During my college days, winter holiday was never complete without a trek to one of the outstanding trekking destination within the state of West Bengal in India. Located in the district of Darjeeling, Phalut is the second highest peak in the Singalila Ridge of the Himalayas. Singalila ridge extends from Manebhanjan and continues all the way to Phalut. On the way, we cross the highest point in the ridge – Sandakphu.
Photos on this page were all taken with a film camera and have been scanned from prints after more than 25 years since they were taken. To maintain the authenticity of the images, no photo manipulation was done to any of them.
We normally preferred to go during winter because there were not too many people trekking during that time, and we can easily get in any of the Trekkers Huts managed at that time by DGHC (Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council), now called GTA (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration). This way we were able to travel very light without any prior reservations.
The trip started from NJP, New Jalpaiguri, by taking a bus or jeep (standard name for all wheel drive utility vehicles in India, nothing to do with the brand :)) to Manebhanjan which is the gateway to Singalila Range. It is a quaint little village on the border of India and Nepal and most of the trekkers going to Sandakphu or Phalut will prefer to start the trek from this point.
It has been now over 25 years since I have last gone for this trek, so, I do not remember the exact places where we used to stop, but based on trekking map, I can only guess at this point. The photographs on this page do not represent that specific place being written about, as I can only recover a few of them – so please consider them to some random images from the trek. Most of the descriptions are also from memory, so may have inaccuracies or not relevant today.
After a night stay in in Manebhanjan, we head to a small tea stall right next to the trail point, and we would have some breakfast there, and start on our trek toward Chitre. The trail here is very steep even if it is not very difficult. After the initial ascent, trail eases up a bit, but the first stretch tires you a lot and gets you into the mood for the mountain trek. After resting for some time, we continue our trek, mostly gradual incline and very easy trek for the rest of the way. After quite some time we would come to a fork – and we normally kept to the right to reach Tonglu. This is where we would stop for the night at the available trekkers hut.
Next day we also started early, and we targeted the next trekkers hut on the way, which was in Gairibas. We did not want to stress ourself, and would take things slow – as we wanted to enjoy the nature and awesome views that this trek provided. We have met with a lot of friendly people on the way and the memories of them will always remain with us. Trek to Gairibas was also easy and we would reach there by day fall and check into the trekkers hut.
Most of the trekkers hut at that time only provided you a place to rest without availability of food. So, we would either boil noodles that we normally used to take, or we can go to residents who entertained trekkers with food and drink for a nominal cost. Also, these places were not heated, and the winter temperature easily dropped to below -10F at night, so even with the think blankets, we preferred to have our sweaters on even when we went to sleep.
The next day from Gairibas, we started towards Sandakphu. This starts with a fairly steep climb through beautiful forest setting and then eases off. The trip to Sandakphu is also very pleasant. However, the last 2 to 3 miles of the trek to Sandaphu is the most challenging. It is possibly the hardest point of the entire trip. You have to climb very steep slopes, and at some points, you would think you would have been better off mountaineering. However, when on top, you forget all the hardship you faced when coming on top.
Sandakphu greets with a very memorable scenery. At 11,929 feet, this is zenith of Singalila Ridge. Winter winds are severe, and you will feel frost bites at any exposed body part. This is possibly the hardest day for the entire trek, and also the most demanding. We would go and find food from any of the resident entertaining guests, and they will greet you with a hot water bucket, where you can soak and warm up your feet while waiting for food. This has a very soothing feeling after a long and tiring day of trekking.
For a lot of trekkers, Sandakphu would be the final destination and they will start their journey back home from this point. However, we would always continue to Phalut, which is one more day of trekking. After having taken in the beauty of a sunrise at Sandakphu, we will start our journey towards Phalut.
The trek to Phalut was mostly even, however you will be going through a lot of mountainous paths, and some of them only allowed one single person to go at any time. During winter, these places became extremely treacherous, and there was always the risk of losing your footing and falling down. Phalut would take you through winding paths around mountains – the side that got sunlight was nice and dry, and the other side was always icy and treacherous.
After a long trek through the alternating snow and dry barren lands, you will finally reach Phalut, the second highest point on Singalila ridge. Phalut also has a trekkers hut and that is where we would take shelter. After seeing at least some residents in Sandakphu, Phalut looks very barren with no one living there. It is a barren flat land with the best all around views in store.
This place gives you the best view of Kanchenjunga, and it looks like you can literally walk there to the mountain top. You will also see a lot of other peaks on the Himalayan range. This was the final destination for our trek and next day we started our way back taking back only memories from our trip.