Another Himalayan adventure for gardening columnist Helen Knowles
Life is full of surprises and I really hadn’t expected to find myself back in the Himalayas last year but in October myself and 5 companions set off on a botanical expedition to Sikkim, NE India. Sikkim is renowned for its biodiversity and stunning Himalayan scenery and our plan was to explore the Lachung and Yumthang regions of North Sikkim before tackling the Singalila Ridge trek where we would hopefully get views of Everest and Kanchenjunga. Adaptability is essential for anyone going on trips such as this and ours was put to the test straight away. On meeting our guides at Bagdogra airport we discovered that the Government were not issuing any tourist permits for North Sikkim. It was hoped that the situation would change very soon but there was no certainty as to when this might happen so we set off to do our trip in reverse…
Read much more in this week’s E&L available at your Newsagent or available online by subscription. Click HERE
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