BEST TREKKING DESTINATION FOR BEGINNERS - BAJRE DARA TREK, SIKKIM.

 

BEST TREKKING DESTINATION FOR BEGINNERS - BAJRE DARA TREK, SIKKIM.

Your first trek will change your mindset, many treks will change your life.

As a beginner (young or elder), for mental preparedness should first have a clear idea about - WHAT IS TREKKING ? 

In short, TREKKING is a long distance and multi-day journey, most commonly done on foot, and involves challenging terrain and climate conditions that can often change many times over the trek. Trekking routes often go through more difficult and remote areas, making for more strenuous journey.

Let us first understand why anyone who is young or old should come out from the comfort of their home and begin to trek on the rugged mountain and forest trails where life is not at all as conducive as they have been into so far. Once you have decided to go for your first trek, then which one should be your first trekking destination as a beginner ?

In today's environment and the lifestyle that most of us experience and go through, trekking is the best option to rejuvenate oneself - both for a youth and for a senior citizen as well. Age is not at all a criteria to begin trekking.

From quiet moments of self reflection, invigorating sights and challenging yourself in nature, trekking provides a number of benefits - both physical and mental. To actually list out reasons to go for trekking seems absurd. There is always a joy in the activity of trekking, once you start it is almost like an addiction. You will not be addicted to trekking, but will be addicted to the way it makes you feel. In such a situation a listing of reasons is not really something you think of, you just go and do it. But first timers or beginners might require a bit of motivation and few very basic physical training to take that first step. 

BE WITH NATURE 

On a trek, you are in the lap of nature. Trekking is an unscripted experience filled with surprises, which may be both good or bad. In the fast moving world, we hardly have any time for appreciating the raw beauty of nature. Trekking will teach you to take things as they come and not crib on petty issues. 

Trekking really helps to clear your mind from the daily monotony of life and seek fresh horizons. City life usually works on set patterns that keeps every one bounded. Trekking can make you enjoy the simple joys of nature - lush greenery, various types of trees and plant, wild flowers growing on mountain slopes, gorgeous meadows, snow capped mountain peaks and suddenly you realise it's time to go back to nature !

HEALTH BENEFITS

There are numerous health benefits of trekking. Regularly going for treks helps in lowering blood pressure, and various studies have shown that it reduces the risk of diabetes and heart ailments. On a trek fitness comes for free. Our lungs get pumped up due to the constant workout and the clean air helps us in enhancing our breathing capacity and circulation of fluids in our body.

Trekking helps you to live in the present moment and improves our mood, lowers the level of anxiety and enhances our memory. The experience of trekking especially on less visited trails is extremely refreshing and mentally relaxing. It is on trek that one can lose as much as 5 kg weight on a 10 day trek. Trekking is the most underutilised antidepressant.

LIFE QUALITY 

Trekking life is not a fancy one, it's a real life. Life comes as it happens as we capture natural vistas, meet intriguing people and experience diverse cultures that very few know about. A trek teaches you to experience life as it is. Your approach towards life will totally change. You will learn how to lead a life in line with nature, thus bringing a major change in your thought process and mindset . 

One takes back fabulous memories and stories that will remain with you forever. Studies have shown that trekking helps immensely for generation of new and creative ideas. You get a chance to meet people from different backgrounds and build lasting relationships. Nature will teach you to open our heart and embrace experiences, cultures and relationships. Trekking makes you a humble person when you see the hardships on an expedition and how you got past it. It is a great way to strengthen your mental fitness. 

LISTING SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF TREKKING

1. Better physical fitness.

2. Great social experience.

3. Improved stamina.

4. Healthier heart.

5. Less stress.

6. Happier mood.

7. Spiritual connection.

8. Better life skills.

BAJRE DARA TREK - SIKKIM

As we have learnt that, experience of trekking especially on less visited trails is extremely refreshing and mentally relaxing mainly for first time trekkers. Bajre Dara in West Sikkim is one of such destination. Bajre Dara trek is a mysterious beauty that provides insight into the wonderful parts of nature. As a beginner, this trail is considered one of the best alternative if you want to explore the alluring mountains. At 3350 meters above sea level (11000 feet), the Bajre Dara is not hard but rewarding climb.

