Yuksom Goecha La trek

Ashutosh

Hi everybody,

I am planning on doing the Yuksom to Goecha La trek in Sikkim in 15-20 days beginning the end of April till mid-May. Since I trek to mostly do photography, I plan to stretch out my trip over so many days to make the best of opportunities.

I am travelling alone, but on a modest budget at the same time.

I am interested in hiring an independent guide who will double up as a cook/porter; or signing up with a trekking company.

Can any of you reccomend good agences in India?

Thanks in advance,
Ashutosh

guidedeba

Dear Ashutosh,

As a Guide / tour operator as well as amountaineer/Trekker, I will not suggest you to take your journey in the month of May. it will be mostly cloudy and it will be raining most of the afternoons. better you have it by the end of October best season. or, at least 2nd part of April. How many dasy adn what's your budget including everything (Bagdogra - Bagdogra APT).
Deba.

kolobar

I did this trek in April/May and had very good photo opportunities regarding views and weather. With approaching onset of moonson (beginning of June) the haze&cloudiness are increasing. Also it seems that weather is becoming a bit unpredictable but since you practically doubled the time needed for the trek you should have enough opportunity for good shoots, especially if you are willing to get up early in the morning.
You will need agency arrangement - tents, food, cook, porters, dzo... to do the trek. Since this forum is not intended for advertising I can help you only via PM.

arunchs

I am with guidedeba on this. I was at Goechla in end of may and it was always cloudy, even in the mornings.

October is often told be a better time though I don't know by myself.

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Ashutosh

Thank you very much for your informative replies!

I plan on reaching Bagdogra by the 28th April latest. From then onwards, I will be on the trek till 11th of May.

I have the following requirements:

1) Travelling from Bagdogra to Yuksom to begin the trek at (This can be arranged on the spot I believe)
2) Guide/Porter/trekking agency to guide my along the trek, and manage the food issues.
3) If the weather is a bit iffy on certain days, I need to stop longer in a particular spot for more photography. This will make the trekking company go mad for sure

However, if the trekking route back follows the same path, then I could opt to not stay longer on an additional day since the return is by the same path (provided the return includes an overnight rest)

A little bit of cloud isn't too bad, but completely overcast clouds aren't good either. I shoot early in the morning and very late in the evening anyways, with some brief halts on the route.

If you are a guide/agency and have such a package, please let me know by PM!

Thanks in advance.

PS: I am an Indian national.

Ashutosh

arunchs, you have some great photographs! Thanks for sharing them!

WILDEASTINDIA

Hi Ashutosh,
If you are genuinely looking for a person who can guide you to the most pristine places in the dzongri you can contact Mr.Bhaskar Das a Mountaineer, trekker and at +91-3561-276262 or Mr. Sandipan at +91 9832060380

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Ashutosh

WILDEASTINDIA, thanks for your tips! Do you have the email addresses of these gentlemen by any chance? Thanks.

kolobar

1.) You will have to travel from Bagdogra to Gangtok first. There are taxis on the airport which can drive you all the way to Gangtok. If you want to save some money you drive to Siliguri and get there a shared taxi to Gangtok.
2.) Check your PM.
3.) You will have to fix a certain number of days with the agency so they know how much supplies they should provide. You can probably be flexible for a day but not much more. It is not just supplies for you but for the whole crew.
The most scenic overnight stay are of course in Dzongri and near Samiti lake (including Goecha la itself). It is good to have extra time for Goecha la. It is the highlight of the trek and the most scenic part therefore you dont want to miss it due to bad weather. It is not necessary to retrace the same way (via Dzongri) but in case you will miss the view from Dzongri you can return that way (though it is a steep ascent on the way back).

arunchs

kolabar reminds me of things to add.

1. Never ever miss sunrise over Kanchenjunga. This means waking up at 3am or so at Samiti and walking up to Gochela before sunrise.

2. The way back to Dzongri is a steep ascent as kolabar mentioned. Avoid this as much as possible. It is a real hard walk getting up this slope and better avoided. I would rather suggest making sure you finish your work at Dzongri and leave only after that.

3. There are some good places to go around looking for photo opportunities around Dzongri. Ask your guide for this.

WILDEASTINDIA

eastern_sojourn@rediffmail.com

Ashutosh

kolobar, thanks for your PM. I have contacted them and am in touch with them about the itinerary.

I have been suggested by more than one trekking agency about reaching Yuksom myself and hiring porters and guides personally, rather than go with trekking companies. I was pleasantly surprised to hear this from the trekking companies themselves - they say that this way it will be cheaper for me (which I do tend to agree).

I wonder if anybody has rented guides/porters/cooks in Yuksom? If yes, how do you go about getting insurance for them?

Do they all take cash only?

Thanks once again to everybody for your great answers!
Ashutosh

arunchs

We had done that.

Yes, they take only cash, so you need to load yourself up before you reach there. Insurance, I have no idea! Unlikely anyone would have even thought about such a thing!

kolobar

I doubt it is possible for a client to get insurance for his staff. I doubt even agencies in India insure their porters. I have experience from Nepal where agencies do insure their staff (though not for a big sum - they claim it is not possible) but if you hire your staff by yourself it is not possible to get insurance for them but you are still responsible for them (regarding equipment, evacuation and health expenses) so if something happens you are in big trouble. Even more, porters can not insure themselves - so they told me.
Since trekking business in Nepal is more elaborate than in India I doubt it could be possible. Even if there is a chance, you will find out who your crew is only in Yuksom and there is no insurance company counter in Yuksom for sure. Therefore if you dont want to bear this responsibility you better do it through an agency.

Ashutosh

Arun, I was just wondering in case things went wrong, insurance would come handy in these cases.

Kolobar, thanks once again for your information.

Is there any bank outlet in Yuksom that allows you to encash travellers cheques? My Lonely Planet Indian Himalaya doesn't mention anything.