Lepchakha | March 8 - 12 | 2020

…Away from the king's palace in Bhutan, Losar celebrations in a quaint little Himalayan village amidst the Drukpa...

Lepchakha is picturesque Himalayan village tucked away in the lap of nature. It's a day's hike away from Santrabari in the Buxa Tiger Reserve forest. Santrabari is famous for oranges (locally known as 'Santra' - hence the name) and used to be a part of an ancient trade route. That being said, what made my trip special was the timing, for I happened to visit during the annual Losar festival. Losar is the Tibetan equivalent of New Year's Day. Its the time of the year during which families get together, dress up in traditional and national dresses to celebrate the harvest and the start of a fresh year.

Santrabari (1st) , White Paved Road (2nd)

From Santrabari, one follows a white, paved, motorable road for quite some time through a forest. Paved road ends a while before reaching the famous Buxa Fort. Its a 2-3 hr. trek to Buxa fort and from there another few hours to Lepchakha. The trail is easy, inclination is gradual with no steep sections.

Buxa Fort (1st) , Road Buxa Onwards (2nd)

On reaching Lepchakha, situated at an altitude of 2566ft, we were greeted by a stupa which was beautifully decorated due to the ongoing celebrations. We found the locals in prayer.

Stupa and the Locals in Prayer

The ethnic Drukpas were from Bhutan hence a lot of Bhutanese relatives and kin had come to visit. Losar is also the time of the annual archery competition between local villages. Although we did not get to witness this live, it was evident that this was a very big deal. We did however come across a few of the ranges where this takes place, these were large open spaces at the sides of hills.

There was no requirement for tents as small huts were available for lodging in the village itself. The huts were clean and had all the basic amenities in place. We spent the next few days walking around the locality and visiting a nearby monastery, most of the roads lay through the forest. The village square was always bustling with activity. At times we found the locals in prayer and at other times people were dancing in circles and drinking chhaang.

Lepchakha (1st) , Locals dance in circles (2nd)

This is a short and easy trek, oranges there are a must try!