Short on time and still want to savor the majesty of West Sikkim trek in Himalayas then the Dzongri Trek is the best. The Dzongri trek is the shares the same trek route to Chaurikhang the HMI Basecamp and Goechala Trek. Dzongri Trek starts at Yuksom the erstwhile capital of Sikkim, after crossing four cantilever bridges and through thick pristine forest of Sikkim Himalayas takes you to the highest point of at Dzongri Top around 15000 ft from where one can imbibe the splendor of Kanchenjunga National Park and jagged mountain peaks like Kabru, Kabru Dome, Frey Peak, Renok Peak.
DIFFICULTY : MODERATE
MAX ALTITUDE : 4000 METERS
BASE CAMP : YUKSOM
DURATION : 7 DAYS 6 NIGHTS.
BEST SEASON : PRE & POST MONSOON
New Jalpaiguri Railway Station (NJP) is located in the Jalpaiguri District which is considered to be the Gateway to the Northeast. All major cities and towns are connected to NJP via the Indian Railways. The closet airport is Bagdogra Airport which is about 16km from NJP. From NJP we take a taxi to Yuksom in Sikkim. This journey will take us approximately 6 hrs. Yuksom is a beautiful town in West Sikkim which was once the capital of Sikkim and it serves as the base for major treks in Sikkim like Goechala Trek, Kanchenjunga Basecamp Trek. Overnight stay in Yuksom.
This is the first day of the trek. After walking across open fields we enter the beautiful valley of the Rathong river. En route appreciate ancient Oak, Conifer and Bamboo forests and the luxuriant ferns and delicate orchids that line the trail . Yuksom (1760m) marks the entrance to the Kangchenjunga National Park. Just after leaving the village you can see Bakhim on a ridge high above the confluence of the Rathong and Prek Rivers, which will give you an idea of how to pace yourself for the day. We trek through Oak and later Rhododendron forests. Bakhim has a forest rest house and a tea and snack stall. We will rest for a while and enjoy the view of the Yuksom Valley. Goechala Trek route is same till Dzongri Top and from here Dzongri Goechala Trek route bifurcates.
The trek from Bakhim to Dzongri via Tshokha involves quite considerable altitude gain. We continue walking until we reach the bridge over the river Prerak. Prayer flags in the distance are an indication of the start of the Goechala trail. Trek from Bakhim to Tshokha and till Phedang is quite steep, it’s a well laid out path with wooden logs. At 12,000 feet and a source of water nearly Phedang is a perfect place to stop for lunch. We then continue for Dzongri. Through this leg of the trek you will be reaching over 13,000 feet, so headaches are not uncommon due to the thin air. In about 6 -7hrs we reach Dzongri. Overnight stay at Dzongri.
Today is the exploration day and we trek to Dzongri top early in the morning to get sunlit view of Kanchenchunja massif. Experience how the golden rays of the sun interact with this magnificent mountain range. After enjoying this spectacular view we retrace our steps to Dzongri campsite. Dzongri Top is the highest point on the Dzongri trek from where we will get a 180 degree panoramic view of the Kanchenchunja range. If we start early at 4am we can reach the top just in time for the sunrise. Goechala Trek is also the same route till this Goechala Trek further proceeds towards the Goechala view point
We trek back with amzing views of snow clad peaks of Himalayas as close as we were in heaven for a day. You could literally see the mountain peaks waving goodbye from behind the clouds.
We followed the same trekking route from Tshokha, Bakhim and trek back to Yuksom, putting an end to a spellbinding Dzongri Goechala Trek.
We drive back from Yuksom to NJP with a mosaic of frozen memories of the Trek.