"Bajre Dara" - the name came from the enormous power of lightning strike (known as Baaz in Nepali and Bengali). This viewpoint cum camping ground is located in West Sikkim district at an altitude of 3350 meter above sea level. This location is full of burnt out Pine trees. These trees were hit by lightning during 1970s. Since then, the dead trees are standing like monuments in their own graveyard. When snow and mist create the appropriate background, the dead trees make a spooky environment all over the camping ground, a view worth experiencing. 

On a clear day, one will find a spectacular view of Mt. Kanchendjonga massif along with the Kasturi range. You can also see the Sangalaila range from this point. Bird eye view of Pelling city and Kacheperi lake, Yuksome town are another views to capture in your mind from Bajre Dara. 

Overall beauty of the place can easily beat Dzongri considering the level of hiking required to reach Dzongri. Bajre Dara can be accessed via a short three days two nights easy - moderate level trek from Meli or Lamathang village. Both the routes join together at Bhanjang and then proceed towards Bajre Dara through Door camp site. This trek traverses steep terrain covered in verdant vegetation and goes close to the Kanchendjonga range. 

To begin the Bajre Dara trek, you must first fly into Baghdogra International Airport, or via train reach Newjalpaiguri(NJP) or Siliguri junction railway station. Then hire a cab to Melli Aching Monastery via Jorthang, Pelling, Darap, Rimbi, and reach Melli Aching Monastery, among other places.

The ridge, which rises at an elevation of 11000 feet, provides a welcome break from the monotony of city life. The walk begins at Melliaching, a little hamlet 17 kilometers outside Pelling. From here, take the Pangreytar and Gorujurey trails to Bhanjyang. Camping at Bhanjyang will allow you to experience nature in it's purest form. 

The next day, trek to Bajre Dara, the rout's cardinal point. Here's where you will have the most fun on your adventure. The panoramic rout is truly life-changing  and a sight worth experiencing. Descend to Pangreytar through Gorujurey the next day, then hike back to Melliaching the next day. Return to NJP/Bagdogra or Pelling from this point. 

Now get-set for your first breathtaking and life changing trekking experience. 

ITINERARY

It is always advisable to go for your first trek with an experienced and licensed trekking agency or a guide. Myself has mentioned below an itinerary which an agency or a trek guide will normally suggest and follow :

DAY - 1 :

Reach NJP / Siliguri Railway station or Baghdogra airport at Siliguri , and drive to Melliaching via Melli check post, Pelling. Total distance is around 150 Km, which will take nearly 7 hours to reach the destination.

Representative of your trekking agent / guide may receive you at the Airport/Railway station. As you commence your journey, you will start experiencing the most beautiful valleys and mountains , as well as bamboo forests and cardamom plantations. It is important that you acquire sufficient amounts of fresh and pure air. Relax and inhale the fresh air as you wander through the mysterious mountains. Spend the night in a tent or a home-stay. 

DAY - 2 :

Melli Gompa or Pangrey tar to Bhanjyang, Distance to cover of about 8 Km via Goru-jurey, An elevation of 2200 meters.

The day-2 is the first day of your adventure. After having your breakfast, begin your trek from Melliaching Gompa to Bhanjyang. You have to trek about 10 km and takes about 5-6 hours to finish. You can tour the medieval monasteries of Pangreytar and Gorujurey. This experience is more than natural splendour, it is about religious tranquillity. If you come early, you may catch the glimse of last rays of a magnificent sun set. Spend the night in Bhanjyang base camp, which is surrounded by spectacular mountain scenery and an ideal weather. 

DAY - 3 :

Bhanjyang to Bajre Dara, an altitude of 3355 meter, and have to cover about 8-9 Km.

This third day is going to be the happiest day of your life, and it represents the culmination of all you have trekked so far. This is the first day of your trek to Bajre Dara. The trek will take you through one of the most magnificent and romantic environments on the planet, with views of snow capped mountains , tropical rain forests, rhododendrons, and wildlife such as barking deer. Here you will get the chance to glimpse the apparently infinite ridge of Mt. Kanchenjunga. Take lots of snaps while you are here to remember your visit. For the night, pitch a tent and stay the night here.

DAY - 4 :

Bajre Dara to Khechoperi Lake via Bhanjyang, Lamathang. To cover about 14-15 Km, altitude 1850 meters. 

