Solo Drive To Sandakphu

When I woke up and parted the curtains, I saw a fading night sky above and valleys in darkness below. Separating these two worlds of contrasts was an orange horizon. It was bitter cold, being December. A gale was raging that numbed the finger tips. And then I witnessed a yolk like sun that bobbed up, sparking a array of golden rays all around. The sleeping Buddha with the Everest group, stood like sentinels at attention. Pressing the shutter release was difficult, but I did still manage a few clips. I had underestimated the wind chill, didn't carry scarfs and gloves - for which I had to spend the next days nursing a sore throat and cough. But this was nothing when compared to one of the most glorious sun rises that I had ever seen in my life!

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I had trekked a few times to Sandakphu and Phalut and had even been on a solo ride on my motorcycle to Tonglu - all of which are documented in the forum. But each time I marvelled at those drivers who have reached Sandakphu on those precipitous tracks with unforgiving switchbacks. And when I drove this time, I don't think I am going to forget this experience anytime sooner, such was the ascent (and descent). For me this remains the holy grail of adventure. This was a 4 days trip out of which 2 were spent on the trail. I went through BHP-ian sadnabrina's travelogue through Nepal that acted as my "go to study material" (though the route taken has changed, which I learnt the hard way and have mentioned in the Route section).

The plan was simple:

27-Dec-25: Reach Mirik

28-Dec-25: Mirik to Sandakphu

29-Dec-25: Sandakphu to plains

This was a solo drive and I hit the road quite early in the morning and reached Mirik in the evening. Being alone, I first attempted to see if I could take the known Maneybhanjan-Tumling route through India and had even called up Singalila Land Rover association and asked them if I can take my car along (and pay the rent of Land Rover too) - both from a companionship and recovery standpoint. But I was flatly refused. Per the Association, no vehicle apart from their would be allowed to go. This was a known dampener anyway. I stayed at the Mount Queens Hill Lake Resort & Spa - for a solo traveller the rooms were decent, food okay-ish and service average.

The next day I left around 8 after breakfast and crossed the Pashupati Fatak border before 9.

Permits:At the border crossing, I presented my Aadhar card, Car Registration details at both the India and Nepal sides and entries were made. A few meters beyond is the "Bhansar" office where I paid the road tax (which amounted to INR 400 per day). My itinerary was pretty simple: Reach Sandakphu that day if possible and return the next day. Bhansar can also be extended from designated locations - so the flexibility, if required, is there. After crossing the border, the phone network stopped working. Navigation for the next part of the journey was through the "classic style" of asking people. I was flagged a couple of kilometers from the border at a Police checkpost where I had to pay for some additional documentation. And also faced the first of "This car will not reach Sandakphu". Then the "you have come alone" and "guy must be crazy" looks.

The Drive: I had planned to avail the Mirik - Pashupati Phatak - Fikkal - Ilam - Biblate - Mai Pokhari - Deorali Bazaar - Gitang Bridge - Badi Khola - Kali Pokhari - Bhikeybhanjan - Sandakphu route.

The road till Bibplate was in excellent condition. If I remember correctly it was around ~65 kms from the hotel and I reached here around 1130 ish. I had taken some notes on my phone knowing anticipating that internet might not be available and had noted (again referencing sadnabrina's travelogue) that from Biblate I need to take the Mai Pokhari - Deorali Bazaar - Gitang Bridge - Badi Khola - Kali Pokhari route.

Till Deorali Bazaar the road was wide and with a gentle slope. From Deorali, I continued on a wide road and saw a diversion with a left arrow and in Nepali indicating, a suspiciously narrow detour. The main, wide road was ahead of me and so I trudged on the main road. Here I met a local to whom I asked about "Gitang Khola/Gitang Bridge". He told me that the main road was closed and I need to take a U-turn and take that narrow road. He then asked me where was I headed? And on hearing Sandakphu, he told me that this car won't go not only because the road is bad, but because its too wide for the narrow turns. And I did receive a taste of the first time.

To reduce risk, I engaged 4WD High (for the first time on the journey). The road was so narrow that the bamboo bushes, jungles were brushing again the body. Plus for the initial minutes there was no a soul in sight and I was unsure if it was the correct path. I continued driving through the jungle. Then I met a Pick up truck, who assured me that I was on the correct path and that this road will go through a school ground, then descend and finally reach the Bade Khola bridge. After sometime a village appeared and I confirmed with the passerby if this was the correct path to which the reply was always in affirmative. I turned off the 4WD too, because whereas the road was rough, it did not need 4WD. But there were a few places where the road was just wide enough for the car and you need to be careful. This diversion was the first taste of Sandakphu.

Coming to the point of if you should know Nepali: I, who can't speak Nepali, did not find an issue in communicating with the locals. Hindi is well understood and spoken, even in the remote villages and if you don't understand, you have your gestures to supplement the words.

