Chayatal Heritage Home - An outstanding offbeat destination in West Sikkim

Chayatal Heritage Home - An outstanding offbeat destination in West Sikkim

This was our first trip to Sikkim and we were on the final day of the trip. I was sitting idle at  Rinchenpong Hotel and thinking where to go. It was a cloudy day and drizzling from the morning. Though the scenic beauty viewed from our Rinchenpong hotel was quite extraordinary almost having a 360 degree view from the hotel rooftop restaurant, we were unable to relish this as clouds covered all around. We discussed with Mangal Subba, owner as well as driver of the cab we hired from NJP and had been with us all through our Sikkim tour, where to go as we won’t be able to go for any sightseeing if it continues raining. However, after some time, shedding away all our lethargy, we set out for Chayatal lake which is some 20 km away from Rinchenpong near Bermiok town up the hill. Chayatal is known for its picturesque beauty and serenity.

Chayatal, Hee Gaon, West Sikkim

As we went out of Rinchenpong, the weather suddenly favoured us and the sun shone over the length of our journey. We started climbing up the hill of Chayatal. Mangal, our driver was not very much acquainted with Chayatal road as he was a resident of Yuksam. He missed the side road leading to Chayatal emerging out of the main road along which we were travelling. By the time we stopped and asked one passerby about Chayatal, we had driven quite a distance. The passerby suggested to Mangal to take us to Nature Hill Top resort nearby which was equally beautiful in natural view and we would be getting some hot tea or coffee there.

We came out of the car in the front of the Nature Hill Top Resort and the breath taking view instantaneously made me fall in love with the surrounding.  I was so mesmerized with the nature’s beauty that I decided to spend our last night of Sikkim at this place.

So I enquired at this place for rooms but to our disappointment we found all rooms occupied. Hence, I started to search to local dwellers for rooms for the night in homestay concept. I enquired to some local residents whose house on the slope of the mountain caught my eye. Though it may sound funny, I along with Mangal knocked from door to door and asked if they were ready to keep us for the night in their house. Finally I got information of a nearby home stay which was up the hill. I came to the spot and saw that to reach the home stay we would have to climb more than 50 odd steps along the slope of the hill. I started climbing up and after burning a considerable amount of calorie I reached the place and instantaneously understood that my search ended here. A two storied wooden hut about 75 years old, as I later knew from the care taker boy, still very well maintained and recently painted, stood among lush green cardamom garden. There were two new constructions by the side of the main building. From the care taker boy I came to know the name of the house as ‘ Chayatal Heritage Home’.

The scenic beauty of that area is just marvellous giving us almost 180 degree view of mountain range containing Mt Kanchanjangha. Constructed at this place at the top of the hill, this homestay has great advantage of offering such majestic view of the range of Mt Kanchanjangha which is the most sought after criteria of tourists travelling Sikkim. Below is the view seen during the month of November from this location.

But this is not exactly what I could see during the last week of May due to too much cloud in the surrounding. Below is the view what I could catch through my camera.

Moreover, one will get all required amenities here. Rooms are well furnished providing great deal of comfort. Bathroom is spacious with 24 hours hot water availability. During power cut the care taker boy provided us hot water from the kitchen. One room can easily accommodate 4 adults. This home stay has 05 rooms to offer.

Price of the rooms is also reasonable, as I was charged Rs 1500/- per night with complementary breakfast, tea and soup in the evening. This seems to be cheaper than Nature hill top resort nearby with almost similar kind of natural beauty and other amenities. This is not to be mistaken that I have any intention to reduce the grandeur of the Nature Hill Top resort. It is a great luxury resort offering wide range of comforts and facilities to the tourists. I am only saying that this home stay has similar positional advantage with required infrastructure and decency to satisfy the need of a middle class tourist travelling with family fairly enough. Here, I must recall the taste of the morning tea served to us which I won’t forget for long. When asked, I was told that the tea was prepared from the freshly extracted cow milk from a nearby house and by putting cardamom from their own garden. In the evening and following morning, Sri Mahindra Bista, owner of this property, visited us and enquired whether we were having any type of problem. He was a young, energetic and very cordial person and gave us all required information about the place and requested us to visit again before we parted. Dinner was really tasty and was served in a traditional manner in their 75 year old dining room. They charged Rs 200/- for each non-veg meal and Rs 150/- for each veg meal which was in my opinion was quite reasonable at this hard to reach place. In the morning, in the complementary breakfast there we were served a local non veg item called ‘Chicken Shefale’ which had quite an interesting taste.

On request, they can also arrange a camp fire at their courtyard. As the home is surrounded by natural vegetation in plenty, at night one will have the experience of staying amidst a jungle. One will be thrilled to hear the buzzing sounds of variety of jungle grigs all around in the silence of night.

At a nearby location, there is a Rhododendron sanctuary called Bersey which can be reached within 10 minutes climb by stairs on the slope of the hill. At this place enthusiasts can do trekking through a dense forest for 2 hrs. During the time of Rhododendron which is the month of March – April, this place looks like heaven with all the trees full with red flowers in full bloom.

But as I visited this place during last week of May I could not have this view. What I saw is a pure forest which nature lovers will surely enjoy. Besides Bersey, there are a number of places having good tourist craze and can be reached in one hour journey by car. Some are given below –

Chayatal

Singshore suspension bridge which is the second highest bridge in the Asian Continent.

All together, my one night stay at this Chayatal Heritage Home was greatly enjoyed by all my family members and all of us are looking forward to having another trip for some longer time.

Finally I can say the real beauty of this place can only be perceived by visiting this place and a trip to this place for true lovers of nature will not be forgotten and will last in their memory for long.

How to reach the place : Nearly 150 Km drive from NJP Rail Station or Bagdogra Airport to Chayatal Heritage Home, Bijanbari Hee Gaon, West Sikkim, PIN – 737113

For booking : contact Mr Mahindra Bista, Ph No. 9734312288, 8016010757, 9734142249

If you require a small car to book, you may contact Mangal Subba, Ph No : 9647853487, He owns a WagonR purchased some six months back.