A postcard from Pelling

Pelling is for the mountains and the spectacular birdlife with nature at its most sublime, and in its quiet power, which is just humbling above everything else, writes Nilanjan Coomar

Chestnut-tailed Minla

Sunrise at Pelling. PHOTOS BY AUTHOR

From the hill districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal, the small town of Pelling in Sikkim can be seen in the distance, perched proudly above the clouds, sitting on top of the ridgeline that stretches all the way across the horizon, dwarfed by the looming backdrop of the snowy white massif of Mt Kanchenjunga. To a lover of mountain vistas, it is a wistful sight. Any ridge which is closer, any spur that is higher, any valley that is nearer — anything that is ever so within touching distance of these great mountains — is to be held in awe and craved for. And the traveller in you makes promises to yourself — someday you will find yourself up there.

A journey of three hours from Darjeeling takes you to Pelling. With every passing turn of the road, one feels that the snowy peaks are getting closer, the mountains are taking you in. The river Rangeet is a constant companion on this journey, it flows down below, to the right of the road, a gentle shade of blue-green, white-water in places, white sand on the banks, rugged cliff-faces rising dramatically from the valley from time to time. The air gets nippier. Sometimes there is a fleeting glimpse of a snowline in the distance, before either a bend in the road or an emerging hillside that takes the view away from us too soon.

Pelling emerges from the clouds, and soon you are driving along narrow but tidy streets, squeezed in between houses, snaking its way up the mountains. It is afternoon and the clouds have moved up from the valley below, conquering the hillsides. Great barbets call plaintively from the tops of the deodar, their calls echoing far and wide. When the clouds part briefly, the sun lights up the beautiful town and it looks like a painting that has been in the works for a hundred years.

Dawn breaks early at these longitudes, and we are woken up at five the next morning by the haunting and breathtakingly beautiful call of the Himalayan Whistling Thrush. It takes time for us to spot the bird as it flits in the trees and the bushes, sometimes pausing in mid-song as if it was trying to remember a tune that it has forgotten. The clouds are still persistent, and though we can see the eastern sky beginning to turn into the faintest of crimson, the great Mt Kanchenjunga remains hidden. The area is bursting with birdlife though, and the jungle seems to burst into twitter and chatter and song from every side. The freshness of the mountain air beckons as we head into one of our many long walks for the day.

The Pemayangtse Monastery is a delight to visit and is one of the oldest Buddhist monasteries dating back to the 17th century. Constructed in traditional Buddhist architecture, this place has a great collection of Buddhist art and sculpture including the model of Guru Rinpoche. On the route to Yuksom, which is a lovely village often making for an amazing day trip from Pelling, there is the Kanchenjunga waterfall, flowing all milky white and soothing, amongst thickly wooded surroundings. Nearby is the Khecheopalri Lake, another place of serenity that holds religious significance for both Buddhists and Hindus and is known to be a wish-fulfilling lake. An interesting myth is that birds don’t allow any leaves to fall on the lake. While we didn’t see any birds actually on swimming pool duty, there wasn’t indeed a leaf floating anywhere on the vast lake surface, which did seem more than a bit unusual!

More than anything else though, Pelling is for the mountains and the spectacular birdlife. As we walk the endless trails through these deodar and pine-cloaked forests, we repeatedly come across avian delights. The thrushes are shy but abundant in the dense bush and we see chestnut-crowned laughing thrush, striated laughing-thrush, grey-sided laughing thrush and even the extremely rare blue-winged laughing thrush, all on a single morning! Amazingly, the beautiful red-faced liocichla also grants us a regular audience. Flocks of rusty-fronted barwings and the exquisite red-billed leotherix, dart about in the undergrowth. With every passing day, more and more of the amazing birdlife of Pelling gets added to our list — rufous-bellied niltava, barred-cuckoo dove, white-tailed robin, green-tailed sunbird, golden-throated barbet, red-tailed minla, bar-throated siva, Himalayan shrike babbler — just to name a few. We walk hours every day, our appetites whetted by the amazing birds that we’re able to spot, soaking ourselves up in this land of dreams, transported to a different world where the mundane pursuits of daily life have been left far behind.

And even in the height of the alpine summer, the skies do clear up for a couple of days and the mighty Kanchenjunga reveals itself. Seeing the mountain from up here, living the promise that we promised ourselves when Pelling was just a ridgeline in the distance, there is a feeling of quiet contentment that permeates into your very being.

As the scarlet tinge of dawn spreads across the sky, the snowy peaks come into view one by one, and the mountain seems to be all things at once — a goddess and a benefactor, a protector and a destroyer, beautiful and imperious, endearing and distant at the same time. But all of this is Nature at its most sublime, and in its quiet power, it is just humbling above everything else. Respect and wonderment come easily in Pelling — a seemingly perfect place, pretty as a postcard, and forever unforgettable.

Facts about Pelling

How to reach?
Pelling is in West Sikkim, about three hours from the capital at Gangtok. Many tourists prefer to reach Pelling directly from New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, a drive of about 5 hours. Bagdogra at Jalpaiguri, is also the most preferred airport to connect to.

When to go?
The skies are clearest in the post-monsoon months of October and November. December is great but very cold. In April and early May, the jungle is at its most colourful due to the blooming of flowers and the birdlife is especially amazing at that time.

What to do?
Soak in the pristine wilderness and the silence of these forests. Hike for days without end. Photograph the incredible birdlife. Wake up to unforgettable views of Mt Kanchenjunga.

Where to stay?
There are several rustic and charming homestays tucked away into the mountainside. Pelling town itself is decent in terms of tourist infrastructure and has hotels and lodges catering to all kinds of budgets.