The Barren Lands Of Lakpath, Gujarat (Unexplored Lands)

A long drive on the lonely deserted road of Kutch for about 100km from Naliya, Gujarat, would lead us to the entrance of a forte wall, which holds a small town, Lakpath with a population not more than 1000 people. ‘Lakpath’ literally means the city of millionaires and had a glorious past of being a fertile rice cultivating region.The Sindhu River flowed through this town in the early 19th Century but turned its course, after the 1819 earth quake (now flows into the sea) leaving the soils of Lakpath dry and unusable.

The Exterior Fort Wall Of Lakpath

Lakpath is the western most land at the end of India bordering Pakistan on the Kori Creek and the seaward side is guarded by the Border Security Force. This extremely hot and dry place is unique, and is a perfect example of 'a no mans land'. It is deserted with few clusters of brick houses with nil activity of either people or animal around. The land is hard and barren devoid of any kind of vegetation. The huge fort surrounds  this empty town. This place felt so lonely and ghostly that we set a record of Lakpath being a place which we visited in a shortest duration so far. We drove around and took some pictures for our  album without meeting a single soul during the trip.

The town of Lakpath

Lakpath is a place which holds no tourist attractions except for a Gurdhwara which is said to be of historical importance as Guru Nanak had visited this shrine on his way to Mecca. 

A visit to Lakpath can be logged as a place of having traveled to the west most inhabited land of India for the adventurous travel bugs.

Nathula Pass, Sikkim (Unexplored Lands)

A trip to Gangtok is not complete without a visit to Nathula Pass.

The best part of the visit to this pass is the journey itself. The drive on the NH31A, an all-weather metalled road of 114km from Siliguri to Gangtok is filled with never ending scenic views. The green waters of Teesta River on the white sand shores travels with us for more than 33km on this highway. The road leads through conifers and bamboo forests  right up to Gangtok.

                                                                      (Picture from Google Search)

Nathula lies 56km east of Gangtok,at the height of 14,140 ft above sea level.

The Nathula highway is one of the highest road constructed on Indian soil by the BRO, (Border Road Organisation). Their motto “we don’t build roads in sky,” is proved on these lofty and frozen terrains of the Himalayas. The journey from Gangtok on these roads is like a ride into fantasy lands. The mist and the white snow all around, the zigzagging roads, gurgling falls are what we encounter all through our drive. As we near Nathula we enter the army area and can see the army deployed everywhere. This region falls under the restricted zone and prior permission is needed to visit here. The vehicles are to be parked at a short distance from the pass and we have to climb up quite a few steps to reach this pass. Nathula pass lies on the Indo China border and is guarded by the soldiers of both the countries on either sides of the barbed wire boundary. The view of the land of both the countries just separated by barbed wires, holds many untold stories of war.

The Tri coloured flag unfurled fluttering in the wind makes our heart swell with pride and our hands reach up to salute the soldiers guarding our country selflessly at freezing temperatures.

En route To Nathula Pass

The other places to visit around Nathula-

Changu Lake or Tsogmo Lake is a frozen lake at an altitude of 12,130 ft  meaning ‘source of the lake' in Bhutia language and is situated about 35 km from Gangtok. It is a 1 km oval shaped lake with a depth of 15 meters.

Yak Ride At Changu Lake

Baba Harbhajan Mandir is located at the Kupkup valley 60km from Nathula. It is the shrine of a deceased soldier, Harbhajan Singh who is believed to be still alive protecting the soldiers in these terrain till today.

The Waterfall (Poem)

I know not where you come from…

I know not where you go…

Do you come from frozen hill tops,

Or from hot springs down below?

Are you from the raindrops,

Or the brooks that flow?

Is there a path that leads you,

Or do you pave your own?

I wonder how you cut through,

The hard and mighty stone.

Do the birds and trees Thank Thee?

When you feed and make them grow.
Who trained and helped you dive here?

As a Cascade, in a place unknown.