The road to nowhere

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They say the river Rangeet romances you. Certainly unlike many rivers， the Rangeet has its own bright dancing beauty， which you could call flirtatious. It rushes along the Sikkim road， joined by rivulets and crossed by so many bridges that you soon lose count.

The road winds up and loses itself in clouds. The car moves in and out of white cottonwool fleece. Occasionally， the fleece blows away to reveal dizzying drops to the valley below. The air is cool， sweet and noisy with crickets chirping. There’s very little traffic on the road to Pelling， though you’ll find people perched on those white stones that fringe the road chatting away or just sitting， cheerfully oblivious to the precipice behind them， or selling bunches of flowers and vegetables.

If you tire of the view there are the road signs that the road maintenance people have put up， messages like ‘If you Sleep， your family will weep’ or ‘Life is short why make it shorter？’ You can take a short stop at the Bon Monastery， a little ahead Kewzing， just before the road begins to corkscrew down through the trees in double hairpin bends and triple ones and you have to hold onto your stomachs till you get to Legship.

From Legship it’s a drive all the way up again and suddenly clouds billow up from nowhere and hide the camel’s hump of the Pelling ridge—you can catch glimpses of it from time to time as the road twists and turns. If you’re lucky， the clouds will roll back sometime before sunset and you’ll see Pelling appear over the horizon， this time to stay.

Pelling is your usual lazy hillstation filled with friendly people and occasional backpackers， but there is a distinct shortage of adequate directions. You’ll get told something like the hotel is somewhere near the helipad， but even while we you are frenetically searching for it， you will possibly have just one thought on your minds—when will you be able to catch a glimpse of the Khangchendzonga？

Most hotel receptions flaunt photographs of the Khangchendzonga range displayed in all its glory. After checking in when you get around to asking， you most probably will be told that it can be seen from the terrace at 4.45a.m. And even if you rush through dinner and tumble into bed， you’ll be plagued by nightmares of waking up late plagued. However if you’ve got a room with a Khangchendzonga view， at four o’clock you may find it hitting you in the face. Not just Khangchendzonga but the whole range turning from blushing pink to orange gold. You can see it comfortably huddled in blankets for a good 45 minutes before the clouds play spoilsport.

The Pelling weather is famous for its mood swings—clouds one minute， sunshine the next， sheets of rain and wind or blank white-outs of fog. If you’re lucky and the sun comes out you can try to brave the walk to Pemayangtse， which is about 3 km from Upper Pelling. The Pemayangtse Monastery is one of Sikkim’s holiest and the second oldest. As you walk， the trees seem to form an archway， reaching up over your head to heaven. After a while yellow and red prayer flags appear， fluttering in the breeze. According to the friendly applecheeked children you are sure to meet on the way， each wave of a flag sends prayers riding on the horses of the air up to the monastery.

The monastery has that typical red painted wood surrounded by intricate woodwork curlicues and is three floors high. What you may find the most interesting sight in Pemayangtse， apart from the marvellous view， is a seven-tier model of Guru Rimpoche’s heavenly home， demons， animals， birds， chortens， flying dragons and all—one of the monks apparently laboured over the extraordinarily detailed work for five years. Young child monks happily take in the sun under the trees outside and show you where the grass in front is worn away by the feet of the masked chhang dancers who perform every February.

Rabdentse， Sikkim’s old capital， lies a walk or a jeep ride away. It’s a place frozen in time with beautifully restored ruins that are scrubbed and looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India.

There are paths and stairs and low parapets here and there. Rabdentse Sanctuary houses a host of ferns， conifers， bamboos and birds， but you need to go equipped with a book or hire a guide if you want to spot them all. And the lack of adequate signs occasionally proves a great stumbling block.

Pelling’s a little short of things to do in the evening， but if you walk back early enough， there’s a neat little café near the helipad where you can sip cappuccino， listen to tall local tales and hope for another glimpse of Khangchendzonga before the sun sets.

And then to bed to dream if not of mountains， the corkscrew road lined with different shades of green and punctuated by colourful spots of flowers and the bright cheeks of happy children.