Phalut

Phalut or Falut is the second highest peak of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the four ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. Part of the

Singalila Ridge The Singalila Ridge is a north–south mountain ridge running from northwestern West Bengal through Sikkim in the Indian part of the Himalayas. The district of Ilam in Nepal falls on the western part of this ridge. The ridge separates mountain r ...

in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over ...

, it is located at the border of the Indian states of West Bengal and

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligu ...

and of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. It is located inside the

Singalila National Park Singalila National Park is a National park of India located on the Singalila Ridge at an elevation of more than 2300 metres above sea level, in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. It is well known for the trekking route to Sandakphu that run ...

. A small bunkhouse is near the top of the peak and is administered by the Indian army. Singalila Pass is 17 km away from Phalut. The indigenous tribes surrounding the mountain peak are known as Falutians by outsiders. Falutians have a 300-year history of worshipping the mountain peak, and believe that Phalut is an omniscient god. They refer to the mountain peak as "Omna Re Ay". Cloud effect from Philut, Darjeeling

Lhotse, Everest, Makalu and Chomolonzo from Phalut, Oct 2011

Mountains of West Bengal Geography of Darjeeling district India–Nepal border {{Darjeeling-geo-stub