ABOUT SANDAKPHU

Located close to Singalila National Park in West Bengal is Sandakphu, or Sandakfu, the highest peak of the region. You need to endure a moderately difficult trek in order to reach the summit, but you will be rewarded with awesome views of the Kanchendzonga Peak.
There is even a small village at the top of the peak where you can find some hostels for a stay. Of course, there is nothing like camping under the starlit sky and enjoying a cool mountain breeze.

Sandakphu has always been known as the trekkers' paradise and located at north west of Darjeeling town at an altitude of about 12,000ft. This is the highest point (or peak) of the Singalila mountain range. Many tourists who find the 3 days trek too strenuous to bear, take a 4-wheel drive vehicle like a jeep or a Land Rover from Manebhanjan and go all the way up to Sandakphu along the steep gravel road. The motor road is full of loose stones and boulders, and takes about 5 hours to reach. 

  The distance from Manebhanjan to Sandakphu is about 32 kilometers. From Darjeeling, the distance to Sandakphu is 58kms (26km up to Manebhanjan). But once you reach Sandakphu after a tedious trek, you will be rewarded with the real bounty of the nature. If you love snow peaks, then you will feel privileged that you made it up to this point and joined the group of few who have witnessed an end-to-end panoramic views of the Himalayan peaks. And these include four of the five highest peaks of the world. I shall come to the view shortly. 

The name Sandakphu means "Height of the poison plants". This is because of the poisonous aconite plants growing in abundance here and Sandakphu being the highest point of Darjeeling hills where such plants grow. Don't worry, they won't reach any harm to you unless you try to eat the attractive purple blue colored flowers or the leaves of these handsome looking plants that are usually 1-meter in height. Sandakphu is also home to lovely flowering plants like primula and rhododendrons that bloom in plenty in spring. 

  

The last stretch of the route from Bikheybhanjang up to Sandakphu (4kms) is really steep. This stretch and the slopes of Sandakphu area are full of silver firs, rhododendron trees and magnolias. Sandakphu is a small village with few huts, GTA (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, erstwhile DGHC) trekkers huts and few other private lodges for tourists and trekkers. 

 

Now about the view of snow mountains. From Sandakphu, you get a 180 degree view of the Eastern Himalayas, with ranges that belong to Nepal on the west, Sikkim and Bhutan in the middle and Arunachal Pradesh in the east.  

 

The entire range from Nepal to Arunachal is about 320 kms long. But the most dominant in the range are the Everest and Kanchenjunga family of peaks. The best time to view the snow peaks is when the day breaks at the wee hours. The best season is between April to May and from October to November. 

  

As the first sunlight strikes, you will see the dazzling peaks of the Everest family in Nepal at the far west including the gorgeous Mt. Everest (29,029 ft., the highest peak in the world). It is about 160kms away from Sandakphu. You will find it along with other peaks like Lhotse (27940 ft., the fourth highest peak) and Mt. Makalu (27,825 ft, the fifth highest peak). If you look further west, you will see the Chamlang (24,006 ft) that stands like a square wall of snow. 

  If you now start looking towards east at Sikkim, you will see the striking and prominent peaks of Kanchenjunga family (summit 28,156 ft., the third highest peak in the world). The name Kanchenjunga means "Five treasures of the snow" and has five snow peaks in its family. It is characterized by massive mass of snow. Buddhists call it 'Sleeping Buddha' and this massif is considered a holy deity in Sikkim. It is because of this sacred belief, mountaineers are not permitted to climb to the peak of Kanchenjunga.