After Bade Khola, road was being widened and construction was in progress. Here I met an engineer who said that the road is being widened and in 2 years the road to Sandakphu is expected to be a 2 lane wide tarmac. He also added Mustang/Manang are better if one is seeking adventure. But for me, it was a baby step and the thought of Sandakphu arose only after the trip to Gurudongmar and North Sikkim.

The wide road becomes very rough abruptly and started a rapid descent. The skies had turned foggy and dark. I was crossing through a road of mostly boulders with short streams, at times the road was rising through villages, cultivation fields and mustard fields in bloom. I wished to photograph them, but "what lies ahead" question refrained me from stopping. The road was taken in 2 Wheel drive.

It was after crossing a village that I realized that the road or track had started to rise. There were several steep hairpins which I climbed and all the while there were no vehicle. The trust on the vehicle, all the time driving through this aloofness, was supreme. Finally I met a local who was coming down on his motorcycle and asked him if this road leads to Sandakphu (Sandakpur - the Nepali name). He confirmed. After a long time, what felt like eternity, through the thick fog I saw the silhouette of a hut and then some more huts and I felt that this must be Kalipokhri. It was possibly 2.30 ish.

In front of a homestay I saw a couple of West Bengal registered motorycles and entered there. I met two guys who had come from Calcutta (and suburbs). Like me, they were also in two minds if they wanted to move to Sandakphu that day. I was anyways sceptical because of the heavy fog, solitariness and was a little low on confidence. But then a Land rover driver entered and was listening to our conversation. And he remarked "You should go up, you have come this far, its only an hour and a half from here."

This was the boost which I realized that I was looking for. After the lunch, I started the drive. Kalipokhri to Bhikebhanjan is mostly flat. The minute by minute documentation of the climb from Bhikeybhanjan is documented in this video. The scariest point of this drive was when, I was 1-1.5 km away from the top, the car wouldn't simply climb. I got down from the car and saw a huge boulder blocking the rear right tyre on the hill side. The road was so tight that there was may be 6-8 inches on the drop side. I was at my wits end. I reversed and accelerated and thought I would be able to overcome - but the car won't simply budge. So, I got down, opening the door just enough wide to allow me to get down. Then I shoved the boulder. The slope was so steep that the thought of the stationary car rolling downhill crossed my mind many a times.

The Night And The Descent: The ordeal wasn't fully over though. After reaching Sandakphu, I searched for accommodation at the Sherpa Chalet and Sunrise hotel. However, rooms were not available. A local told me that rooms were available at the Sandakphu Tea House - which was run by a brother of Sherpa Chalet. Finally got a cozy room for the night.

With the stay now sorted, I headed out and saw a brilliant sunset. Later went out at night to take my first night shots of the Kanchenjunga range in arctic cold. When compared to my previous trips, this was the best weather I faced. The Kanchenjunga range was visible for the entire 16 hrs that I spent there. Was this a reward? I am not aware - but I am glad that this journey was a satisfaction of the highest order. What was an icing on the cake - car touched 20000 kms on the day it reached Sandakphu and I could have been happier! WIFI was available and I spoke to folks back home. Had a warm dinner and went off to sleep. The next day, I saw a spectacular sunrise and started the descent at 0830 HRS. The homestay owner asked me if I could take a relative of his along with me. To me this looked to be more than welcome - because of the company and also to relay me the amount of space remaining at the passenger side. The descent is also scary. Especially till Bhikeybhanjan and also because there were many vehicles which I faced coming from the opposite direction.

How did the car behave? The road is rough, steep and narrow and boulders jut out of the hill at times, which reduces the drivable area even further. There were hits on the running boards mostly because I was driving very close to the hill side. But there was not a single underbody hit. There were a few 3 point turns, but I believe it was more because I was driving close to the hills avoiding the ditches and steep drops which left me with little room for maneouvre. There were also some streams which had frozen and turned into ice. I used the "Ice" terrain in these sections. Not sure what difference that made, but the vehicle glided over all the challenges successfully. The car makes me smile, in fact grin. Be it cruising on the highways or returning after a rough hill drive, the Scorpio-N continues to thrive. After more than a year it now feels like a natural extension of the body. Reliability has been supreme till date. The XUV or Safaris might be better highway cruisers and the Thar/Roxx might be the better offroader - but the ScorpioN hits the middle ground with panache. I am in any way not an adventurous driver, having driven only the Swift in the past but I can say that purchasing the Scorpion was one the best decisions that I have made.

Route Update: After reaching Sandakphu, when I told the homestay owner that I had taken the Maipokhri route. He returned me a cold stare. He told me that next day while descending, to take the Sandakphu - Bhikeybhanjan - Kalipokhri (route separates from the ascent from here) - Mabu - Biblate route. This route has 10 kms of wide, metalled road and is shorter too. So, while ascending Sandakphu, take the Mabu - Sandakpur road from Biblatey (see the direction marker). The route alignments will change in the next years because of rapid construction, so check with the local folks (hotels) before starting.

