Another glorious morning and we both woke up to the thought that this might be our last day in the hills. The weather was too wonderful not to fall in love with and the magical views of Kanchenjunga was gold enough to not let go of the views so soon. We were strolling on the rooftop waiting for the breakfast that somehow this idea cropped up that we can spend another night in the hills. Quickly thought of options and we zeroed in on Lolaygaon- a tiny little hamlet near Lava which has supposedly very good views of the Kanchenjunga and a place we have not visited till date.
Called up the Forest guest house and had a talk with the manager regarding availability of cottages. The Manager was pro active and quickly suggested some particular cottage names which had the best views. My better half quickly made the online bookings and our halt for the night was thus decided.
Meanwhile, the breakfast arrived and this time I did click some pictures of the whole setting.
The tea tasted heavenly just like the other day. The views along with the tea combined together and created some lovely moments.
Morning breakfast done and it was time to take a leave from Yuru and proceed towards Lolaygaon. Bidding good bye to the wonderful staff at Yuru and we proceeded towards Bidyang which was en route to Lolaygaon. Asking around and finding the route to Bidyang was fun. The road is fully tarred but steep at some places and it made me smile. But the surprise came when we were about to reach Bidyang, the foot bridge was closed according to the locals and it was no point going further since there was road construction work going on further down. Asked around the answer was same and so, we returned just from the cusp of reaching Bidyang. The drive was enjoyable though, here are some pictures :
There are some more wonderful pictures but somehow the pictures are aligning differently. Anyways, the drive was beautiful and that is what matters most.
Next up was Algarah on the way to Lava. The road is brilliant till Algarah and goes little bad just after the bifurcation of Pedong-Lava crossing. Landslides and road construction work have resulted in miserable driving conditions for around 15-20 kms towards Lava. The BRO guys are working in full steam and the road should be completely tarred in the next one year or so. Just before reaching Lava, we need to take a narrow road down to reach Lolaygaon.
The road to Lolaygaon is being widened and an old road is being widened and prepared to touch Bagrakote. The road widening work has resulted in chopping of the beautiful and old pine trees and that’s sad. The route nevertheless passes through huge pine trees and is a wonderful journey.
There were some hold ups as well en route. The forest workers chopping trees with mechanical cutters and that created blockages all over the road due to cut trees. Though they were very prompt in chopping the trunks and clearing the road for me. Reached Lolaygaon and stopped in the market for some momos and wai wai. There is this tiny little eatery named Everest restaurant which serves Knick knacks.
The inside of Everest restaurant housing local artifacts What’s a feeling of hills without the quintessential noodles ? And without the momos, it’s blasphemous
We had to check in as well at the Forest rest house. So went straight and being inside forest area, the forest workers were dumping tree trunks. Nevertheless, they promptly got the road cleared.
Check in at the reception was a smooth affair and after the whole process, went out nearby to see the Suspension Bridge or the canopy walk. Unfortunately, it was broken and was under repair although we didn't see any sign of any repairs being carried out!!
The views from cottages were beautiful as in we were looking straight at the Kanchenjunga. After returning from the disappointment of the suspension bridge, we drove through the under construction road towards Charkhole. Unfortunately for us, road construction was going on and we had to return back without even reaching the Jhandi view point. Returning to the cottage, ordered for the dinner and some snacks. The guys from the kitchen were kind enough to serve both the snacks and the dinner in insulated cases. Being in the hills, people sleep early and hence the dinner was served to us by 8 in the evening. Temperature hovered around 8 degree centigrade and it was chilly airight. Slept off early after an eventful day where most of the places were under repair/ construction.