Goechala '25

January 20, 2005

I just booked a trek to Goechala with Jyotisko Biswas's Trekking Buddha group. I made a payment of Rs 5000 (by Gpay from HDFC Bank account on 18th January) to book my place. This trek starts on 18th April 2025 from Siliguri. Total cost is Rs 18000. Plus train and jeep fare.

We have to reach Siliguri on 18th from where we will take a jeep to Jorthang and then in another jeep onward to Yuksom. The actual walk will start from Yuksom the next day. The total trek involves eight days of walking. Although I am using the word "we", I am going alone from my side. The total team size will be around 15 people, I guess.

One of the problems of such commercial treks is that the fellow trekkers are usually youngsters. Although they are not as fit as me when it comes to hiking in the mountains and I am never in competition with anyone while walking, their outlook and priorities in life are often very different from those of mine. I don't mind the difference. Problem is when the priorities are in conflict with mine. 

I have spoken to Jyotisko about one thing. I want an exclusive room/tent for me. I am ready to pay for it. I just cannot sleep with anyone snoring next to me. Of course I have German earplugs now but they cannot make it noiseless. On this trek I plan to do another thing a little differently. I want to carry the porter's things in a duffel bag. I normally carry them in my large North Face sack. I have noticed that the porters don't take it on their shoulder and pack it on a mule. The duffel will be easier to pack and also easier for me to carry from home.

I will take my camera and other things in my own backpack. I am still not sure if I want to carry the LowePro camera bag or my Deuter backpack. I will take only the 70/200 lens and a bit of dry food and a jacket for the road. The camera bag, due to its thick protective walls is a little heavy. And it has less space too. Let me see what I do ultimately.

(What I ultimately did is I took my birding lens 100-500 which was totally unnecessary. You cannot go birding while trekking in a group with an agency. I did not take my bigger Deuter backpack. I bought a Sea to Summit Sprint backpack, which is simply fantastic. It will be my go to day pack from now. It weighs almost zero and is waterproof with a roll top closure. Very stylish too.)

29th April 2025

I came home yesterday from a successful trek of Goechala. I am happy beyond words with my performance. I did not expect it to be so painless. All my exercises and fitness strategies paid off. In fact every day I felt stronger than the previous day. I hope to find a way to hold on to this fitness if not improve upon it. 

I will come back to my fitness regime later. But first the basics of the trip.

I was supposed to reach Yuksom on 18th April. Boarded a train on the previous afternoon and reached Siliguri late in the night. By the time I checked into Siliguri's TSA hotel (Bappa - owner - 9434467236 and Prasenjit Mallik - manager - 9832494039) it was past 12 mid night. I avoided taking either the overnight Darjeeling Mail or the bus because I cannot sleep too well in a train or bus and would feel very tired the next morning when I have to take a jeep ride for several hours to reach Yuksom.

A Toto (battery operated three wheelers) from the NJP station to Siliguri's "Junction" area cost me Rs 200 which can be easily classified as robbery. Add to that Rs 800 for the non-AC room that I had booked in advance at TSA. I wanted to upgrade it to an AC room but they said the hotel was absolutely full. The room was small but not too bad for a night. It wasn't hot or humid at all. I took a shower and made myself two cups of coffee on either side of it with my butane stove. It felt nice to be travelling again. 

Before the journey I bought two bags. One is a Forclaz 80/120 lit from Decathlon. This would be off loaded for mules to carry on the trail. It is massive. The other is my day pack from Sea To Summit (they call it Sprint) - an almost weightless wonder that is also water proof with a roll top closure. Its only disadvantage is that it does not have any external pocket for carrying water bottle. But I managed to overcome that with a small cloth bag attached outside in which I carried a one litre bottle. I will later get a fishing net kind of thing woven by Nishikanta for this purpose. He weaves nets in his free time.