 

00: This is a documentary of the descent from Sandakphu to Kalipokhri. The homestay owner asked me if I could take a relative of his along with me. To me this looked to be more than welcome - because of the company and also to relay me the amount of space remaining at the passenger side.I started the descent around 8.25 after a breakfast of toasts, omelettes and frangrant Nepali tea.    

2:52: The switchbacks are treacherous but the view is incredibly beautiful.  Stack of clouds had accumulated in the distance, where closer once could see blue hills.

3:11: The thread like ridgeline which one needs to climb to reach the top was visible in the distance. The track of loose pebbles and scree, with its sharp decline made traction difficult. I was driving in 4 Low, switching between the first and second gears. One needs to be extremely careful - a misstep or a mistake and you can be tumbling downhill. Hence the deliberate pauses in between: looking to the right to ensure we are not close to the edge and then checking the left hand side, with my new found copassenger, to ensure we stay away from the ditches. 

06:00: May be a back story of how I spent the previous day is also due. Yesterday, after reaching Sandakphu, I searched for accommodation at the Sherpa Chalet and Sunrise hotel. However, rooms were not available. A local told me that rooms were available at the Sandakphu Tea House where I got a cozy room for the night.

With the stay now sorted, I headed out and saw a brilliant sunset.

06:28:  Later went out at night to take my first night shots of the Kanchenjunga range in arctic cold. When compared to my previous trips to Sandakphu, this was the best weather I faced. The Kanchenjunga range was visible for the entire 16 hrs that I spent there. Was this a reward? I am not aware - but I am glad that this journey was a satisfaction of the highest order. What was an icing on the cake - car touched 20000 kms on the day it reached Sandakphu and I could have been happier! 

Dinner was rice, dal with chicken curry. Expensive, yet a perfect meal to round off a satusfying day. At night I heard the wind take the form of a gale as it swept through the barren top. 

When I woke up and parted the curtains, I saw a fading night sky above and valleys in darkness below. Separating these two worlds of contrasts was an orange horizon. It was bitter cold, being December. A gale was raging that numbed the finger tips. And then I witnessed a yolk like sun that bobbed up, sparking a array of golden rays all around. The sleeping Buddha with the Everest group, stood like sentinels at attention. Pressing the shutter release was difficult, but I did still manage a few clips. I had underestimated the wind chill, didn't carry scarfs and gloves - for which I had to spend the next days nursing a sore throat and cough. But this was nothing  when compared to one of the most glorious sun rises that I had ever seen in my life!

7:17: The streams had frozen overnight due to the subzero temperatures. I switched to the Ice terrain, maintaining 4 low all the time. Not sure what difference it made, but the car simply glided over. 8:09: Certain sections are terrifyingly narrow where you must pause, judge and then move ahead. And with the rocks jutting out from the hills, the effective driving area decreases. 

09:02: I am now driving on the ridge, the one that I had referred to earlier on the video. Progress remains slow. That reflects reality. Be it ascent or descent, the average speed remains the same - a kilometer every 10 mins. 

09:25: Pools of ice appeared at times. But these were easy.

10:10: Sometime the road does suprise you with easy sections.

11:58: It is indeed painful when the sun blinds the eye. Visibility goes for a toss and you need to pause, check the surroundings before moving further ahead. 

12:32: The rhododendrons which are perched along the slopes, bear hues of pink, red, white and yellow during April and May. I had once trekked these hills during the summer months and almost all the trees bore flowers. You get to see the colours during summer, but the skies usually get cloudy mid-morning onwards and rain and thundershowers are common. Winters of course have the benefit of clear skies. But then everything is brown and barren. Spring and summer brings life. So, one needs to visit these places at different times of the year to get the full experience. More trees abound as one descends till Kalipokhri.

14:25: It is an out of the world experience. There is no perceptible sound apart from the moaning engine, fluttering leaves, chirping of birds. Civilization has made foray into these places, but the pace is still slower than the plain lands. 

16:04: Now that the exposed sections are over, the mind gets to appreciate the places where I wondered may be pause a little to soak in the beauty. The road was wide, the ride was smooth now.

17:02: This was the milestone which said Sandakphu is 2 kilometers. It too 30 mins to cover this distance of 2 kms. I met a couple of motorcyclists on the way, they were climbing up. We exchanged positive vibes because we understood the pain that we had gone through.

18:20: Just being careful in the narrow sections. The trees were dense here and it the cool shade appealed for a moments rest

20:01: This was most probably at Bhikeybhanjan.

21:00: A smooth ride continues. One the streams, in the shade had frozen over, but it was not a problem

22:10: Finally Kalipokhri where we paused for tea.