Travel Diary

First let me introduce ourselves. We were four friends and another person not worth mentioning. On the left of the picture is Indronil, then Nirmal, then Aditya and last but not the least Samprit. As I am the person not worth mentioning so I am not in the picture.

Fantastic Four

Day ONE      :       Thursday, 08^th March

As planned earlier we all met at Sealdah Station forty five minutes before the train was scheduled to depart. As usual Nirmal was late. We were very exited about the trip and our parents were anxious because this was our first trip alone without them. We were happy as this was our "Independence Day" celebration. So we had some last minute advice, counsel and instructions and we all nodded in the affirmative as obedient boys knowing at heart that though we would be precocious we are going to enjoy to our fullest. We got in our train in our seats, waved them byes and our journey started at 7:40 p.m. (five minutes later than schedule time) by Uttar Banga Express. We were out of bounds from the beginning itself and were having good fun (not that we were indiscipline or anything like that). Finally we had dinner at about 10:00 p.m. Aditya's parents had sent chicken fried rice from a Chinese restaurant and Samprit's mother had cooked chicken. So we had a Chinese dinner and then finally went to sleep with our headphones in our ears and moving in rhythm with the train. Good Night.

Day TWO     :       Friday, 09^th March

Next day we all woke up early in our excitement. We were five and the other person in the top bunk out of the six berths in our coop was a young lady. As Aditya was in the other top bunk he had difficulty sleeping (Guess why?) As he did not have a shawl he could not sleep due to cold & mosquitoes. So he was the only one among us getting up late that morning. Reaching New Jalpaiguri at 7:00 a.m. Breakfast at NJP. Starting for Darjeeling by bus / jeep at 8:00 a.m. [NJP to Darjeeling - 88 km – 3 to 4 hrs] Reaching Darjeeling by 12:00 noon. Lunch at Darjeeling. Starting for Manebhanjan (2150 m) at 01:00 p.m. by share jeep. [Darjeeling to Manebhanjan - 26 km – 1.5 hrs] Reaching Manebhanjan by 3:00 p.m. Register for Sandakphu Trek. Evening free. Night stay at Manebhanjan Trekkers Hut.

Day THREE :       Saturday, 10^th March

Start trekking at 5:30 a.m. for Meghma (2870 m) via Chitre & Lamaydhura by foot. [Manebhanjan to Meghma - 9 km – 5 hrs] Breakfast at Chitre. Reaching Meghma by 11:30 a.m. Lunch at Meghma. Starting for Tonglu (3070 m) by foot at 1:00 p.m. [Meghma to Tonglu - 2 km – 1 hr] Reaching Tonglu by 2:30 p.m. Afternoon & evening free. Night stay at Tonglu Trekkers Hut.

Day FOUR   :       Sunday, 11th March

Start trekking at 5:30 a.m. for Gairibas (2621 m) via National Park by foot. [Tonglu to Gairibas - 9 km – 3 hrs] Reaching Gairibas by 09:00 a.m. Breakfast at Gairibas. Starting for Kalipokhri (3170 m) by foot at 10:00 a.m. [Gairibas to Kalipokhri - 6 km – 3 hrs] Reaching Kalipokhri by 2:00 p.m. Lunch at Kalipokhri. Afternoon & evening free. Night stay at Kalipokhri Tourist Lodge.

Day FIVE     :       Monday, 12th March

Start trekking at 6:00 a.m. for Sandakphu (3636 m) via Bikheybhanjan by foot. [Kalipokhri to Sandakphu - 7 km – 4 hrs] Breakfast at Bikheybhanjan. Reaching Sandakphu by 11:00 a.m. Lunch at Sandakphu. Afternoon & evening free. Night stay at Sandakphu Trekkers Hut. 

Day SIX        :       Tuesday, 13th March

Breakfast at Sandakphu. Start trekking at 7:00 a.m. for Phalut (3600 m) via Sabargram (3536 m) by foot. [Sandakphu to Phalut - 21 km – 6 hrs] Reaching Phalut by 01:00 p.m. Lunch at Phalut. Afternoon & evening free. Night stay at Phalut Trekkers Hut. 

Day SEVEN :       Wednesday, 14th March

Start trekking at 5:30 a.m. for Rammam (2560 m) via Gorkhey by foot. [Phalut to Rammam - 15 km – 6 hrs] Breakfast at Gorkhey. Reaching Rammam by 12:00 noon. Lunch at Rammam. Starting for Sirikhola (3170 m) at 02:00 p.m. [Rammam to Sirikhola - 9 km – 3 hrs] Reaching Kalipokhri by 5:30 p.m. Night stay at Sirikhola Trekkers Hut.

Day EIGHT :       Thursday, 15th March

Start trekking at 5:30 a.m. for Rimbik (2286 m) by foot. [Sirikhola to Rimbik – 6/10 km – 2/3 hrs] Reaching Rimbik by 09:00 a.m. Breakfast at Rimbik. Starting for Darjeeling at 10:00 a.m. by bus / jeep [Rimbik to Darjeeling - 54 km – 5 hrs] Reaching Darjeeling at 3:00 p.m. Starting for New Jalpaiguri at 04:00 p.m. [Darjeeling to NJP - 88 km – 3 to 4 hrs] Reaching New Jalpaiguri by 8:00 p.m. Starting for Kolkata by Padatik Express, 12378 at 09:00 p.m. from NJP Station.

Day NINE    :       Friday, 16th March

Reaching Sealdah Station at 6:45 a.m.