Monday, October 27, 2008

PANGTHANG TO SANG FAMBONGLO SANCTUARY TREK

Right from my childhood I used to stare at the huge hill opposite Gangtok spanning from Rumtek Monastery to Pangthang. It seemed to rise in front like an impregnable green wall. A lot of questions used to run in my mind.How do you get there? Did it have a forest with wild animals. What was there on the other side - another mountain?
It was only when I was forty years old that I ventured there and got an answer to my questions.
This relatively easy trek can comfortably be covered within a period of one day. Tinjure lies on the highest point on the Rumtek hill opposite Gangtok. One has to reach Golitar four kilometers ahead of Tashi-View Point first by vehicle and then walk a few kilometres that takes less than an hour on the road to Pangthang and Dikchu till the Log-hut of the Forest Department. From here the bridle path begins skirting the Experimental farm of G.B. Pant Institute at a moderate gradient and takes one through the dense Fambonglho Forest Sanctuary to the top in about two hours. The last stretch of half an hour is rather steep and one has to dodge under trees that have fallen across the path. A profusion of cane plants appear and these form a leafy tunnel over the track letting in hardly any sunlight. At places where the bridle path breaks the ground is soft and bouncy because of decaying vegetation that has accumulated and compacted for ages.
During my trek , a heavy shower of rain the previous night had left the forest sparkling and a brilliant shade of green. The spring was trying to coax the buds on the trees to bloom. Every bird in the forest seemed to fill its lungs with the sweet, fresh air and sing its heart out. The insects were equally vociferous. Now and then you startle a deer, which scampers off with graceful, flying leaps over the long tufted grass. Scores of jubilant bullfrogs serenade you from every pool and pond. You smell the sweet scented fragrance a forest gives off after a storm, the perfume of flowering shrubs and the smell of damp moss on the tree trunks.
We are now at Jhandi Dhara also somethimes wrongly called Tinjure.It has a three storey wooden Observation Tower festooned with prayer flags on concrete stilts and the view from here is just breathtaking. It overlooks both Gangtok and the Tista valleys and on the northeastern horizon towers the Kanchendzonga range with specially Siniolchu in all its splendid grandeur glittering against the blue sky. Gangtok looks as though someone has strewn the hillside with matchboxes of different colours. In the south the omnipresent volcano shaped Tendong peak looms against the backdrop of the Singelila range. Peeping out from the forests of Tumlong the monastery of Phodong looks like a small ladybird. On a clear day even the plains of West Bengal can be seen.
From Jani dhara we walk on the ridge of the mountain.On the right side is the Tista valley with the river Tista snaking its say through. On the left you catch glimpses of the Gangtok town, the Lingdum Monastery and the Rey Mondu Monastery. The path is without any steep gradients but the foilage is very thick as a result of which walking speed is considerabley slow- two to three kilometers an hour. There are no springs or streams on this route and soon we run out of drinking water. But there are a lot of juicy wild strawberries growing all around and we varaciously eat them to quench our thirst. The forest guard accompanying us points to to the paw marks of bears on the trees. We come across a small lake- Dharey after two hours. After another one hour we cross by the the Tumin Watch tower. A walk of another two hours and we are at Tinjure - the highest point on the hill opposite Gangtok.A downhill trek of an hour and we skirt past the holy Sang pokhari and shortly thereafter we are at Sang Bazar where our vehcile is waiting to pick us up.
The trek covering a distance of about 20 kilometers. has been an exhilirating experience. The mountain was not just a 2 dimensional green wall but a world teeming with trees, birds butterflies and wild life

6 comments:

himalayanreview said...

Sir ru the same person that publish the Sikkim Guide.

Rajesh Verma said...

Yes

himalayanreview said...

Its nice to know you Sir....I like your Sikkim Guide very much...you are doing great. I am your fan.

KACHHU said...

I read the blog.It's nice to know your you.I have trekked many areas of Indian and Nepal Himalayas for last 30 years which includes High altitude passes like kalindi col, Dhumdar kandi,unta dhura,Ganja la,thorang la, Manasarovar (Tibet) etc. In Sikim I trekked Dzongri-Goecha la and few small treks. This year I intend to undertake a short trek of 7days in Sikim, preferably staying at the huts of Lepchas,to know about their ethnic culture which I am very much interested in,or trek through any less trodden path in Sikim. You can help me a lot by giving details information.I will reach Gangtok(or any suitable place) on 2nd Oct'11 and will end the trek on 9th. Please render your advice.
- Rathin Chakraborty

Unknown said...

sir i am karma from samdong..n i am into hospitality business..we the residents of tumin lingee would like to upgrade the tinjure trekking route that starts from pangthang..we are very much interested regarding this trekking route n would like to know more from you regarding this trekking route..

Unknown said...

rajesh verma sir, this indeed sounds a beautiful terk. i would love to walk it.
i wish to ask for your guidance on how to do so..
could you please tell us how to reach tinjure from gangtok and also can we pitch a tent and camp for a night??
Please get back!