A pious lake at 17000 ft in the Himalayas near to the borders
is a picture perfect sight. Reaching here is not easy as the climate and
terrain throw challenges. The terrain is just too rough and you get tossed in
the slow moving vehicle. The day we headed there was relatively blessed as
there were no major weather issues. Yes of course!! It is December and it is
slicing chillness around. Cold burns are common. The worst is a problem with
your nose nostrils. Breathing gives you a lot of pain due to the cold burnt
nostrils but you know you need to. We started in the dark at 03:00 AM. Seeing
the sunrise in the mountains is a very different experience. Frozen water on
the path is a common sight all the thin waters are frozen there. You can
witness the slightly glowing frozen blue stuff turn shiny white as the sun rises.
Tall mountains standing black and white block the views
beyond. Sun was shining bright enough as we reached Gurudongmar lake. Oxygen
level at these heights are not consistent and so there is an element of risk
involved. With sufficient understanding and preparation, you should be fine. The
driver also warns and dictates the time you could spend as spending more time
could lead the driver to sickness. At the snap of the lake, all the pain the
terrain gave us was paid. It is a beauty that the eyes take a while to soak in.
Pristine Natural beauty!
There are around 50 rough steps that lead you from the view
point to the lake. Reading too many articles about how people go down, effects
of low oxygen kicking in and never been able to get back had a profound impact
and hence we refrained from venturing there as it was pretty much the same view
we could get. The lake is actually not carnivorous, all it needs is good
acclimatization and definitely good judgement. Few locals and the army troops walk
around the lake. Yet there are frequent incidents of people choking to death
there.
The way back was equally tiring and we had stopped at a
remote hut for breakfast. I was skeptic to enter the hotel for breakfast by the
look and feel of it. But yes, it is a well-served cozy space with a fire place
that was a blessing then. They serve the typical breakfast of warm bread and
molten butter and hot coffee. Appreciate the service at that altitude in the
border areas.
On the way back, we visited “Bheem Naara” Water falls. This
is a thin shooting tall water fall. Recently probably a few fans have renamed
the water falls to Amita Bachhan (famous tall Bollywood actor). They put up a
few posters, and some music there. Post lunch we set off for Lachung.
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