Day 6 - Ravangla to Geyzing

Today, we have the leave Ravangla and drive to our destination, Tashi Gang Resort, Geyzing. The route would be Ravangla - Legship - Geyzing. Legship is the point where we will have to come down to the level of Teesta and then climb up the hills on the west to Geyzing.

We had an early lunch at 11:30am and left the Ravangla resort at 12noon. We came down the rocky path very cautiously and slowly. I got hit in the sump guard once, but the rest of the path was ok. We finally got onto the main road and it was a relief to have brought back Black Hawk down from there, safely.

On way to Geyzing


Approaching Legship




The downward journey to Legship was pretty fast. At Legship, you have to cross Teesta and enter West Sikkim. Reached Legship at 1:05pm and then, at the junction, took a right turn towards Geyzing.

Entering West Sikkim






The moment you cross the Legship bazaar area, the road climbs steeply towards Geyzing. Within 3 - 4 hairpins, you are quite high above Teesta. The road conditions are more or less ok. However, the road is much narrower compared to the once around Mangalbaria and Ravangla. The hills are quite deeply forested and the turns are almost blind.

The hairpins


Since the journey was short, We stopped on our way quite a few times, to soak in the beauty. As you approach Geyzing, there is a Y junction. The road on the left goes to Pelling, while the one on the right leads to Geyzing market area.

Approaching Geyzing






The resort at Geyzing is actually 2kms beyond Geyzing. You have to drive through the market area and then climb a steep incline and then drive further on, towards the resort. There are boards on the way, marking the direction.

The drive from the market to the resort is very beautiful. Its deserted, much steeper and fun to drive. Its the only staying option around and is very beautifully located. We finally reached the resort at 2pm, covering a total distance of 41kms in 2 hrs.

Beyond Geyzing market on way to resort


This resort is in sharp contrast to the one at Ravangla. This one is an ultra modern resort with very good facilities and extremely well laid out. You have the option to stay in the main building or in the adjoining cottages.

Tashi Gang Resort


They have a garage for parking cars, though it can hold 4 cars max. We checked into the room and was quite surprised to see all modern amenities around in a resort, in this less travelled town of Geyzing.

We plan to stay here 2 nights, doing absolutely nothing.

Wow Saurabh,

You bring me back fond memories. Thanks a lot for the pictures. The GPS thingy..is it accurate up there in the hills.. seems so from the pic. Where can I get hold of such a set?

+ The great view of Kanchanjunga! Truly majestic. Aah, perhaps I shall make it there one day. Ravangla is too daunting for me to attempt (unless I call ahead and ask for their jeep to tow me up!)

This one bit sorely tempted me to try do a proposed trip in my free revving petrol but I quickly recanted and decided to go with the larger Diesel for the sheer creature comfort and fatigue free travel. If one is planning a 6k Km trip - creature comfort and absense of fatigue are important.

Lovely travelogue and no amount of praise is enough for your pictures. Loved it right from the beginning.

Cheers,

The GPS was pretty accurate, I must say. I am using MapmyIndia maps with the device. I had this device previously. Just bought the map which comes in a memory card. You can buy devices from MapmyIndia also, which comes preloaded with India maps. Their website has all the necessary information.

The Ravangla climb was quite scary for me. A SUV is definitely suggested. There are, however, other staying options which are good, where you wont have to climb this hill.

Agreed. When you do long drives frequently, it definitely makes sense to have a diesel and ensure that you don't get fatigued.

Thanks that you liked the travelogue. Coming up, the early morning views from Geyzing. Hope you would like them as well.

No updates Saurabh? Keep the good work going.

The rest of day 6 went lazing around. After an afternoon nap, we went out to see around the resort. I drove down to Geyzing market once more, to buy some mineral water bottles.

The sky was as usual cloudy during sunset and evening. There was not much that could be seen. As hours passed by, the sky started clearing up. When we retired for the day, the sky was star studded. The next morning views seemed to be very promising.

Day 7

As usual, the alarm went off at 4:30am. I got out of the bed and went out to the balcony. It was an absolutely marvelous sight.

I will leave you with this today. More coming up in the following posts.

A room with a view

Day 7 Contd...

The location of the resort is pretty unique. To the south, you can see as far as Namchi and down till Legship. On the east, you can see Ravangla. The west is not much open and is blocked by the adjoining hill. On the north, which actually matters, you cannot see Kanchanjunga. This is a huge disadvantage of this resort, with respect to the fact that you are very close to the peaks, but cannot actually see it. However, it provides a very good view of Mt. Simvo, right across the property.

I woke up to an absolutely clear morning. There was not a single speck of cloud around. It was 4:45am and the peaks appeared dull. The first rays of the sun have not reached yet. The eastern sky has started getting reddish.

The eastern sky slowing getting reddish


The sun rays yet to hit Mt. Simvo


There was a lovely terrace just adjoining to our room. I shifted my tripod from the balcony to the adjoining terrace, to capture a wider view. It was around 5:15am when the sun rays hit the top of Mt. Simvo. It was an absolutely heavenly sight. I do not have the skills to describe the scene in words, so let the pictures do the talking.

The golden snow




The sun hitting the other peaks gradually










Gradually the peaks turned golden to dazzling silver.


Slowly the entire valley woke up from darkness. The hut down below the valley was basking in the morning sun.


The terrace which provided the magnificent views


We enjoyed the play of colours for some time and then went down to have breakfast. The plan for the rest of the day was to walk around the resort and the surrounding areas.

We intentionally dropped the plan to drive up to Pelling and Pemayangtse as we did not want to get flocked with the usual crowd spending their Durga Puja holidays in the mountains.

Coming up, some flora and fauna around the resort...

Ah! there you are. I thought for a while you have gone to the hills again.

Sorry mate, got stuck with some office work. Will try to finish off the writeup asap.

After lunch, we went out to capture the views from the hotel and its surroundings.

View of the surrounding villages and roads


View of Legship from the top


The lawn of the resort with a campfire facility. Would be a great place to hang around on a winter evening.


Saying it with flowers






Its lunch time...

Superb travelogue, Saurabh! Tell me, how much did your Autopal lights cost and where did you buy them from?

The Autopals cost Rs 450 each (approx). You have to pay Rs 100 for the bulb separately.

saurabh - excellent review. I am glued to the thread. waiting for more.

Excellent photos Saurabh, specially the Flowers. Looking for more on this thread,,,

Thanks for your comments. I am sorry that I am not getting enough time to finish the travelogue. Will post some more pics and a writeup within the next couple of days.