Sandakphu is the highest point in West Bengal at 3,636m. On a clear morning you see four of the world's five highest peaks from a single horizon: Everest (8,848m), Kanchenjunga (8,586m), Lhotse (8,516m) and Makalu (8,485m). The fifth, Cho Oyu, technically shows from Phalut a day further up the ridge.
The mountain chooses, not you
This is the first thing to accept about Sandakphu: you do not choose when you see the peaks. The peaks choose you. You arrive, you wake before 5am on each of the three mornings you are there, you go out to the ridge, you wait. On three mornings you may get three views, one view, or none. We do this trek four times a year; we have been fortunate twice.
When to go
Late October through early December, and mid-March through mid-May. Avoid Jan-Feb unless you are equipped for snow (and the views are worth it). Monsoon is closed.
A tea-house trek, not a camping trek
Sandakphu is generous: you sleep in simple trekker lodges with a warm bed, dal-bhat, and a tin chimney in the middle of the room. Unlike camping treks, you can do Sandakphu with family — we have taken children of eight and travellers of sixty-eight.
The Singalila ridge has one of the highest densities of rhododendron species in India. If you trek in late April you walk through red, white and pink forest for four days.
A tip no agency will tell you
Do not take the Land Rover shortcut. Yes, you can drive to Sandakphu in one day from Manebhanjan. You will see the view briefly from the car park. Then you will go home. The Himalaya never yields to the impatient. Walk, over six days, and let them open slowly.
