Please give suggestions to my Sandakphu and Phalut trek

kunwar

Hi

I'm from Mumbai and I’m coming for a wedding to Kolkatta on 30th to 31st Oct -and plan to take my trek on Sunday to Fri ( 1-6th ) I have a good level of fitness as I am a long distance runner but have very little experience on altitudes . I have less time – I have to be back in Mumbai by Fri Night so please advise me if my little research is right.

Sunday - 4 pm train ( 2345 - ) to NJ - reach at 2AM on early Monday morning

Monday - jeep to Maneybhajang, and trek to Gauribasa
( My question here is that will i get a jeep to Maneybhajang immediately and does it move at night because i want to reach Gauribasa on Monday itself - and that too - obviously before dark )

Tuesday - Trek to Sandakphu

Wed - Trek to Phalut( My question is - i would love to go to Phalut, and is it so that it is really worth the extra day or is Sandakphu enough ? )

Thurs - Trek down to Rimbik and take jeep to NJ - and O/N train to Kolkatta ( My question is - assuming i reach Rimbik in the afternoon can i get to NJ by jeep for the 7PM or 8PM trains ( 2346 or 2344 or 3148 ) or shud i book a 2518 which leaves at 3AM Friday )

Fri - evening flight to Mumbai -

More Q’s - I will be doing it alone. I can handle cold but I dont want to risk wild animals or darkness. Is it a safe area. Does it get dark after 5 Pm or earlier ?

How much does a guide cost ? Is it necessary by government rules ? Because I like to take all my treks alone.

mridula

Kunwar, look at the threads at the bottom of this page. There is a lot of information there on the same. This is one similar thread

Sandakphu - Phalut help Needed

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Mridula

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kunwar

Thanks Mridula, ive gone thru the similar trek threads and found a wealth of info, which makes me ask even more questions. Anybody reading this, ignore my opening post as i have comprised everything here. I am looking at doing a hard trek.

Q1 – I will reach New Jalpaiguri at 2 AM on Monday morning of 2nd Nov 2009. I would like to reach ManeyBhajang as soon as possible and start trekking to Garibasa that day itself. Will I get a jeep early in the morning or does the first jeep leave at dawn.

If the first jeep leaves at dawn, I probably will reach Maneybhajang at noon. Is it still possible to do Tonglu as I would like to reach Sandakphu by Tue afternoon and Phalut by Wednesday afternoon.

Q2 – After reading that the conditions at Phalut are abysmal, I felt that maybe I should stay at Samadan instead on Wednesday. Sandakphu to Phalut is 6 hrs. Could I leave Sandakphu at 6 am, to Phalut and down to Samadan in that day itself ? I would assume that factoring the altitude a distance of 25km or a bit more can be done in 8 hours and 10 hours with rest.

But is there something nice to see at Phalut. Is the sunrise really special at Phalut or is the sunrise from Sandakphu equally good ( because anyway I will wake early that day )

Q3 – I could then reach Rimbik early on Thurdsay to get a jeep back to Darjeeling. That’s another question. Do the jeeps leave Rimbik by noon latest as others have said or do they keep leaving thru the evening and even overnight as it is so in Garhwal and Kumaon.

Q4 – I have heard that the road down from Phalut To Rimbik is the most picturesque. How long would a leisurely walk take ?

roy_supratim05

What I can say, your plan is very optimistic. If there is any problem in transport part or any delay, you can have consecutive effect in your whole schedule.

First of all, reaching the same day to Gairibas from NJP is quite impossible as per my opinion.

Secondly Phalut to Rimbik is around 28-30 Km to be covered in one day and on different gradient with lots of ups and downs and dust and mud.

If you can add one more day to your schedule, that would be quite comfortable for you, otherwise I would like to say to drop the Phalut part.

Happy trekking.

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Supratim

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