LAMPOKHORI LAKE : ARITAR LAKE

Aritar is a little Himalayan village located in east Sikkim district in Indian state of Sikkim.It is almost located at 4600ft high above sea level. The local name of this place is lampokhri. The weather of this place is the attracting part of this place as it remains very soothing throughout the year not too cold nor too hot. This lush green valley surrounded by Mt.Kanchenjunga is the perfect place to rejuvenate yourself and enjoy the tranquillity. This is still an offbeat destination so you could observe the natural beauty of the place undisturbedly. 

DAY 1 : we decided to visit the main attraction of aritar. The place has a very famous boat shaped lake to enhance the beauty. It is considered to be one of the oldest lakes in Sikkim.It is situated at an altitude of 4600 feet and 1120feet long and 240 feet wide. Most commonly known as” Aritar Lake”.It is surrounded by green dense pine forest. The green pine forest makes it more stunning and picturesque. There is a pathway around the lake that has been constructed specially for the visitors to look at the lake from different angles. This algae water lake also offers boating activities. For that, you need to buy yourself a ticket. But as we were running out of time we ignored it. Aritar is known to host the very famous Lampokhri Festival in the month of March or April. It is considered to be the biggest festival of aritar as people around the nearby villages and other parts of Sikkim comes here to perform their cultural shows. 

DAY 2 : On the next morning we decided to visit the very near Aritar Gumpha Monastery. This beautiful monastery amidst the lap of nature is situated at the highest point of aritar. As this monestry was very near to where we were staying so it was not a problem to find it. But our luck was not with us on that day as the monastery was closed. But still, we explored the place from outside. It was a huge and beautiful monastery. You can feel the zen of the place immediately you step inside. After that, we went to visit the Ganesh temple

ganesh temple

v  GANESH TEMPLE: This is a hilltop Ganesh temple situated at Rhenock. It is a newly constructed temple officially inaugurated in October 2016. You will be amazed by seeing the architecture of the temple.

v  MANKHIM VIEWPOINT :  to get the best panoramic view of the aritar lake visit mankhim viewpoint. For that, you have to hike up to the path towards mankhim.

THINGS TO DO

v  Obviously Lampokhri lake is the main attraction of the place.

v  Visit the very old aritar gumpa monastery.

helipad

v  Aritar also has a helipad very near to the monastery.

lover's point

v  Go for a walk after lunch at the lover's points to enjoy the silence.

v  Visit Ganesh temple to soothe your eye.

HOW TO REACH

v  Lampokhri Lake is located in Aritar and it is easily accessible as it is not so far from the main town. You can also come from Gangtok and rongli.

v   Nearest railway station is New Jalpaiguri( NJP ). Aritar is just 104km away from NJP almost 4hrs.

v   Nearest airport is Bagdogra airport. It takes 4hrs to reach aritar from here.

v   You can book private car or cab and even shared taxis are also available.