March to May
Each spring the forests above the Rangeet and the Teesta flush red, pink and cream. The bloom climbs the hills week by week, so the date you choose decides which ridge is in flower.
Photo: Krishnendu Biswas / Pexels
Barsey, West Sikkim, from mid March
Tree rhododendrons open at Barsey from mid March and usually peak there by late April. Guras, the hills call the rhododendron, and here whole slopes open at once, some trees taller than a two-story house.
Photo: Arijit Dey / Pexels
Hilley to Barsey
From Hilley, about 2,730 m (8,960 ft), a trail runs 4 km to Barsey near 3,000 m (9,840 ft): about two hours at a birder's pace. Red and pink trees grow lower down, with paler flowers and broader leaves towards the ridge.
Photo: Soumen Chakraborty / Pexels
Higher up
Above about 2,700 m (8,860 ft) the bloom runs from mid March to mid May, later in a year that holds its snow. A late snow can push everything back by weeks, as it did in 2019.
Photo: Lay Naik / Unsplash
Dochu La, Bhutan, in April
On Dochu La, 3,100 m (10,170 ft), the forest behind the 108 chortens turns red and pink in April. A trail from the pass climbs through fir, hemlock, magnolia and rhododendron to Lungchutse Lhakhang.
Photo: Pema Gyamtsho / Unsplash
North Sikkim, into May
The road to the Yumthang meadow, 3,564 m (11,690 ft), runs through the Shingba rhododendron sanctuary, in flower from March to May. It is the last of the three to flower, still in bloom into May.
Photo: Amit Merchant / Unsplash
The trade-off
Spring haze thickens towards May and often hides the range by breakfast. On a clear morning at Barsey, Kanchenjunga stands to the north above the flowers, but plan for blossom rather than for views.
Photo: Ajay Kumar Roy / Unsplash
Names to know
The trekkers' hut at Barsey is Guras Kunj, simply the rhododendron grove. Sikkim's state tree is a rhododendron too, R. niveum, its magenta flowers in a tight ball, and Nepal's national flower is R. arboreum.
Photo: Labun Hang Limboo
Planning
Before flights are booked, the Sherpa family at Okhrey, 10 km below the Hilley trailhead, is asked what is open on the slopes. Red Pandas and Rhododendrons builds six spring nights around that window.
Photo: Aashh Subba / Unsplash