You should get up early on this day in order to get a glimpse of the sunrise. At any dawn on a mountain, you should not miss this breathtaking spectacle. Spend a few minutes to admire the surroundings and prepare for breakfast before continuing on. Bhanjyang and Lamathang villages will be visited on the way to Khechoperi Lake.

DAY - 5 :

The last day, Khechoperi Lake to Siliguri/ NJP, Or Baghdogra covering about 155 Km taking approx 7 hours drive. 

COST : 

If planning to go for this trek with a trekking agency , then the expense will be around INR 9000.00 to INR 11000.00 per person from airport / NJP to airport / NJP  back, all inclusive(as per their itinerary). These agencies also provide customised trips. 

PREPARATION :

Few basic physical preparation is required to make you fit and enjoy your first trek. 

Considering you not a regular trekker, who do not train throughout the year. Now, you have planned with your friends to go for a Himalayan trek or a mountain trek having a mix of easy to moderate terrain. For this, you need to prepare yourself physically & mentally for you to enjoy the trail and motivate you for planning your other future treks.

We all mostly know how we should prepare for our upcoming hikes / treks - going to the gym 3-4 times a week, doing cardio, jogging, walking between those sessions. But let's be realistic, most of you may not be hard core trekkers or fitness freaks and are mostly busy in your daily professional life and social obligations, with less time to spare for trek preparation. Or even retired senior citizens.

Myself would suggest a very simple routine that you should start at least 2-3 months before your trek, depending upon the level of difficulty of your trekking destination. If it is an easy trail, then 2 months of training is good, or else 3 months of preparation is enough for you for an easy to moderately difficult trek. 

Twice a week do full body strength training, during your training months. No separate upper body & lower body training days. The goal is to strengthen the overall body muscle groups, not any specific group. Each of these workout sessions should not be more than 45 minutes, that is just 90 minutes per week. Most of these exercises should be compound exercises involving multiple muscle groups per exercise, like - squats, push-ups, basic dead lifts, etc. This routine you can do at your home, only need a pair of dumbbells. Add to this twice or thrice a week light jogging covering 4-5 Km. Start with 2-3 Km initially then as you progress target to cover 5 Km in 40-45 minutes. The most important is to do daily breathing exercise , do deep breathing - slow inhalation and slow exhalation routine for min 15-20 minutes every day. This will enhance your lung capacity and thus help you a great at high altitude and long treks. To know more about preparation , read my blog titled "SIMPLE WAY TO TRAIN FOR YOUR UPCOMING TREKS" (post dated : 20th Sept. 2021).

TREKKING will teach you that -  you are capable of so much more than you ever imagined.

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HOW YOU CAN SLOW DOWN THE AGING PHENOMENON & LIVE A FULL LIFE.

 

HOW YOU CAN SLOW DOWN THE AGING PHENOMENON & LIVE A FULL LIFE.

If you really want to punish someone let's say we won't give him death sentence, we give him deathless sentence - you cannot die... he will suffer much more than death sentence, isn't it ?

So, only a fool who is inebriated either with money or hormones thinks he wants to live for ever. Either money has blinded him or his intelligence has been fully hijacked by his hormones, such a fool wants to live forever otherwise it's very nice that you come, you live a full fledged life and you go gracefully. But we want to live a full life, what does a full life mean, full life does not mean a thousand years, full life means everything that is there for a human being to explore, know and experience, must  happen in this life. 

The whole universe is a manifestation of five elements, so is our body. Out of these five elements, there are only four that you can really handle, another one you just experience, it's the ambience for the other four. The five elements are - the earth, water, fire, air, and the space which is the fifth. Four ingredients if they are functioning the way you want them, then everything about you will be great. Out of these four, 72% of you is water.. your body is actually water, so is the planet. The same composition of the planet you have in your body - about 12% is earth, about 6% is air, 4 % is fire, the remaining is space, this is how it is looked at. 

If you master these four, even if you have a bit of control over these four, you will see miraculously you will generate health within the system. If you fail on this, then the next level of handling this is nature has evolved certain things in the form of herbs and many things which are healthful to us, so that we can learn to use them. If you fail in that, then you can create a psychological structure which will create health for you. If you fail in that, then you go for the chemical treatment. If you fail in that, then you go for a surgery. 

