SANDAKPHU TOUR ITINENARY

Day 1
Drive from NJP/Bagdogra to Chitrey: 90 Km - 4/5 hours
Pick up from NJP railway station in the morning by 10 am and drive to Maneybhanjang (~ 1980m, 6500ft). Distance around
110 km and takes 6 hours. The road goes through the foothills of Eastern Himalaya (also called Dooars) and gradually gains the
height. There are two roads of which one goes through the hill town of Mirik and the other via Ghoom. The last 3 Km from
Maneybhanjung to Chitrey is a steep road with several hairpin bends and eventually reaches the hilltop clearing at Chitrey (~
2300 m, 7550 ft). Chitrey is a small hamlet with of handful houses and a solitary lodge. There is a colourful monastery and
Buddhist Stupa beside. Walk up to the top of the hillock for sunset and a distant view of the hill queen Darjeeling city. All the
major mobile networks work here. Night stay in lodge.

Day 2
Trek to Tumling – 9 Km – 6 hours
Our trek starts today. There is a motor able road to Sandakphu from Maneybhanjung and the distance is 33 Km. This is not at
all advisable as the height gain is abrupt. Only few 1930’s made Land rovers ply between Maneybhunjung and
Sandakphu on the bumpy road. These wonder cars ferry local villagers with loads of provision. Our trekking trail
often crisscross with the road. We start walking and after few turns on the table top meadow reach the tea stall at
Lamey Dhura (2640 m/8660 ft) in an hour. Now the trail can be seen clearly till Meghma and while we gradually
gain height. As the route often defines the border between India and Nepal ad thus posting of Paramilitary camps of
SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal) at all the major points are common. From Meghma (2800 m/9180 ft) the the road splits
and we take the left one. The one in the right leads to the top of Tonglu and then by descending eventually joins at
Tumling. After traversing for an hour and half we reach the destination Tumling (~ 2920 m, 9580 ft). Total distance
is 9 Km and can take 5 hours. We stay for the night in tourist lodge.

Day 3
Trek to Kalapokhri: 12 Km - 6/7 hours
Wake up early in the morning to view the sunrise. High Himalayan peaks look magnificent in the golden hue. We
start our walk on a level ground and reach the Check post of Singalila National Park in 45 minutes. From here we
obtain the permit and entry ticket for the national park. Just after the check post the road bifurcates. We leave the
jeep road and take the left trail into Nepal. The terrain is wide spread and walking on the rolling trail we reach the
Nepalese village of Jaubari (2880 m/9450 ft). From the village the main road leads to the eastern Nepal town of Ilam
and we take a right turn and descend on the stony trail. The trail far ahead is clearly visible from here and after an
hour we descend to the Indian settlement called Gairibas (2600 m/8600 ft). There is a Trekkers Hut, SSB camp and a
shop which serves tea and noodles. From this point our climb for the day starts. The road enters into the dense forest
and we take shorts cuts often which meet the jeep road while gaining altitude in short distance. A moderate climb of
one and half hour leads us to a valley and a small settlement called Kaiyakata (2900 m/9510 ft). There is a tea stall at
the left hand side of the road. From here the road turns to a semicircular arc and splits. We take the left one which
gradually enters into the thick forest of conifer, birch. and Rhododendron. After walking an hour a small pond is
seen on our left. This is called Kalapokhri ( Kala is Black and Pokhri is a lake in Nepali). From here we take a right
turn and reach our destination for the day Kalapokhri (~ 3020 m/9900 ft). There are ample lodges beside the main
road strip inside Nepal and we stay in a lodge here. Total distance is 12 Km and may take 6 hour.

Day 4
Kalapokhri to Sandakphu trek – 6 Km – 3/4 hours
Today we need to cover a short distance but gaining altitude. The lodges on top of Sandakphu can be seen from
Kalapokhri. We traverse the mountain ridge to reach Bhikey Bhanjang (3120 m/10230 ft) in less than an hour. This
portion of the trail is inside Nepal and Indian road joins here from the other side of the mountain. There is a tea stall
on our left and a forest check post on the right. The road splits and the newly built road inside Nepal takes a longer
path on our left to reach Sandakphu. We take the straight road ahead and start climbing. The switchback road has
several turns and we go off road in few occasions. On the right hand we can see one ridge after another meeting the
horizon. Silver fir and Pine tree dominate the treeline. After ascending for an hour and half we turn left and reach the
top of the ridge Sandakphu. The left side of the ridge is in Nepal and the right side in India. On both sides of road
there are lodges and tourist huts. The top of the ridge is somewhat flat and the north side is open. On the right side of
the motor road a small hump on the left is Sandakphu top (3636 m/11926 ft) marked with cairns and prayer flags.
There is no ridge higher than this point and so the view of the mountains are uninterrupted. Total distance we cover
is 6 Km and can take 3/4 hours. Infrequent mobile signal is available. We stay at the lodge on the Nepal side of the
ridge.