Top of the World

Living in India for two years, even near the southern tip, I wanted to see the Himalayas up close before moving on. This third and final attempt to do so was very similar to my trip to Anamalais--mostly hikes lasting 3-4 hours and having a cottage or farmhouse as base camp--but markedly different in that much of the land isn't protected wildlife or forest reserve, so it's sprinkled with isolated villages and terraced farmland. Click here for the pictures. Because the area--outside Kalimpong, on and around the Samthar Plateau--is accessible mostly on cobblestone footpaths, the guides had to show me what was a field and what was not. For example, most farms are worked by hand and consist of only a few acres of tilled soil, but might include cultivation of other cash crops along wooded paths, such the spice cardamom and the scrubby bushes used to make brooms. Even if we hadn't seen a structure for miles, suddenly very small children in school uniforms would emerge from the side of the road, ready for classes.

Most villagers are Buddhists, and most homes had prayer flags, fluttering from the rooftops of the home or the separate kitchen huts. They also have the flag of the newest incarnation of the separatist movement for Gorkhaland. While it didn't affect my trip, they have been known to shut off the roads, and scare off the tourists.

I was visiting just before the rainy season, so unfortunately these pictures include no crystal clear images of Kanchenjunga or other snow-covered peaks, but when you're from Nebraska, just about every hill made out of rock counts as a mountain.

"Road" is also a broadly defined term in those parts, ranging from stone stair-step trails up the steep hillsides to wider cobblestone or gravel jeep trails. I preferred walking, but I can see why locals transporting manufactured goods in and crops out of the villages might prefer more roadbuilding by the state and central government authorities, as well as other local projects.

I rounded off the trip with a visit to the city of Darjeeling, where there are several pedestrian-only roads just for sitting and watching the mist roll over the hills in the evening. Since I hadn't spotted much animal wildlife (click here for the pictures of plants and animals) on the trail, the local zoo covered the gaps in my experience, and I spent a lot of time sipping tea and enjoying the cool weather.