Green Lakes Trek Zemu Valley | Sikkim

Photo from the Zemu Valley with the peaks courtesy www.himalayan-info.org

The north east  base camp of Kangchenjunga in the Zemu Valley has been "out of bounds" due a rigid permit system imposed by the Government of India and Sikkim. However, if you can manage the hassles associated with getting the permits then it is one of the most rewarding walks in the Himalaya. South Col  has trekked this route twice the last time in October 2014. The details of the route are below:

October 27^th 2014 Gangtok to Lachen 2750 metres 6-7 hours

We left Gangtok on a sunny autumn morning with Kangchenjunga floating in the clouds. The road followed the North Sikkim highway and we followed the valley of the Teesta river all the way to Chungthang where the permits were checked. Travelling along this road I thought of the early pioneers like Paul Bauer, Douglas Freshfield, and Vittorio Sella who has walked along Teesta valley on their way to Lachen. We stayed the night at the very luxurious and comfortable Apple Orchard Hotel.

October 28^th 2014 - Drive Lachen to Zema and then trek Zema to Tallem 3250 metres  4½ hrs.

 The morning was cold and cloudy and the group had breakfast at Apple Orchard at 8 AM and left by 9.30 AM.  There was a problem with one of our vehicles so we walked part of the way until Zema.  There was another problem at Zema about the weight of porter loads but this was also sorted out. We left Zema at 10.30 AM after receiving Khadas for our full group.   The trail went down from Zema to the river and there were a lot of landslides to be crossed on the trail in the first two hours – the upper trail has been damaged by landslides and the current lower trail follows the Zemu Chu river. In many sections there is no trail and the path requires clambering from boulder to boulder using both hands. There is a steep section like a chimney which needs to be climbed up with cascading water spraying the trekker from a nearby waterfall.  We stopped for lunch around 1.20 PM in a clearing near the river. There is a proper trail after lunch which climbs above the Zemu Chu through some very pleasant forest of ferns and rhododendrons. Just before the camp site of Tallem, the trail passes through a large meadow which at this season had plenty of dried flowers. It would have been a spectacular site in summer. Tallem was reached around 3 PM – the walk took 4½ hours with a half hour lunch stop. The weather remained cloudy in the evening with low mist covering the tree tops.

Sikkim Flora | Yumthang and Yume Samdong Valley in June

At the start of the monsoon in early June and after the crowds have gone the valley between Yumthang and Yume Samdong  in North Sikkim presents a floral spectacle which is not seen by many. Here are some photographs of the flora of the valley.

Green Lakes Trek in North Sikkim

Off limit to trekkers for many years and rigidly controlled by a permit system, few have made it to the north east base camp of Kangchendzonga. I was fortunate to make two visits to Green Lakes, once way back in 1987 along with an Assam Rifles expedition to Kangchenjunga and again in 2014 leading a South Col trek to the Zemu Valley. These photographs are from the 2014  trek to this magical valley! For a route of this trek do visit http://www.southcol.com/treks-nepal/green-lakes-trek-in-north-sikkim/

The north east face of Kangchenjunga from above the Green Lakes Base Camp

The forest between Jakthang and Yabuk

Siniolchu as seen from my tent at Rest Camp

Walking from Rest Camp to Green Lakes

Langpo Peak

The Zemu Glacier

The Twins at the back and Tent Peak in front

Useful Links

http://www.sujoydas.com/Sikkim-Himalaya/The-Green-Lakes-Trek-in-North-

http://www.sujoydas.com/Sikkim-Himalaya/The-Forests-of-the-Zemu-Valley/

http://www.outlooktraveller.com/photo-features/sikkim-kanchenjunga-base-camp-trek-in-pictures-1007363  

Green Lakes, North Sikkim: Kangchenjunga 1987 and 2014

The photograph on the left was taken in May 1987 and the one of the right in November 2014 from more or less the same location. The lake is now dry and the red line in both photos show how the angle of the moraine of the glacier has also changed.

In the summer of 1987, I was fortunate to join an Assam Rifles expedition to Kanchenjunga led my Major General Kukreti. I was very keen to reach Green Lakes the base camp of the expedition in the Zemu Valley.

So finally in May 1987, I made it to Green Lakes and spend a few days with the expedition, photographing in and around this fascinating valley.

At that time, I decided that I would one day bring a team of trekkers to the Zemu Valley to see this fabulous dress circle of peaks.

It took me twenty seven years to realise my dream. Finally, on 3rd November 2014, our team of seven trekkers reached the Green Lakes base camp on a sunny afternoon.

I walked up to the spot where I had photographed the reflection of Kanchenjunga in the waters of the lake. To my shock I found that the lake had dried up! Where I had seen an expansive sheet of water was now a rocky mud flat!

This was the first time in my life that I had been actually exposed to retreating glaciers and the effects of climate change first hand.

It was a very sobering experience. Other than a small muddy pool there is no water left at Green Lakes.

It is possible that this pool will also soon dry up and then the last water source will have vanished ending the possibility of camping there.

It will also make it very difficult for future mountaineering expeditions who use Green Lakes as a base camp for climbing different peaks in the valley.

The photograph below taken from a high point above the Green Lakes base camp shows the dried up Green Lake and the muddy pool to the left. The peaks are to the east of Kangchenjunga and the Zemu Glacier is below.