18th April 2025 - Siliguri to Yuksom

Woke up early in the morning like 5ish. Made myself a coffee and walked to SNT (Sikkim Nationalised Transport) taxi/bus stand from where all the buses and taxis for Sikkim start in Siliguri. It's close by from TSA and opposite to the Tenzin Norgay bus stand. Here two other girls from our group joined me. Purba and Soumita. They came by bus from Calcutta. We took the middle row seat in a jeep with a fourth lady. Our destination is Jorethang. The fare was Rs 400. The jeep would start when ten passengers are found. We had two more from our group who were coming by train but we couldn't wait for them as the seats got filled in before they could arrive and the jeep left with us. 

On the way to Jorethang there was a small landslide just before Melli where we had to stop for about half an hour. Two JCBs quickly cleared the road by shovelling the debris on to the Teesta flowing below. The sight of Teesta in these parts of Sikkim is a very sad one. It has been damed and the once fierce Teesta now flows very slowly here. In certain places it looks like a still water lake.

Jorethang is around three hours from Siliguri. Here the taxi stand is an impressive multi-storeyed building. I have never seen such a taxi stand anywhere in India. The taxis to Yuksom leave from the third floor. We had to haul our luggage and walk up the ramp (there is a stair-case too) because the Jorethang jeeps end and start from the ground floor. There is a small momo shop here on the third floor where I had my fill. The taxi driver is one Dipu-da of Yuksom (9593783148). The front two seats were taken by another Bengali trekker going with a different group. (This guy works for Thakurpukur Cancer Hospital but later turned out to be most obnoxious and stupid) As soon as ten passengers (actually nine but one was paying for two) were collected Dipuda left for Yuksom. 

The road after Jorethang started getting narrower and more rough with very little traffic. Soon we were told, after a brief inspection of the rear wheel, one of the leaves in the rear spring (shock absorber) is broken. Dipuda bought a new leaf from a shop and drove with the broken one for another 4/5 kilometers to a workshop in Tashiding. I was told that this is possible only in a Bolero. If it was a Sumo you couldn't drive the vehicle with a broken spring leaf.

At the workshop in Tashiding they discovered another inner leaf was broken too. It took us more than an hour to replace the two leaves. The second leaf had to be brought from the same shop once again. The workshop obviously does not store any spares. 

I had run out of water and wanted to buy a bottle at Tashiding but I was told bottled water is not available as smaller PET bottles are not allowed and no one buys the bigger bottles so they don't stock them. There were a few restaurants and they were very nice to provide me with ample drinking water for free. This is how we always drank water but now we look for bottled water. 

There were three other trekkers in the vehicle. Two girls from Bangalore and another Bengali guy. They were all sitting in the last row. We were all going to the same place Goechala but with different agencies. This meant the vehicle had only two locals. Except this other Bengali guy who looked very amiable we met everyone else later on the trail several times.

We reached Yuksom at around 3 pm. Jyotishko put us up in hotel Kangchendzonga (8768826578 and 7557042888) which is quite outside the town of Yuksom. I got my single room for which I had paid extra. Made myself a few cups of coffee (being extra careful with the stove I made it on the bathroom floor) and went to sleep. The hotel had a nice large geyser in the bathroom but I didn't use it. I just made myself a few cups of coffee and after supper went to sleep. 

I must mention here that Jyotishko personally went with us on this trek which gave me a unique opportunity to know him more closely. I had known him on social media for several years and would witness the adventures he carried out starting with a trans-Himalaya cycling trip. He is a nice enterprising adventurer who is trying to set up this trekking agency. He has a long way to go but I am sure he will get there. His immediate priority should be to expand his client base out of Calcutta (and target Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad) and also include more professionals than students or barely ex-students as it is now.

Later during the trek realised that he was probably doing a recce for the trail run that he would participate in after a week or so on the same route upto Dzongri. Incidentally he came first in that in his age group of 21 to 30 years and possibly overall 4th. What we walked in five days he did in less than 11 hours.

