Singalila Ridge Trek, Indian Himalaya

I have just returned from the Indian Himalaya region having completed a trek along the Singalila Ridge from Dhodray to Phalut and then through the forest down to Ramman and finishing at Rimbik. There was four of us on the trek including my friend from Namibian days and the South Downs Way, Doug. Neither of us had trekked this high before so we had come prepared for possible altitude problems. The total walking distance was 83 km with 5142 m ascent and 5082 m descent, reaching a maximum altitude of 3598 m at a peak near Phalut. The whole trip was over two weeks staying in Delhi, flying to Bagdogra and then acclimatising in Darjeeling for a day before driving to the trail-head at Dhodray. At the end of the trek we went to Kalimpong for a day sight seeing and a leisure afternoon.

The drives to the various points were interesting in themselves as they we were on narrow roads and tracks along steep winding gradients that seemed to last forever (the average speed was probably about 20 mph anyway). In many places they were trying to maintain the roads and prepare for the monsoon season which starts in June. It was interesting to see the old short-wheel based Landrovers still in use on the roughest tracks and probably the only vehicle with enough clearance underneath to surmount the steep rock and routed terrain.

Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) in Darjeeling, established in 1954 with a Director of Field Training, Tenzing Norgay (who with Edmund Hillary first climbed Mt Everest). Darjeeling was the home town of Tenzing Norgay.

Darjeeling still has a narrow gauge steam railway which we visited at Ghum near Darjeeling. The total line is about 78 km long but the lower section from Siliguri has been out of action since 2010. We didn't get to see the railway museum at Ghum but had many glimpses of the "Toy Train" between Ghum and Darjeeling. Darjeeling itself is at about 2200 m elevation and we stayed in the "Little Tibet" hostel conveniently near the main square and a promenade giving views of the mountains and the third highest peak in the world, Kangchenjunga (also spelt Kanchenjunga referring to its five peaks or "Five Treasures of Snow") at 8586 m elevation. Alas, even with early morning strolls to the promenade I didn't manage even a glimpse of the peaks as the mist shrouded the valleys to the north.

The Himalayan Steam Train between Darjeeling and Ghum.

We had a very pleasant day in Darjeeling visiting the "Happy Valley" tea plantation, zoo, HMI, monastery and Tibetan Refugee Centre before starting the trek at Dhodray. After joining our "expedition" of 7 horses, 2 horsemen, 1 cook and 3 assistants, 2 sherpas and a guide, our first day was a relatively easy climb to Tonglu (2900 m). In fact, we didn't meet the horses and handlers until leaving Tonglu. I felt very guilty about all the help we were receiving for the trek which was in complete contrast to my self-sufficiency on previous treks in Europe. My only defence is that we were providing employment in a relatively poor region of India and had to conform to the local customs; I still felt uneasy at times!
Our first camp was in a col exposed to a strong and cold wind. We did get a glimpse of the mountains and Kangchenjunga as snow peaks hanging amongst the distant clouds giving an impression of their magnitude.

Our camp at Tonglu with the mountains in the sky in the early morning mist.

"Lakeland Rover" undergoing repairs in one of the villages we passed through.

The next day of about 7 hours walking was harder as it involved several ascents and descents as we progressed northwards along the ridge to Kalpokhari. We saw lots of Lammergeier or Bearded Vultures, sometimes as many as twenty floating overhead. These are now rare in Europe with the largest populations in the Pyrenees with about 29 breeding pairs in 2008. They are known because of their method of dropping bones from the air onto rocks and then feeding on the exposed marrow in the bones. We also saw our first Rhododendron flowers, the bright red flowers on hillsides as we progressed upwards. The bushes further down had finished flowering and we were seeing the tail-end of the display. I guess you would have to come at the beginning of April to get a more extensive display.

Forested slopes as out path winds into the distance to the higher peaks.

Our horses and  helpers moving on to make camp before sunset

I'm not altogether sure of when we were in India or Nepal as we were following the border ridge. I do know that on two nights we camped in Nepal! and that we had to visit several army posts to register our movements in the hills.

Looking backwards as we start another day on the trail. One of the horses is still resting as we leave camp at eight in the morning.

 The camp involved our tents, a kitchen, a mess tent and a toilet tent all set to give a good view and maximise the impact of any wind. The day for us started at 6.15 am with a cup of black tea brought to our tents and then a basin of water at 6.30 in time to pack our gear before breakfast at 7.15 am. This usually involved a bowl of porridge and more tea. Generally the food provided was excellent and a good combination of carbohydrates, protein and fruit to keep us going. The assistants also gave us boiled water for drinking to which I added chlorine tablets to be sure but the others didn't and were fine as far as I know. To spoil us further, one of the assistants often came to meet us before we made camp and provided hot fruit juice for the final leg (often involving a uphill climb!) The temperatures dropped at night and with the cold wind blowing on the ridge, I needed a base layer and down jacket to keep myself warm at dinner time. Following dinner, we had a briefing about the next day from our leader Rigzin and then we retired to the warmth of our sleeping bags.

Can you spot a Griffin Vulture? A Rhododendron bush is in the foreground.

