On Top of the World (Himalayan India)

Photographer Biswarup Sarkar (text derived from Wikipedia), Wisdom Quarterly

Himalayas: Mount Everest (left) and the "Sleeping Buddha" (Mithun/NavigatorIND.com)

"Sleeping Buddha" along the Himalayan range viewed from India (Biswarupsarkar72)

  

Heavenly light, cold morning in the kitchen

WEST BENGAL, India - It's 5:02 pm. We are staring at the "Sleeping Buddha" as imagined by people in the past.

 

Mount Kumbhakarna on the left is the head. Mt. Kanchenjungha (the habitat of "Abominable Snowmen," the Yakshis or Yetis) in the middle is the torso. Mt. Pandim on the right is the foot.
 
It looks divine against heavenly hues. "Heavenly shades of night are falling/It's twilight time..." (The Platters).

 

Lohtse, Mt Everest topped by cloud, Makalu

There are some places on Earth where the [space] creator deliberately creates sets of ongoing drama to test the human spirit for its highest spiritual appreciation for truth and beauty. Sandakphu is undoubtedly one of them.
 
At 11,929 feet (3,636 m) Sandakphu is the highest peak in the state of West Bengal, India. It is situated at the edge of Singalila National Park, in the Darjeeling district on the West Bengal-Sikkim border. It is the highest point on Singalila Ridge.
 
Sandakphu has a small village on its peak with a number of hostels. Mt. Everest, Kanchendzonga, and many other peaks can be seen from its summit.
 
It is a very windy place. The wind roars like ocean waves at night. From Sandakphu the best view of the Mt. Kumbhakarna, Mt. Kanchendzonga, and Mt. Pandim is possible. Together these three are known as the "Sleeping Buddha" ("Sleeping Shiva" to some).
 

Here is an explicit route map created by my friend, Dr. Pallab Seth, with whom I -- together with other friends, Himadri, Raju, and Pulok -- shared the adventure of a lifetime on a journey to Sandakphu-Phalut.

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