Before dinner we had a briefing session with Jyotishko where the basics of trekking ettiquette and the do's and don'ts of the trail were explained. We were 13 trekkers. Most of the others in the group had trekked with TTB before and generally knew each other. I was the only outsider but they accepted me in a friendly way and were in fact quite respectful of my age and effort or desire to take up such arduous activities as a hobby at my age. The others were mostly in their twenties or thirties. The youngest was a girl 23 (Purba) and the oldest was a guy 37 (Indranil). I think a few of them are going to be friends forever for me. Unfortunately no one lives in South Calcutta.  The closest is from Behala but lives in Bangalore. The most friendly one - Malyaban - lives in Ranaghat but has a flat in Bagha Jatin. I will possibly keep meeting him in future.

During the briefing session I realised his aversion towards Diamox, which is a preventive medicine. 

19th April, 2025 - Yuksom to Tsachen

Early in the morning, before seven o' clock but after my own coffee, I went walking to the Yuksom market to buy a plastic sheet to wrap the duffel bag. It's quite a distance but the town of Yuksom seemed very nicely laid out with clean wide roads - a rarity in the mountains these days. Yuksom incidentally is the first historical capital of Sikkim. After this we had breakfast and then went to the tourist office for our permits. Before this I did some bird photography around the hotel. On the way back from the market I got a splendid view of Kabru South from the road. 

At the permit office those carrying SLR cameras had to pay Rs 200 as permit fee. Jyotishko had to pay a hefty amount for all of us as permit fee. Incidentally, you cannot go to Goechala on your own as an independent trekker any more. You have got to hire a local guide at Rs 1500 per day. Jyotishko's guide was one local nicknamed Lucky (I think his name was Lokendra Bahadur). All the locals who I met are Limboos and it was nice to note that they all speak their own language among themselves. Limboo language and culture is currently being swamped by Nepali culture. Same is the case with the Lepchas. On the trail I learnt just one common Limboo word that our guide (Arpan Limboo) was using to greet every other passing local - sewaro. It means hello.  

If I lived in Yuksom I would most definitely learn the local language or at least make an effort. It is totally different from Nepali though. Not even remotely connected. Arpan tried to teach me some words but you learn a language by speaking it. Not by learning a few words.

Meanwhile our luggage and ration for the trail were loaded on a few yaks. Some three full sized L{G cylinders were taken. There are hundreds of mules and yaks that ply on this trail every day. The yaks look more noble and are slower than the mules. Many had colourful adornments on their head, ear or nose etc. And all of the animals have the ding dong bell around their neck announcing their arrival on the trails when you have to give them the right of passage.

Outside Yuksom tourist office some 15 minutes were spent taking selfies and group photographs in various poses and angles. It was very boring and frustrating for me and seemed like a waste of time. But I seem to be a complete misfit in this selfie-obsessed society of ours.

We were given packed lunch to be eaten on the way in a large plastic tiffin box. It had some bread sandwiches and a Frooti soft drink. There was a boiled egg and banana too. I managed to hang it off my small backpack.

And off we went. It was well past 10 am.

The trail climbed through a dense but mixed forest with lovely streams and old hanging steel rope bridges. In Nepal the bridges we crossed last year looked more new and recent. I think we crossed some three such bridges. There was an elaborate entry gate into the Kangchendzonga National Park - a Unesco World Heritage Site. There were many other trekkers too that we met on the trail. I was asking everyone if they found good weather and had good views. The trail is full of dung from the hundreds of mules and yaks. And obviously lots of flies and other insects feeding on them.

I had forgotten to wear my knee cap and as a rsult I started struggling a bit with knee pain. The trail was continuously climbing up. Well defined but reasonably steep. There was a boy Debarghya - way junior to me - who kept company with me on this trail as I was trailing behind from the main group. He was carrying his own load. Of course, at his age I did that too. But despite the pain I managed to reach Tsachen by afternoon.

In mid-80s Chenka and his friends went on day one from Yuksom to Tsokha which we covered over two days. Trekking agencies tend to keep things easy for its clients. There was another solo trekker (with a guide of course) from Karimpur who went as far as Bakhim from Yuksom on day one. So relatively speaking, we took it easy - which, at 60, is fine with me.

