Sikkim is a state in East India in the Himalayan foot hills. We started our journey from Delhi, where we took Deccan Air flight to Bagdogra, which is the nearest airport to Gangtok and is around 4 hours drive. At the airport, we took a local cab service (that we had booked in advance), the driver was waiting for us at the airport and thus began our tour of the exasperating Himalayan abode. It was monsoon time and the rain started leashing as the car waded its way through the wet hilly roads, lush green trees lining the path overlooking the valley beneath. We reached Gangtok in about 4 hours. The guest house we had booked, Mintokling, is a very snug and comfortable place and you have to go down the hill where it resides in the comfort of the mountains and trees around. The room was quite spacious and nicely done. Night had already fallen, we had a quiet dinner in the guest house and retired early.

We woke up early next morning to catch a breathtaking view of the mountains from our room’s window. The clouds of fog set in the backdrop of the larger than life Himalayan ranges quietly told us what was in store. We set out after a quick breakfast for some sightseeing. Most travel in Sikkim is done by bus, car or jeep. We had booked the cab for our entire stay in Gangtok and the driver took us around.
The following places are worth a visit,

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In Udaipur, I went to Gulaab bagh.There were many flowers and trees.

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After knowing about this place from my friend Vikas, we planned a trek of Shrikhand Mahadev. Before going there I had totally different views about the place. I had no information about trekking before visiting this place. We were four out of which three were going for such a long trek first time. Vikas was going second time but he was not able to complete this trek last time. Due to little knowledge about trekking we had very bad plan for completing this trek in three days excluding our journey from Delhi to Nirmand.

***As per my estimate this is 5 days trek (Jaon – Shrikhand Mahadev – Jaon)

Broken Mud house near Jaon village @ Shrikhand Mahadev
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I read about Jakholi, a small village near Rudraprayag in Uttaranchal, in 2008 in a Travel magazine named “Bhraman” published in Kolkata where I hail from. I have been to Rudraprayag several times and visited some places around it such as Siyalsour and Koteshwer. Kartikswami and Hariyali Devi, also in the surroundings of Rudraprayag, were in my wish list. But somehow we developed an curiosity for Jakholi and wished to visit the place immediately. A long weekend of Dewali was approaching. That time I was recovering from an attack of Hepatitis and was on strict dietary restrictions. But, a call from the Himalayas is irresistible. Instead of Alu Parantha or Khichri with pickles and omlates, my favorite dishes in the hills, Srabani, my wife, suggested me to survive on Fruits, Sattu and Chira with Milk powder. Two other colleagues in office also showed interest and finally a travel party of eight was formed:

Debarshi and Mrs. Debarshi

Deba’s Aunt(Pishi) and Grand Mother(Mashi Dida)

Kaushik

Srabani, Om, our 1 year old Son, and I.

We planned to follow the following route- Ghaziabad- Rishikesh- Rudraprayag- Jakholi- Ghansayali- Tehri- Dhanaulti- Dehradun- Roorki- Ghaziabad. GMVN Tourist Rest houses at Jakholi and Dhanaulti were booked and after calling several taxi operators, we finally managed to get one Innova.
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