Richenpong - Takes My Breath Away

Richenpong cannot be called a village. Maybe a glorified hamlet, expanding suddenly and disproportionately in the wake of incoming tourists. But the serenity and virginity of the place has been unhampered by the development. Many city dwellers do come down to this beautiful dot on Sikkim's map. But here these people do not try and claim the place as their own. Instead, they tiptoe through the sleepy streets, almost to afraid to tamper with the beauty of the place.

Richenpong is about five hours drive from the nearest railway station New Jalpaigudi (Also known as NJP), the very busy gateway to all of North East's mountain range. Almost the entire length of the drive is through winding mountain roads, a steep wall of rock on one side and a breath taking valley along the other. To keep one company on that solitary drive, a river flows alongside for most of the duration of the journey, almost as if to reassure one that she is not lost.

Reaching the sleepy town of Richenpong gives one the impression of having come to an era long gone by. And the vista of some of the world's tallest peaks truly leaves one speechless. Everest and Kanchenjunga comes together in perfect synthesis. And when the sun comes up on these snow white peaks to set them on fire, no living soul could possibly look away.

The best part of this blissful retreat is the diversity in flora and fauna it offers. One can sit for hours looking on as varieties of birds come and strut their stuff on one or the other barren tree. These birds are of various shapes and sizes, colours and natures. Some are small and playful, while others are serene, yet beautiful. Yet others sing so melodiously that it brings tears to one's eyes. Richenpong also offers some of the rarest flowers in the world, including some varieties of Rhododendrons not available anywhere else.

With its beautiful winding roads, its serene monastries, its flowers and birds that bring together a riot of colours and a cacophony of melodies, its thunderous streams and waterfalls, its flitting cloud in which one could get lost, its silence, its quaint huts, its people with their hearts of gold and its majestic mountain ranges, Richenpong is truly heaven on earth.