Tsachen is just a camping spot in the middle of a dense forest. In fact on this entire trail there is no inhabited village. It is completely in the wild with no electricity or mobile connectivity. Our tents were pitched on the slope to the right of the trail. The water source (essentially a pipe without any tap through which water flows continuosuly), dining area (just a hut with all four sides open) and toilets were down on the other side of the trail. After checking into our tents - I had an exclusive one for which I had paid extra - we had to go a little farther up for an acclimatisation hike. This is a good practice to follow where you force yourself out of your comfort zone. However, at such low altitude it is perhaps not necessary from an AMS avoidance point of view. Tsachen I think is lower than Darjeeling where we don't do such hikes for acclimatisations and no one is known to have been affected by AMS in Darjeeling town (though therotically it is possible).  

We had dinner at the designated hut and then retired for the night. There were other groups here too and all the groups took their dinner at the same place but at different time slots. I cannot remember what exactly we had for dinner because I tend to attach very little importance to what I am given to eat. Having been brought up in a financially humble family we always learnt to eat whatever is offered without a fuss. On such trails I don't have any strong dislike for any food. 

Over the few days of our hike we were given everything from khichdi to daal bhaat and sabzi, rajma, chicken, eggs, suji, poha, oats, milk, honey, jam, cornflakes and even a cake on the last night. I have no complaints about the food. In fact on balance it is better than India Hikes or Trek the Himalaya. 

We were even served tea on the trail - particularly at Dzongri top, Goechala View Point or Samiti Lake etc. This is unthinkable with any other agency. But obviously some of the pampered youngsters had problems with various types of food on offer and they expressed their displeasure quite openly. 

It rained rather heavily at night in Tsachen. I was wondering if rain water might seep in through the floor of the tent (these are extremely basic tents from Decathlon). But soon I realised the agenciy's helping hand boys were digging small trenches above the tents for the water to drain out. Nothing serious happened and I had a nice night's sleep. 

I was in a two-man tent. I slept on one half of it on a thin foam mattress and kept my luggage in the other half. There is no vestibule area. I wonder how two men or women were sharing such a small tent with all their luggage. I used my own down sleeping bag and liner to sleep in. For pillow I used one of the S2S dry sacs that had my jackets and other soft items of clothing inside. I was very comofortable and promptly went to sleep reading Dervla Murphy's Tibetan Foothold. I used the Petzl headlamp for reading. 

20th April - Tsachen to Tsokha

On the first day of the trek I made the cardinal mistake of not using the kneecap. This caused some pain in the knee and I had to struggle. Next morning I made sure the kneecap was the first thing I put on in the morning. However, despite that the damage had already been done and I struggled on day two too. 

The first part of the trek involved a climb down to a small bridge where the pain really took over. Obviously I became the last trekker, falling quite a bit behind the group. And Jyotishka gave me a walkie talkie handset that his team of cooks and guides each carry. He said keep it with yourself and let me know if there is any problem. He explained how to use it, which I promptly forgot. But he kept on enquiring after me through the communication system every now and then. 

This kind of attention and empathy for the struggler in the group is unthinkable and quite touching. India Hikes, with who I went to Roopkund was very unhappy with me for being very fast on the uphill sections and even more unhappy in the downward sections where I was slow and late. Naturally, I don't trek with them any more (they have other problems too). They have certain good practices that they follow but for me they are eminently avoidable. 

After this small bridge the trail started climbing up towards Bakhim and then onwards to Tsokha. This is where I started finding my feet once again and the pain gradually started vanishing. As the day progressed I started improving upon my walking speed. Not that there was any competition, but I was happy with my performance, given my age. 

I had heard the name of Bakhim from my friend Chenka. We had tea prepared by Jyotishko on his butane stove, at the very inviting gazebo kind of structure in Bakhim and then proceeded forward towards Tsokha. The entire trail was an uphill hike through rhododendron forest, which sadly had very little flower.  