Health does not mean that just the medical parameters are okay. Health means you must feel a certain sense of wholeness. The word health itself comes from that word 'whole'. A certain sense of wholeness when you wake up in the morning, you are more alive than you are when you went to bed, you feel ten years younger than the time when you went to bed. If you feel like that, that means you are healthy. It is just that all the tests are showing you are normal, that is still not normal because you have no experience of health. So, when we say experience, ultimately we have come here only to experience life, so we know that experience is the most importance aspect of life. 

Now we are looking at the word experience in two different ways. One is our experience of life itself, how profound and how wonderful it is or how nasty and how unpleasant it is. So the pleasantness that we generate in the body, we call this HEALTH. The pleasantness if it hits a higher pitch we call it pleasure. But if your mind becomes pleasant , we would call it peacefulness. If it becomes very pleasant, we would call it joyfulness. If your emotions become pleasant, we would call it love or affection. If it becomes very pleasant, we would call it compassion. If our very life energy if you make it pleasant, we call it bliss. If it becomes very pleasant, we call it ecstasy. This is what a human being is seeking all the time. He wants pleasantness inside. If your surroundings become pleasant, we call it success. 

Out of the 5 elements, earth which is about 12% of our body contributes immensely in regulating our ageing phenomenon - FOOD that we have, being the major factor.  

Food is considered a very basic level of reception. How we receive is very important. 

Today, what are we receiving ? 

Right now, as you see societies get more and more affluent, they start eating worse and worse food. What a rural person in India would not touch, very sophisticated cities are eating that type of food. This means, almost anything that western societies are using today are a minimum 30 to 60 days old.

In yoga, food is classified as SATTVA, RAJAS and TAMAS. Tamas means inertia, if you eat anything which has Tamas, inertia will come in your system. Inertia does not mean you just become lazy. Inertia means certain things slow down, this means essentially regeneration of the system slows down. 

Today, we know that neuronal regeneration is one of the most important aspect of keeping our brain reasonably functional throughout our life. If you are consuming foods which are Tamasic or causes inertia in the general function of your system, in the energetic process of who you are, then you will see cognition levels will slowly go down over a period of time.Because everybody understands this, this is why they are drinking cups and cups of Coco-Cola or coffee or alcohols or something else, because they know they need to balance that. So, this kind of balance is a very rudimentary way of balancing your system, that you are putting wrong things and then you are trying to correct it with right things. 

The highest number of antacids in the world, nearly 60% of the world's antacids, sold in America, the most affluent population on the planet. This means they have a whole choice of nourishment, they can eat the best food, but no , they will eat the worst food because commercial forces will decide what you eat. You can not eat consciously anymore what you want to eat. What I mean is, if everything becomes fresh food. In the yogic culture, if you cook something , the maximum time in which you can eat is one-and-a-half hours, or 90 minutes, before that you should have eaten the food. After that, not to touch the food because it is started gathering Tamas - inertia will begin to happen. If you want to experiment, you can experiment by eating something very fresh  for one week , eat something which is processed and kept  for 30 or 60 days, and then eat it . You will see the level of alertness in the system, you will notice it in your experience. But it is happening at the cellular level. It is happening in terms of ... we call this 'Ojas', there is no English word for that. 

If you create sufficient Ojas, which is a non-physical dimension of energy, if every cell in your body is wrapped in this, believe me your aging process will not progress. Your cellular age will almost remain stagnant for a long period of time. Some of the tests done on yogies of 65 to 70 years of age, came out with results that their cellular age is 25 years. That means these individuals are maintaining the same level of activity, maintaining the same weight, same level of alertness. This is not a miracle, every human being is capable of this with some simple attention to fundamental things. 

Going further in terms of food, there is something called Virudha Ahara. That means, if you eat one thing and put another thing which works opposite to that, then in your system there is a war. We know that digestive process is largely between acids and alkaline and all such stuff. In the yogic culture, food should not remain in your stomach bag for than two-and-a half hours. Within 150 minutes it should have moved out, you should be feeling empty stomach. Hunger will not come, empty stomach will come, and that is good. We want our stomach to be always empty, because in an empty stomach everything works well.

The colon health is something that is completely neglected today, if you do not keep your colon clean, keeping your mind in a balance state is very very difficult. So, in Ayurveda and Siddha, first thing if you say anything, you are having sleepless nights, you are having disturbed something, mild, any kind of psychological psychological problems, first thing is purging. Purging the system, clean the colon, suddenly you feel a little balanced. 

