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The Sacred Summit of Kanchenjunga dominates the horizon in Sikkim. Avid trekker Maninder Kohli has conducted multiple treks in Sikkim spread over several years. On each trip he has felt drawn closer and closer to Kanchenjunga.
In 'Sacred Summit' Maninder will share images and highlights of each of the three treks he has led in Sikkim and also build a case on why Sikkim should be a part of the mix for a genuine believer.
night view of kanchenjunga
Kanchenjunga 8,586m, located in Sikkim, is the third highest mountain in the world and India’s highest peak. Kanchenjunga is regarded by the people of Sikkim as a sacred peak, whose presence has historically supported the security of Sikkim and to this day influences the weather in the state.
My first look at Kanchenjunga goes back to 1980 when I arrived at Darjeeling for my Basic Mountaineering Course from HMI Darjeeling. In the mid ground of this image taken at midnight Sikkim is in view. The training area of HMI is in Sikkim where I ended up climbing Dr. B.C. Roy Peak 5445m located quite close to Kanchenjunga. Since that period I strongly held the desire to trek again in Sikkim.
singalilla kanchenjunga view
In 2013 plans began to mature and I focused on the Singalilla Ridge in West Sikkim. This trek can be done by two different routes. The West Bengal route has over the years become very commercial and I chose the route through Sikkim, via the Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary, a route which is seldom used. The main highlight of the trek is the most impressive view of Kanchenjunga.
forests of himalayas
As you hit the trail in Sikkim what strikes you immediately is the general level of forestation. It's thick to a point that without the support of a trail it's virtually impossible to move even couple of feet around the forest. This feature of a dense forest is common within Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh which are all considered a part of the Eastern Himalaya.
We were trekking in November and found that the established trail had partially disappeared thanks to rapid growth of vegetation over the monsoon period. Our lead on the trail was carrying a machete which was being used to clear the trail. Some element of social distancing was required from the gentlemen swinging the machete to avoid injury.
kanchenjunga view from north
At camp during the evenings we would spend time to determine which peaks are in view. It was a painstaking exercise to determine each high point. What was most interesting to observe was how a high peak like Kabru North 7338m was seemingly overshadowed by Kanchenjunga. The Kanchenjunga Massif contains 5 distinct high points, 4 of the points are above 8000 meters.
everest and makalu view from singalilla
Three days into the trek and we were now on the Singalilla ridge at about 3500m. The Singalilla ridge descends from Kanchenjunga and runs along the border between India and Nepal. When we claimed the ridge multiple peaks in Eastern Nepal came into view. About 180 km’s away was the peak of Makalu and another 20 km’s further away we could partially see Mt. Everest. It was truly majestic.
On my return to Delhi I did spend a fair amount of time in identifying each of the peaks in view and marking them. Clustered together were four 8000m peaks and multiple 7000m peaks. When you add this to the much closer view of Kanchenjunga and the Kabru peaks one can only refer to it as a grand spectacle.
In 2016 I got motivated to do another trek in Sikkim and this time around the plan was to go for the Goecha La trek. Our team reached the sleepy town of Yukson in West Sikkim from where this trek originates. In three easy days we were at Dzongri which is like a mid-way and stop over point for an acclimatisation break. I had stopped over at Dzongri during my Basic Mountaineering Course. From Zongri there are two routes, one heading to the HMI training area and the other towards Goecha La.
From Dzongri Top one can gain a grand mountain view. From this point at around 3800m the view is dominated by Kanchenjunga South. In comparison to the earlier trek from Singalilla it’s a much closer view. The objective if the trek is to reach Goecha La which is a view point offering a close view of Kanchenjunga South and the Kabru Peak cluster.
We moved on to the next campsite called Thansing. This section of the trek was one of the most memorable walks I have enjoyed in many years of trekking. The view of Mt. Pandim (6691 meters) was most impressive and the day resulted in a beautiful walk through the rhododendron forest. From time to time we would also encounter wide meadow stretches where the views would open up.
mountainsFinally there is a steep descend down to the valley floor with the final leg being a flat walk to Thansing 3900m. That evening I declared the plan for the next day. Group 1 would leave at 2am and will head to View Point 2 or referred at Goecha La. Group 2 will leave at 4am head to View Point 1, which offers a slightly distant view of Kanchenjunga. Group 3 would leave at 6am and go to Samiti Lake.
Kanchenjunga South Face
It was a dramatic day with a lot of excitement. All three teams regrouped for lunch at 1pm an hour from Thansing and had a story to tell. Everyone was happy with how things panned out but one group was looking disappointed. Group 1 consisting of 4 participants made it to Goecha La and got a close view of Kanchenjunga and was elated with the challenge they encountered.
Group 2 which I was a part of made it to View Point 1 and we also got an impressive view of Kanchenjunga South. The glacier in view was the Kabru glacier and the multiple Kabru Peaks were visible towards the west.
Samiti lake in Sikkim Himalayas
It was group 3 which despite meeting its objective looked disappointed. They were all carrying the feeling why did they not push themselves and get to View Point 1. This feeling lingered on for a further few months. It was a lesson for several of us that the pain for pushing hard for a few hours is temporary, but the pain of not trying lingers on a lot longer.
Kanchenjunga South View Sikkim Himalayas
Kanchenjunga South View Sikkim Himalayas
It was interesting to understand why we were only seeing the South Peak and not the complete Kanchenjunga Massif. While most Himalayan massifs face south, the Kanchenjunga massif faces east and hence the view of the entire massif would not be visible from this approach.
As I soaked in the final view of Kanchenjunga I felt that it would be unreal to see the complete Kanchenjunga Massif. I assessed that the next logical step would be to head to the Kanchenjunga Basecamp towards the East referred as Green Lake.
It was October 2018 and we began our trek to Green Lakes. The trail runs along some of the most wonderful forest sections I have trekked through. We were the only trekkers in the valley. The reason why Green Lakes is unfrequented comes down to logistics support and quality of the trail.
The trek to “Green Lakes” starts from a village called Lachen and it’s customary that porters are hired from the closest village. But if one goes back to read the accounts of previous expeditions one can see that time and time again teams they have been abandoned by Lachen porters.
Additionally there are some streams where the bridges are often washed away. All this uncertainty makes it difficult to create a group and manage the trip. Bearing all this in mind I started to plan the trip to “Green Lakes” 6 months in advance.
The trail to Kanchenjunga follows the Zemu Gap which leads on to the Zemu Glacier, which happens to be 27 kms long and one of the longest glaciers in the region. Luckily for us the trail quality was good and the bridges used to cross several side streams we also in place. We made good progress and in 3 long days of trekking reached the alpine zone where the vegetation has thinned out considerably and we started to get open views.
Yabuk at 4040m was a spot where we took an acclimatisation stop. Post this point we would be in at the 4600m level which is considered as high altitude. In the absence of satellite phones in Sikkim and limited rescue facilities the best strategy remains to slow down the ascent to avoid altitude sickness.
high altitude campsite in the mountains of sikkim
We made good progress and reached Rest Camp 4600m, our highest campsite in 6 days. We had traversed through some of the most exceedingly stunning forest sections and we're now in an alpine zone camped next to the Zemu glacier. Sikkim is known to have fickle weather and the next morning was our summit day and we hoped the weather would be clear.