At Tsokha there was a small shop where to my delight I discovered they had pencil batteries in stock. I had brought my tent lamp from home but by mistake brought the wrong sized batteries for it. Though I had one set as a back up for my Petzl headlamp, I had to use it sparingly as there was no back up left now. Now I got myself two sets of back up. The price was reasonable too. I think Rs 50 for three. These were Panasonic batteries which I later discovered were not good enough for the Black Diamond hanging lamp. However, I managed to swap them with my other Petzl head torch where they fitted and worked fine. In any case, the batteries all lasted during the trek and I did not need any spare battery. Neither in the Black Diamond tent lamp, nor in the Petzl head torch for reading books nor in my Nitecore for night walks (I walked for one hour for Dzongri top and five hours for Goechala View Point 1 plus some in tent use). 

In Tsokha there is a small rolling meadow where our tents were pitched. This was quite at a distance from the kitchen and dining area. Here we met Trekking Buddha's other group that was on the way back from Goechala. They had started on 14th April. Their trek leader - Babai - joined us and regaled us with some ghost stories in the low light dining hut. He claimed them to be all true. And to explain why he always managed to meet ghosts in his life he showed a tattoo on his leg which is supposed to be of the Greek God of death and evil. I cannot remember its name but apparently it has brought him a bit of ill luck with ghosts. 

In the evening it rained once again in Tsokha. But we managed to have dinner, wash our hands and reach back to the tent despite the rain. My high-powered Nitecore came in handy when it was used for lighting up the entire dining area. Since there is no electricity on this trail I was silently a bit worried about the five plus one hour of walking in the dark that I would have to do with it over the next three days. The charge status indicator lost one bar but that was fine. Ultimately it didn't matter.  

21st April - Tshokha to Dzongri

The trail from Tshokha to Dzongri is once again a continuous uphill climb through a dense forest till about Phedang. Here the trail is in terrible shape with wooden steps and a lot of slush. It would be quite difficult to negotiate if it rained. But it did not. In fact this is the first time that I trekked without a single drop of rain falling during our walks on all the days. 

At Phedang once again there is a small tea stall and one can camp here too. After a short break we started once again in right earnest. It was continuously going uphill but soon enough the forest became thinner and gave way to small bushes only. We are gradually going to go above the tree line. I saw some snow by the roadside. The hill side with these wild bushes looked almost like a tea garden. By mid afternoon we reached Dzongri. Today, to my utter surprise I was more or less pain free for the entire day.

Dzongri also has a small shop. In fact they have two. I saw good quality plastic sheet available here. The one I bought from Yuksom was in tatters already. So I bought one more. We were told there is a dormitory here with beds available for a small payment. Some of our friends took this. There was one girl who was feeling claustrophobic and couldn't sleep in the tents. She took it and had a good night's sleep. 

During our acclimatization trek above Dzongri we saw two wild yaks. This is not very common. The yaks we normally come across are all domesticated. These were wild. They were at a distance and looked quite peaceful. The fellow trekkers were very upset to be made to walk more after the back-breaking day long trek. They forced our leader Arpan to cut it short and come back to the camp. No one was in the mood to walk any more, particularly given that we would have to wake up at 3 am the next morning to see sunrise from Dzongri top.

From Tshokha we have a new guide cum cook called Arpan Limboo. We became fast friends. The young help Sena was also very friendly and served us with an ever smiling face - including bed tea at 3 am. They all loved me for being able to speak Nepali fluently. And wanted to know where I learnt it. No knowledge in life goes a waste. And being able to speak someone's language is the best way to flatter them.

We retired early and were woken up once again in the wee hours of the morning with warm tea. We set off by 4 am. Target is to reach Dzongri top by 5 am to see the sunrise. I am glad to say that I was the second one to reach the top. First was the youngest member of the team followed closely by the oldest.

The view from Dzongri top is indeed fabulous. You have all the associated peaks of Kangchendzonga open in front of you in a line one after the other. The sun rose a few minutes after 5 am, turning the peaks a golden. It is such a surreal sight to see them lighting up one after the other. From pink to golden to yellow and finally white. Thousands if not millions of selfies were taken. Group photos with the Indian tricolor were also taken. 

Uphill once again. But soon we reached a lovely spot by a broad river side called Kokchurang. Some trekkers camp here on the way back from Lamuney but Jyotishko said this area is not safe for camping as the forests nearby have lots of bears. 

After Phedang the trail gradually