Sikkim Travelogue (Part-3)
Gangtok wasn’t as cold as Pelling. The next day, our plan was to cover Nathula Pass, Tsomgo Lake (Changu Lake), and Baba Harbhajan Singh Mandir. We started early since there’s a strict 12 p.m. cutoff to reach the check post—post that, entry to Nathula Pass isn’t allowed. The permits were arranged by our tour guide a day in advance. Nathula Pass, at around 14,000 ft, is not recommended for small children or elderly people due to the thinner air. So, my younger one and my husband skipped Nathula and instead visited Tsomgo Lake and Baba Harbhajan Singh Mandir, both located at approximately 12,000 ft. The road to Nathula Pass is quite good, as it’s maintained by the BRO (Border Roads Organisation), but it was packed with long queues of tourist vehicles. We were advised to carry oxygen cylinders, which are easily available for around ₹500. Once we reached the Nathula parking area, there was no network, so we had to pre-decide a meeting point with our driver—it would have been imposs...
