BPD: Hiking a leech-infested mountain!

(BPD: Hiking a leech-infested mountain!, 21 Apr '15)

While in the tribal village at Darap, I found out about the Rani Donga mountain, which was an overall trek of 10km to the top and has a good view of the Pelling area. This peak is also a prominent place of religious importance for the local Nepali Hindu tribe who worship Lord Ram in the big monolithic rock. The local folktale goes that the monolithic rock atop this mountain was converted into a place of worship by one of the ancient Sikkim Kings, as requested by his 2 Queens; hence the name, Rani Donga which literally translates into 'Queen's rock'.

Kid in a tribal home

Santhosh, a bright 10th standard student awaiting his results acted as my local guide, to venture into the forests, that is said to inhabit bears and wild boars apart from wild dogs! Armed with a traditional Nepali Gorkha knife, the 'Kukri' and demonstrating some basic moves with it, he guided me through the tribal village. With a largely agricultural sustenance, the tribals had large paddy fields, apart from small cardamom & green pea plantations and a variety of fruit trees like apples, pears and cherries. The forest also had a rich variety of medicinal plants that the tribals use for most basic remedies, like healing cuts, quickening blood clots, stopping bleeding nose etc. To an untrained eye, all these plants looked the same!

Ascending the mountain, we crossed the last few tribal huts amidst curious eyes, to get into the thick of forest. The forest was moist owing to the sporadic rains over the previous days. At one point in the hike, I noticed the signature presence of leeches, one attached to a stone, standing upright, slightly wiggling and patiently waiting for an object to latch on to! Having trekked amidst a thriving leech population in the Kumaraparvata mountains a year back, I could identify the signs. However, little did I know that this entire forest was infested with leeches. Soon, we encountered hundreds of leeches along the way and I quickly tucked in the trousers into the socks, and started keeping an eye on the shoes to remove leeches as they climbed on.

A Leech ready to latch on..	Trees on the way

The overall hike was very scenic and midway we crossed the point where the clouds drifted across the mountain, just around a clearing in the pine forests. Throughout the way, we found wild strawberries which were blooming in the season and provided us with a steady supply of small, bright red and tasty berries to snack. After about 3 hours, we reached the Rani Donga mountain amidst fresh showers and feasted on our packed lunch of parathas, with a great view of flowering rhododendron plants around. By then, the showers had become intense and we quickly paid obeisance to the deities who were worshiped in the form of small pellets placed under the face of the monolithic rock. At one end of the rock, there is a small cave which leads someway inside and then ascends vertically upwards, opening up at the top of the rock. Local belief goes that any person caving through this enclosure and climbing up through the narrow crevice without difficulty possessed a clean, blessed soul and the locals routinely used this as a test on people, during times of need!

Wild strawberries found along the way	A Mid-point halt on the hike

Rain drops-laden fir trees	Some clouds passing by...

During the way down, the leeches had become super-active thanks to the fresh showers, and we had to keep checking our shoes and clothes every hundred meters, to knock off the villainous creatures hitch-hiking onto the shoes, and then slowly descending into the inner side of the socks for a shot at some fresh blood! The hike down was rapid and in less than an hour, we reached the base and then frantically removed the socks and dresses to pull out the last set of leeches from within. A hike to this mountain is well worth the effort, just that to take care of the leeches problem during monsoons, one needs to plan proper clothing and remedies like salt-water solution, that acts as a leech deterrent.

Getting closer to the home-stay, we passed some football crazy kids practicing and stopped for a penalty kick! After I badly missed the goal post by quite some margin, the kids obliged for a photograph and chatted excitedly about their favorite European football clubs. This was a standard feature all over Darjeeling & Sikkim where football is clearly THE favorite sport, and Chelsea THE club of choice!

Peculiar looking, but edible plants	Monolithic rock temple, atop Rani Donga

Clouds-covered mountain-top	Phot-op after my failed penalty kick!

BPD: Tribal home-stay in West Sikkim

(BPD: Tribal home-stay in West Sikkim, 20-22 Apr '15)

After Darjeeling, there was an enticing option to go on a 5-day trek to Sandakphu valley through a Rhododendron forest in Singalila national park, West Bengal. I impulsively decided against it at the last minute, in favour of Darap in West Sikkim. I looked up the homestay and made a call to the owner on availability, after starting from Darjeeling and while travelling in the shared taxi. This turned out to be a great choice, for I had a good time and ended up staying 3 nights in this tribal village, near Pelling in West Sikkim.

Makaibari tea estate, on way to Jorethang

The journey to Darap was long, as is any journey by road in Sikkim, more so for shared modes of travel. I did 4 break journeys to cover just about 80 km in over 6 hours : Darjeeling - Jorethang - Geyzing - Pelling - Darap. Again there was a varied mix of people in the taxis - an unsure taxi driver with a faulty break-wire that gave away during our journey, a Nepali school teacher from Darjeeling, a milk cooperative employee from Sikkim and a bereaved Bengali visiting his in-law's place for his father-in-law's last rites.

Shiva's Homestay	Guest rooms, with a view

Morning view from the room...	A shot, by the bell

The Darap home-stay is run by Shiva and Radha Gurung, who live by the principle of 'athidhi devo bhava' and it was an absolute delight to be in their company. The highlights included the courteous service throughout that made you feel extra special, a reliable guidance on tourist spots of interest in Sikkim, yummy home cooked food, a beautiful & pristine village and a comfortable home with a good view of the Kanchenjunga range, and finally Sikkim's native Tsonga home-brewed beer.

Sikkim's own historic Bob Marley!	Tsonga beer ready to be tried

While at the home, I met a lot of interesting travelers as well. There was this Tamil couple from Bangalore - Arvind, a creative, prolific film-maker and balanced by his better half, Ramya working in the corporate world. We had a good time chatting late into the night on a variety of topics ranging from film-making experiences, travel, people and their prejudices. They were a great company and we instantly struck up a good rapport, but unfortunately the time was short and they were on with the next leg of their journey to North Sikkim, by the next morning. I had also met a couple from IIMK, Kerala who were on their graduation trip and ready to get into the corporate world. However, the guy was on the cusp of getting into the Indian Civil Services, with an impending final interview, just after the trip. Such was the nature of my trip - I bumped into a lot of interesting people from different walks of life and quickly became friends, albeit for a short duration. 

Early morning dew drops, in the garden	Unintended, hilarious caption in a poster!

Perfect 'local' breakfast!	Ever-gracious hosts: Shiva, Radha, Durga

Every day over dinner, Shiva regaled us with the history of Sikkim unto present state and also shared interesting folk tales about the local village and Pelling. After all, these are the things that a home-stay provides and and gives a different world of experience, which can never be matched by hotels or resorts.