Earlier Surendra Pradhan was the part of Border Security Forces and now he has devoted himself to the himalayas. His eyesight is amazing, especially when he is capturing landscapes with his lens. He lives in Darjeeling and Studied Bachelor of Arts from St. Joseph's College, Darjeeling.

Sikkim, one of the most beautiful places on earth is also a trekking paradise for those who are into this adventure, among the various trekking destinations here, one of the great choice is the Chaurikhang or the HMI Base camp trek, which starts from a place called Yuksom (1,780 m (5,840 ft). It was the first capital of Sikkim established in 1642 AD. Yuksom is accessible by road from the nearest railway station NJP(New Jalpaiguri) And the nearest Airport, Bagdogra.

Day 1: Yuksom to Tshoka : The trekking trail begins from Yuksom which passes through dense forest rich with flora and fauna, the trek is not so tiring with a series of ups and downs up to the fourth bridge (Prek chhu), the real trek begins here with a very steep climb upto the first resting place “Tshoka” about 10,000 ft. The view of beautiful majestic mountains Mt. Pandim, Mt. Tenzingkhang,Mt. Japuno can be seen from here.

Day 2 : Tshoka to Dzongri : Another challenging day begins with another ascending trail from Tshoka, Although the route is little difficult it is equally beautiful and refreshing with various species of rhododendron forest and the paradise for the bird lovers, Phedang is a beautiful place to take some rest on a way and save the breath for another tiring climb upto “Deorali” .From Deorali it only takes about 15 to 30 mins to reach Dzongri 13000 ft. Visiting Dzongri Top early in the morning is another great experience, from where majestic Mt. Kanchenjunga can be seen.

Day 3 : Dzongri to Chaurikhang or HMI Base camp : The trek to Chaurikhang 14,500 ft begins with a magnificent panoramic view of various peaks soon after Leaving Dzongri the trial is more or less steep up to Dzongri La Pass, from where the first sight of Chaurikhang (HMI Basecamp) and Rathong River is seen, after resting a while here, the trek is downhill through the slopes towards the Rathong River, it is a beautiful trail to walk on surrounded by a huge mountains, the trek again becomes little tough as the way approaching Chaurikhang(HMI Base Camp) is little mounting.

Day 4 : Chaurikhang ( HMI Basecamp) : There are some beautiful lakes to visit here among which Bhaley Pokhari and Doodh Pokhari(Lake of Milk- gained its name by the milky colour of its water) is most famous. The lake itself is surrounded by the different peaks and glaciers. The lake is considered to be holy by both the Hindus and the Buddhists, even the pilgrims from Nepal comes here to perform the sacred rituals.

The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (Darjeeling) conducts Basic and Advance mountaineering courses in Rathong peak(6,679 mt.) just nearby.

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A river's journey

A river's journey

Gori Ganga (also Gori Gad) is a river in the Munsiari tehsil of the Pithoragarh District, part of the state of Uttarakhand in northern India.

Gori Ganga's principal source is the Milam Glacier, just northeast of Nanda Devi along with the Glaciers of the Ralam River, and the Pyunshani and Uttari & Dakshini Balati Glaciers that lie on the western face of the Panchachuli Peaks.

The alpine trans-humant village of Milam is located one kilometer below the snout of the glacier. Here a left-bank stream called Gonka joins the Gori. The valley provides the approach route for access to peaks such as Nanda Devi East, Hardeol, Trishuli, Panchchuli and Nanda Kot.

The Gori is also fed by glaciers and streams flowing from the eastern slopes of the east wall of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary.

The Kalabaland-Burfu Kalganga glacier system also flows into the Gori Ganga Valley from the east.

Many waterfalls are also found in the Gori river on the way from Munsiyari to Jauljibi.

During the rainy days, the Gori river becomes flooded and has also caused many losses.

Gori Ganga joins the Kali River at Jauljibi.

In the local language

The Gori river valley is very beautiful.

The principal rivers joining the main trunk Gori river are Panchu Gad, Burfu Gad, Lwa Gad, Poting Gad, Ralam Gad, Jimia Gad, Suring Gad, Madkani or Madkanya and Ghosi Gad.