THE TREKKING LOGIC OF THE SINGALILA RIDGE

The Darjeeling hills were a part of Sikkim till the 18th century, when the Gurkha ambition to establish a trans Himalayan empire made the lepchas, the original inhabitants, almost extinct. Later, the Darjeeling hills, were cut away from Sikkim by the British.

Darjeeling, a hill station in the state of West Bengal, stands on a south eastern rim of the Singalila Ridge, south of the Raman river. The Ridge itself, is an imposing Himalayan divide between Sikkim ( including the Darjeeling hills ) and Nepal. To the west of the Ridge are great views of the mighty peaks of Nepal including Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Makalu and the rest of their frightening fraternity. A little known fact is that one of the first probing sightings of Everest, done by the Survey of India, in their attempt to discover the highest peak in the world, were from Sandakphu and Phalut, located on the Singalila Ridge.

The Ridge ends in the North with the unbelievably awesome Kangchenjunga massif, crowned with its highest peak, which is also the third highest peak in the world. The Singalila Ridge trek offers spectacular views of this gigantic snow clad miracle. Kangchenjunga holds some fascination for mountaineers, being as it is, a sort of benchmark in mountaineering challenge. Little wonder then, that for many years, Survey of India thought Kangchenjunga to be the highest peak in the world ! Running to the north east of the massif are magnificent 7000 m plus peaks, the Kokthang, Rathong, Kabru, culminating in the beautiful and sacred peak of Pandim, which rises over the forested ridges of Sikkim.

The fascination of mountain lovers for this region has many enigmatic reasons, with the Singalila Ridge being just one of them. Nowhere else in the world, do such steep heights crowd up a square kilometre. Essentially resulting in the richest flora and fauna possible in the mountains. With over 600 varieties of orchids, trekking trails passing through a variegated tree cover, literally bursting with rhododendrons, magnolias and primulas, under the umbrage of great peaks, cutting through blue skies. Snow leopards and Yaks at high altitudes and Pandas in deep forests, go on to add to the charm of this region. A result of such topographic extremes is that the region is among the wettest in the Himalayas. Then there is of course that inexplicable aura that comes from the symphony of great mountaineering legends that surround the personalities of Tenzing Norgay, Nawang Gombu, Dorje Lhatoo and others, who chose to make this remote far eastern corner of the high Himalayas, their home.

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