 

Neem & Turmeric :

Start your day with a small marble sized ball of Neem & Turmeric. There are many aspects to this, of what impact it has on your system. One immediate thing it will do is, it will keep your alimentary tract clean. When we say clean, this is the region, this whole digestive process is a region where you have maximum amount of other life. So, within this alimentary tract there are a whole host of microorganisms, many of them have turned friendly to us. We are living because of them, we are able to digest food because of them. Many, many functions in the body happen because of them, but still there are many who are harmful to us.

The uniqueness of Neem especially when it is taken along with turmeric, if these two things go together, largely those things which are not necessary for the body, those things that can harm the body, any kind of parasitic life which is there, all these things get eliminated. 

Fruit Diet :

The most easily digestible food is fruit. Digestion means the 'Jatharagni'  , the digestive fires as they are known. If these fires have to burn and most effectively, fruit is definitely the best thing. When we say fruit, fruit is one aspect which nature itself intends to be food. Suppose you are ill in a hospital, no body brings you chicken biriyani , they will bring fruits, because even your friends and relatives understand that eating all that junk you got sick, at least now eat sensibly. So fruit can do miraculous things to the body. Sufficient consumption of fruit can do great things to the system. One can become very, very alive and active no mater what is your lifestyle. But if you are doing very menial kind of job then you find every 2 hours you get hungry because of the fruit, because there is only that much volume you can eat, but gets digested so rapidly that you may feel empty stomach. 

Hunger is like you are running out of  energy, like you are running out of battery, that's why you need to eat. But today a lot of people when feel little empty in their stomach, they like eating. To get out of this, you need little bit of awareness - you are empty stomach but still you are okay because you are energetic. When your energy starts dipping, then you eat. It's very incredible that what kind of fruits the land produces at a certain time is most suitable for the system. There is a lot of study about this. As per a study where a women went on only oranges for 1008 days. She was full of ailments when she started, in 1008 days, she came out like she was 20 years younger and full of vitality, all ailments gone totally. This is just one person, please do not follow this blindly as there are other aspects to it also. But yes, fruit will make wonderful difference, especially in today's world. 

Honey :

Honey is the only substance on this planet whose chemical composition is very close to that of human blood. You change a few things, it's almost like blood. Daily consumption of honey can do a lot for your health. Especially people who have excess mucus problems. It is very good for your heart, brains, it keeps your mind alert, and it's highly energetic. The daily consumption of honey can do a lot, especially if you have growing children, they must consume honey on a daily basis. It will do a lot for the development of their intelligence. 

If you cook honey, it will become poisonous. Honey should not be cooked - people are baking with it, putting it in cakes and other things, it's not a good thing to do. Certain part of honey turns poisonous if you cook it. You should put it in warm water, not in boiling water. Honey has different types of impact on the system. If consumed raw it has one kind of impact, if  in cold water then another kind of impact, if consumed in warm water it's a different kind of impact. One should consume in warm water, because we want the system to open up. If you want to integrate the system just for health, for example some one is feeling anaemic, which means on one level the blood has lost it's iron, you lost the strength in the body, you will feel exhausted for nothing. So to take care of this is you can consume a little bit of honey in warm water on a daily basis, slowly the RBC content will go up. If there is more oxygen in the blood, suddenly you will feel a burst of energy, ever thing becomes active, the rejuvenation system in the body is going up, dead cells are replaced quickly, the level of inertia that you feel in the body is much lower, the level of inertia you feel in your mind is much lower. So, consuming honey will bring a certain balance to the circulatory system which is very very essential for especially a yoga practitioner.

LIFE :

You invested too much on little things, like earning a living, and having this and having that, and missing everything.  We are a bundle of thoughts, emotions, ideas, opinions and prejudices right now, not a piece of LIFE. If you be just a piece of life, this would naturally reverberate with the rest of the existence. Having this, that , is not the problem, clinging is the problem. Remember, this LIFE is the most important piece of life in your this life.

If we recognise that our life is just a certain amount of time and energy, we would definitely invest our energy in a way it is most meaningful to this life. If we do not understand that we have an expiry date and it is not even fixed like a pharmaceutical product that you have another two years to live, it could be just about any time. If you miss this one fundamental fact, you are sure to miss your whole life, because everything that is vital will be tomorrow, and tomorrow never happens.

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