had to cover a distance of nearly just 4 kilometer which took us approximately 2 hours to reach the destination and we were doing our preparations for the next day which was our summit day :)

Day : 8 ( Lamuney to Goecha La via samiti lake back to Lamuney)
(14,200 feet to 16,200 feet)

THE Day of Summit so this day we had to cover an distance of 18 kilometer which was approximately 13 hours of trek and it was the toughest and longest day of the trek because hiking on mountains with a lot of ascends and descends and with a bag

of 10 kg on your back is not a difficult task but always the reaching of destination makes all the efforts worth it! So, in the midnight we had our some quick snacks. we left for an awaiting hike at midnight 2:00 a.m which was damn cold with minus 4 degree temperatures and having a torch in our hands to hike as it was pitch dark. So, we all were happily hiking from lamuney to Goecha La it was an easy walk of 1 hour to reach the beautiful samiti lake and there we took a short break had some energy bars to get some energy and after that from samiti lake to the goecha la summit the journey and the hike was just fabulous it always makes me feel amazing when i remember about it. so the trail was mostly ascend which made us very tiring and take short breaks frequently as it was getting difficult to breathe at higher altitudes and there are chances of getting AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) and as we were hiking i still remember the moment where it had suddenly started to snow and we had to walk on the snow which was risky, cold but enjoyable and yeah i still remember the time when we were close to summit me and of my fellow trekker (devasish) had an race who would reach the summit first.... it was just great fun overall an amazing feeling when i reached the summit with my fellow trekkers ( Asmita,Devashish,Sunny,Ananth, Pratik,Gautam) it was an amazing feeling being at that place the one regret we had is we could not go a bit further as the forest commission had not granted us permission as they were snow leopard and it would be danger to our lives. we reached the summit clicked pictures had lots of memories and fun :)

Day 9 ,10,11

These 3 days we had to return back to our base from where we started our hike and journey we just had enjoyed all the days so much we just made memories for life. At the last day our guide and porters made an kheer for us as an celebration then at the 11th day we all bid a farewell to each other and finished the most beautiful journey :)

To conclude, it was really a challenging and a loving journey for me which i enjoyed it to the maximum level and learnt a lot of new things which would definitely help me in my life. Overall a lovely and fabulous trip which can be never and ever forgotten.
"GOECHA LA YOU WERE DIVINE":)