We soon reached the village of Sandakphu where we stopped for some refreshments and tasted some Rhododendron spirit, probably not a wise move as alcohol and altitude are not good room-mates. Anyway neither of us were affected with altitude problems although one of the others in the group was suffering headaches and had swollen feet, both symptoms of altitude sickness even though we had made a gradual ascent. Doug and I both noticed the effects on our breathing making uphills more of an effort than usual, but nothing serious.

Our tea and spirit stop at the "Sherpa Lodge" where we met a octogenarian  trekker, an American lady who had lived in Nepal for 40 years.

We didn't meet many other trekkers on the whole trip, just five Danish girls volunteering in Darjeeling, a German couple with a guide and an American lady. The Danes left the route at Sandakphu and we didn't see them again. We had hoped for a glimpse of the main mountain range from the hill at Sandakphu but without avail either at night or first thing in the morning; it seemed that Kangchenjunga and her treasures were being coy!

The scenery at high elevation changed as a fire started by lightning had swept through the area in the 1980''s; shrubs or trees had not reestablished, probably because of grazing pressures.

We continued ascending and descending but gradually gaining height and having the pleasure of some "cross-country" off the gravel and rocks paths through Yak pastures bathing in the morning sunshine.

Yaks  and  cross breeds with cows (Dzo and Zhoms). It gets complicated as we discuss this on a hillside, apparently Yaks in Tibet are all male and females are called Dri or Naks. I think Rigzin gave up on us at this stage.

We soon reached the highest point of our travels near Sabargram. Unfortunately the wind increased again and the cloud came down on our somewhat exposed camping spot. Another night with a flapping tent but at least we were all tired and I doubt whether much would have kept us awake. I awoke early to try and get a glimpse of the mountains before the cloud settled and did get a view at about 5 am before the weather worsened. After tea we made a dash to a nearby peak (3695 m) to try and see further but again we were thwarted.

Tibetan prayer flags at the summit and as you can see the view wasn't great but I did get photos of several flowers in an unlikely setting!

We now started a two day hike down into the valleys to reach Samadeen village and then Rimbik, our destination. This was a very pleasant walk on village tracks through lush forests and over small streams in the shade passing a few isolated houses and villages. We endured our first major thunderstorm at Samadeen and took shelter in a local house before returning to our tents through the slush of hailstones. The tents held out well with no leakages.
The following day we called into see a small school that KE Adventure had sponsored and were able to watch the morning assembly and the discipline dished out to the juniors by the prefects, I'll say no more!

Now into forest and streams as we descend from the main ridge.

Prayer flags at the village school. They are arranged in order, blue (sky and space), white (air and wind), red (fire), green (water) and yellow (earth) and are placed in windy places by Tibetans to bless the surrounding countryside.

After leaving the school we passed through the village of Ramman stopping on route for a cup of tea. The owner of the cafe or hostel was down in the valley so a neighbour served us. They made their own tea here from leaves collected from the valley slopes, a picturesque setting looking over the valley north to Sikkim.; foreigners need a permit to enter Sikkim.
 As we descended into the valley to cross the Shiri Stream, we passed many houses teetering on the valley side, the occupants making a living from produce such as cardamom and tea.

The hillsides were dotted with dwellings and terraces like this. We spotted one man mulching his Cardamom plants.

A few more zig-zags and we were at the suspension bridge (Srikhola Bridge) crossing the stream and in sight of our lunch stop. We watched as several loaded horses crossed the bridge and a women below collected forage for her animals from the stream side. To us the stream looked like a river; we knew that the rest of the day would be an uphill climb to the end of our trek at Rimbik and a welcome shower and cabin for the night.

A well used suspension bridge to cross the valley; we had lunch at the side of the bridge.

At Rimbik our hike abruptly ended in the evening and the next day we were whizzed off to the luxuries of Kalimpong high above the Teesta river to the east of Darjeeling. The Teesta is the life-line of Sikkim state flowing the length of the state and then down to join the Brahmaputra. The river was the colour of glacial and snow melt that I was familiar with from my Pyrenees treks. The road up to Kalimpong from the Teesta was unbelievable steep and involved several switch backs that amounted to a road on a screw spiral.

In Kalimpong we had a morning sight-seeing visiting a Buddist temple, local paper making business, cactus garden and finally Dr Graham's Orphanage/ School., and we then spent the afternoon in the central market. During the night we had a tremendous thunderstorm that awoke everyone but had passed by breakfast leaving a certain amount of havoc on the roads as we drove out to catch the plane to Delhi. The Teesta was now a dark brown colour clearly showing the impact of agriculture on soil erosion in the valleys.

And so ends my account. It was difficult to choose the photos as I have so many scenic shots. The only advice I can tender about the trip, for anyone contemplating it, is to make sure you have warm clothes for the nights, preferable a down jacket and also a good sleeping bag (a three season with silk liner did me OK). You may be in shorts during the day but once the sunsets, the temperature drops quickly to near zero and with the wind on the ridge, the wind-chill is considerable. 

What is the best time to go ? It is a toss-up whether you go for the milder weather in Spring and risk the low cloud and poor visibility or go for the colder and less predictable weather in autumn that often gives good visibility. The flowers and birds are more abundant in the Spring as well.
I have the GPX file for the route if anyone wants it.
That's all for now, the next trip is to North Devon and then to Crete in June.