Varsey – A Trek through the forest of Rhododendrons
Ahhhh Varsey! Where do I start? Should I talk about the magical forest, the colourful Rhododendrons, the awe-inspiring mountains or the night a cute furry friend nearly gave me a heart attack? May be I will tell you a little bit of everything and give you a glimpse of our trip to this beautiful place which was remarkable in every way.
A little about Vasrey
Varsey (also called Barsey) is a relatively lesser known destination in West Sikkim that is famous for its Rhododendron sanctuary. This sanctuary turns in to a riot of colours in March-April during the Rhododendrons bloom. Apart from the Rhododendrons, the sanctuary is also home to several species of Primula, Oak and Pine. If you are lucky you might even spot a Red Panda in its natural habitat while walking through the sanctuary. The place also offers majestic views of Kanchenjunga range and is a bird watcher’s paradise.
About the trek
The trek through the sanctuary covers 4.5 kilometres and takes on an average of 3 hours. It is a soft trek mostly through the plain path except for the last 1 and half kilometres which is a little steep. So any beginner interested in trekking can try this out.
The forest is safe and the well laid path does not require any guide. But if you want to know more about the various flora and fauna, then you can take a local guide with you.
Accommodation in Varsey
Varsey has only 2 accommodation options, Trekker’s Hut (also called as Guras Kunj) and Forest Barrack, set opposite each other and having very basic facilities. If you go for look and feel, then I would say Guras Kunj is the better option. But as it is quite known, it gets really tough getting accommodation in Guras Kunj during peak season. We stayed in Forest Barrack and found it pretty okay for one night’s stay.
Guras Kunj
Guras Kunj is a two storey wooden hut which has one dormitory in the 1st floor that can accommodate 16-20 people. There is no bed available in the dormitory and people are provided bed rolls to sleep on the bare wooden floor. It also has 2 rooms in the ground floor with beds that can accommodate 2 people each and they share the same toilet with the dormitory. There is one double bed room with attached toilet that costs Rs 2200 for two people inclusive of food and it is quite spacious and good. The charge for other two rooms as well as dormitory is INR 800 per head including food. Apart from this, they also set up tents in the lawn when there are more tourists in peak season and a tent for 2 people costs Rs 1800 including food.
Forest Barrack
Forest Barrack has 3 rooms (can accommodate 2 people each) and one dormitory (can accommodate 8 people). One of the rooms has an attached toilet and for others there are 2 shared toilets outside. The double bedded room with attached toilet costs Rs 1600 for 2 people including food. For dormitory, they charge Rs 800 per person including food. Just remember that the floor in Forest Barrack is cemented unlike the wooden floor in Guras Kunj and gets really cold at night.
Planning the trek
It is quite tiresome to trek to Barsey after an arduous journey of around 6 hours that too in very rough road conditions. So we recommend to break the journey by staying overnight at Okhrey and then starting the trek the next day.
A little about Okhrey
A small hill town 11 kilometres from Varsey, Okhrey is mostly used as a stopover by people going for the trek. Apart from this, we have never heard anyone boasting of Okhrey as a tourist destination as such. But we are glad that we chose Okhrey for the stay as the place is not touristy and provides majestic views of the mountains and a tranquil atmosphere to loosen yourself. This is a perfect place to soak in the balmy weather, sip numerous cups of coffee or watch the gorgeous sunset over the hills. While at Okhrey, you can also visit the monastery on one of the hill tops that could be reached by half an hour trek. The monastery is small, but it has an excellent location providing 360 views of the surrounding hills. Read More….
