Sandakphu Singalila Trek

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Rebekah Bell

[caption id="attachment_12530" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] Rumtek Monastery, Gangtok, Sikkim[/caption]

Following the touring we completed the six day Sandakphu trek along the border of Nepal and Darjeeling, India. Unlike the treks in Bhutan, which are wilderness treks where you have to camp each night, the Sandakphu trek was a cultural tea house based trek. While the terrain for the Sandakphu trek was much easier than the trekking terrain in Bhutan, the Sandakphu trek was really enjoyable because of all the interaction with the local people along the way. Our very experienced guide, Dawa, seemed to know someone in every village and we were welcomed into people’s houses wherever we went, which was very special. This experience was all the more heightened as we trekked during the Diwali festival period and got to participate in the different traditions on each night of the festivities. The views over the Nepali, Indian and Bhutanese Himalaya were amazing and the sunset and sunrise walks when staying at Sandakphu were stunningly beautiful.

[caption id="attachment_12547" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] Vista of Mountains while trekking from Kalipokri to Sandakphu[/caption]

After a good clean up at the terrific hotel in Darjeeling we spent the remaining few days of the journey touring Darjeeling and surrounding areas, which was really interesting and great to experience a place written about by so many. Knowing that the journey was over, the transfer to the airport in West Bengal was perhaps the worst part of the adventure.

[caption id="attachment_12551" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] Surreal view of landscape from the summit[/caption]

The Wind Horse team in Sikkim and Darjeeling was as supportive as the Wind Horse team in Bhutan. It was great to meet Sonam, the local manager, during our time in Gangtok. Our guide during this stage of the journey, Dawa, is an extremely well experienced mountain and culture guide who had an enormous amount of knowledge of the areas we travelled to. He is a wonderfully funny and compassionate person who continuously went out his way to make sure that we had a wonderful experience.

[caption id="attachment_12554" align="aligncenter" width="733"] Historical Toy train (Darjeeling)[/caption] [gallery order="DESC" ids="12534,12535,12536,12537,12538,12539,12541,12540,12532,12533,12542,12544,12543,12545,12546,12547,12548,12549,12550,12551,12552,12553,12554,12555,12556"]

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Micheal Blondel & Group

TID 8529 (31 Oct to Nov 15) 2014 - Blondel Group -Sandakphu trek (Guide Anthony)

After a former trip in the Annapurnas in Nepal, our group of 6 friends wanted to spend some time in discovering the Indian Himalaya. We have been travelling for a little more than a fortnight with your company, and we have achieved a nice trip at the nepalese boarder, nearby the majestuous Kanchenjunga.

Two parts had been pointed in the program we had dealt with you: one as trekking on Singalila range, the other as visiting the old buddhist temples of the former Sikkim kingdom. Actually we have travelled within this global feature and we have been spending a nice time in West Bengal and Sikkim, since we wanted first to be secure and in good health with your help.

8 months before our holidays, we had spent a few weeks in building with you, by e-mails, a specific program, that included the spots we intended to look at and the way we wanted to perform it. It's because of your awareness of our wishes that we had chosen to deal with Windhorse. And we got a good satisfaction when regarding your attention.

As we feared for the cold of this period of November, we had ordered for the trek time a guide and a lot of twin rooms in lodges, that you had confirmed to be hired in your different mails and finally on March 17th (attached file). Every member of the group had prepared his equipment as for a semi cold trail, avoiding to carry too heavy bags.

We have been astonished as discovering on arrival in Darjeeling that we had to sleep under tents, and we have even thought of breaking our contract...

I must say that you have taken in charge two nights in lodges, in Sandakphu, the highest point of the trek and one very cosy in Rumbick. We have appreciated too the ability we have had to stay in lodges nearby our tents and have dinners inside in the evenings...and the last but not the least, to get footwarmers every night outside.

I must say that your guide and the whole team have taken care of us as friendly as possible, and we keep a real gratitude for their good and smart service. The very tasty and miscellaneous cooking has been really appreciated.

On the way to Sikkim (Pelling and Yuksom) and back to Bagdogra, all has been perfectly achieved, for the organization of the journey and for the hotels as well.

As things have occurred in the best manner, we still recommend you to keep in mind the agreements taken on their lodging...We have had the chance that everyone had a good experience of mountaining treks and kept smiling all over these holidays.

A special thank for Anthony who has been in charge of our group in these indian holidays, and stood friendly at our sides.

Greetings from France...