Location:
Western Sikkim
Altitude: 2,085m
Tourist Attractions: Trekking & Sanga
Choling Monastery
Best Time To Visit: Mid- February To May
end & Mid - September To December
The laid back,
scenic, but rapidly swelling hamlet of Pelling, situated 2,085m above
sea level only 2-km beyond Pemayangtse, looks north towards the
glaciers and peaks of Kanchenjunga. High above the forest- covered
hills, in an amphitheatre of cloud, snow and rock, the entire route
from Yoksum over Dzongri La to the Rathong Glacier can be seen.
Walks &
Treks
Pelling itself
consists of little more than a road junction, Helicopter pad and
numerous hotels, creating the so-called "Bengali Boulevard",
a strip of highly unimaginative identikit concrete blocks. Luckily,
from most angles this development is hidden by the forested slopes and
Pelling offers numerous attractive walks and hotel terraces from where
one can gaze in awe at the world's third highest peak.
PRIME
ATTRACTIONS
Sanga Choling Monastery
A 4-km trail rises from the playing fields just above Pelling to
reach the small monastery of Sanga Choling, one of the oldest gompas
in Sikkim. This gompa is another of Lhatsun Chenpo's creations, and is
highly venerated among the Nyingmapa. Gutta by fire, it has been
rebuilt and houses some of the original clay statues.
TREKKING
For those with
permit endorsements to visit Khechepalri Lake, Yoksum and Tashiding, a
scenic low-altitude trek along trails and roads starts from Pelling.
Public transport run from both Yoksum and Tashiding back to Legship
from where one can continue to Ghezing, and eventually back to Pelling.
more...
HOW TO GET
THERE
Road: Shared
jeeps travel regularly until mid or late afternoon between Pelling and
Ghezing; twice daily for Gangtok, and once a day for Siliguri. There
is no direct service to Yoksum from Pelling but a daily bus leaves
Ghezing and travels via Legship and Tashiding. One bus leaves Ghezing
daily for Khecheopalri Lake and passes through Pelling, and two leave
Pelling for Ghezing, and eventually back to Pelling.
