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| Sleeping Buddha (Kumbakarna, Kanchenjunga) |
Date: Oct 31st to Nov 6th 2021
To get there: [Click here for Google Map].
From Bangalore, flight to Bhagdogra. Then on a Jeep arranged by IndiaHikes(IH) Vehicle to Srikhola where our Base camp (teahouse) and the trailhead were located.
Trail type: Mixed trails. Kutcha roads, paved/pebbled/rocky trails, soft narrow muddy trails, and steep climbs through pine forests on narrow trails. We did not encounter snow at all. I trekked the whole time with camera and binoculars around my neck. So, it's a moderate trek and can be done by anyone who is reasonably fit.
Facilities: Once we left Srikhola, I do not remember any populated places with general stores and such. Samanden was a small village but we did not visit any shops there. Sandakphu on Day 6 is when we started seeing more houses and people but again did not really check out any stores. We had prepared for all our needs during the trek and our food requirements were entirely taken care of by IH. Also, our trek leader explained in detail how IH was prepared to take care of any medical emergency including evacuation if necessary. That was quite comforting.
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| Everest range (Lhotse, Everest, Makalu) |
Himalayas always calls you back, I guess. As with the Kheerganga Trek we did in 2018, this was also initiated by a friend of ours and as then, we did not need to be asked again to return to Himalayas for what looked to be an amazing trek organized by India Hikes or IH. Updated details on this particular trek on their website can be found here.
So, it was that on 31st Oct 2021, 17 of us which included 6 kids, were at Bangalore Airport taking the flight to Baghdogra, then met up with 3 more trekkers there and the 20 us of traveled together in 3 jeeps to reach Srikhola for what turned out to be a trek that gave us all that was promised on paper and much much more.
As a change from my usual trek writeups, this time I created a photo/video blog with text in it to describe how this trek went. It gives better context and flows with the visual aids to relive our experience. You need to click on the 3 dots on the phone or (i) icon on the laptop to show the text always as you swipe through the images/videos.
My other photo albums:
Ebird checklists from the trek:
Garmin activity tracker for most of the trails we took with its various metrics:
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| Campsite at Aal with Sleeping Buddha |
