Waterfall on Sevoke Road

Monsoon in our hills is the time of dark grey days and constant showers interspersed with periods of sunlight. Everything looks fresh and verdant and there are few tourists to be found. A well planned trip can be rewarding, especially if you are lucky with the weather.

Our trip to South Sikkim started with a night's halt at Mongpong in West Bengal. Our base was to be the town of Namchi, the South Sikkim district headquarters. As usual, birds were the main focus of the group and you can find some of the species we encountered at the link. Looking for birds meant covering diverse locations which gave me an opportunity to put the Moto X Play's camera to good use. You will find the results below.

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Map of our trip (courtesy: Google Maps)

Halts highlighted in red

We arrived at Bagdogra airport from Kolkata on a cloudy afternoon in late September. Our first overnight halt was at the quaint Nature Education and Wilderness Resort at Mongpong, West Bengal maintained by the WBFDC. 

Cottages at the resort

While the infrastructure of the resort could surely do with some fresh investment, the lip-smacking food and the breathtaking views of the enthralling Teesta meeting the plains is likely to make you forget that little detail.

The Teesta meets the plains

The next morning we took the Sevoke road on the three and half hour journey uphill. Persistent monsoon rain and plenty of infrastructure building work in the hills meant a rushing muddy river, not the green-blue glacier-fed beauty of the winters. The Teesta, it seemed, was showing us her turbulent side lest we get lulled by her ice-flecked beauty!

The Teesta near Kalipokhri on Sevoke Road

The drive along the Sevoke Road was uneventful but we did not fail to notice that large stretches of the road had been eaten away by landslides. 

By noon we had reached Kitam Bird Sanctuary and stopped on the highway for some casual birding.

Kitam Bird Sanctuary along CD Rai Marg

At lunchtime we arrived at the sleepy village of Sorok where a grand lunch, full of Sikkimese delicacies, awaited us. Sorok lies just below Namchi and you get fine views of the town from the hilltops.

The view from Sorok village

Our final destination for the day was the Summit Sobralia Resort built on the crest of a ridge to the southwest of Namchi town. It is a well-maintained modern hotel and the off-season rates were a steal. Our room faced the Kanchenjunga massif, but monsoon was not the season for snow-peak gazing.

Summit Sobralia Resort and Spa

Char Dham or Siddheswar Dham is a pilgrimage cum cultural complex on top of Solophok hill with an imposing 87 foot statue of Lord Shiva. The icon was visible from our hotel room but a visit to the hill was in our birding itinerary.

Char Dham complex

Religious tourism is the new buzzword in Sikkim and the faithful seem to be flocking to the state by the droves. A little further to the north-west of Chard Dham lies the glowing temple dedicated to Sri Shirdi Sai Baba. The perfect subject for a mobile camera.

Shirdi Sai Baba Mandir, Assanthang, Namchi

A trip to lower elevations took us down a little used road to the bustling foothills town of Jorethang on the banks of the Rangeet river. We were treated to lunch at the attractive Club Mahindra Baiguney timeshare resort. A fine meal amidst a beautiful setting.

Club Mahindra Baiguney, Jorethang, Sikkim

Our main birding activity was on the lovely wooded stretch which connected Namchi to Ravangla town in the north. The Damthang forest is a great place to look for birds, and we were not disappointed. The first stop was the path leading up to the Samdruptse Monastery. From this area you can get great views of the Singalila range on a clear day. Cloudless days are very rare during the monsoons, but we were lucky to catch the peaks through a break in the clouds.

Singalalia Ridge from Samdruptse area

Dark, deep and daunting forests covered much of our drive to Damthang village.  And birding was rewarding.

Namchi - Damthang road

Our lunch stop was at the inappropriately named "Fast Food" roadside eatery at Deu hamlet near Damthang town. Auntie's home-cooked meals are made with local organic vegetables, and are anything but "fast'! Do stop by at 27°13'53.1"N 88°23'09.3"E if you are on the road and ask for fiddleheads (dheki saag) cooked with Nepali seasonings. Chicken was also available, but with a caveat. We had to catch our own from a flock of fleet-footed birds feeding on crumbling treacherous slopes! As you guessed, we settled for the more stable and risk-free eggs! A bonus is that the lunch wait can reward you with good birds - a Brown Bullfinch pair for example.

Looking at Tendong State Biodiversity Park hill from "Fast Food" roadside eatery

Roadside stalls with fresh produce were the feature on the drive to Ravangla. Some of these ingredients made their way to our sumptuous lunch!

Roadside stall for fresh produce

Further down the road is a stretch of beautiful forest with bird calls ringing across the canopy.

Damthang forest

Our northernmost destination was the town of Ravangla, famed in the past for its breathtaking views of Mt. Narsing. But today's tourists want more, especially as views of the peaks are a matter of luck most times of the year. So, Ravangla too hitched up to the religio-tourism bandwagon and consecrated a 130-foot high statue of the Buddha in 2013 - forever changing the dynamics of a sleepy hill station.

Buddha Park or Tathagata Tsal, Ravangla, Sikkim

Inevitably, the effects of tourism are marked by the spread of the town. One would imagine that this part would be teeming with people once the holiday season starts. On the day of our visit we had it mainly to ourselves and the locals barely noticed the visitors.

Ravangla town

Like all good things, our monsoon birding break inevitably had to come to an end. But like always, it came too quickly for our liking. Too quickly in fact to even stop and take in the sparkling beauty of the lushness on the drive down to the plains and the waiting aircraft.

Sevoke Road on the way to the plains

Till next time! 

End