After a gap of two years from our last trip to Kathmandu and Pokhara, we again went on a road trip. Apart from my wife and my elder son, this time our new companion was our nine-month-old infant. Depending on our stallion, the 2007-made Chevrolet and accompanying our younger kid, it was a little bit challenging for us. Though Kalimpong was on our bucket list for years, the trip never happened as it lies on a different route. We didn’t take any risk to offend our little angel. So we decided on a night halt in Coochbehar. The next day, we started our journey to Kalimpong via Siliguri only to have a glimpse of quaint Kurseong which we missed during the Darjeeling trip as we took Mongpo route to reach the queen of hills. We took the Rohini highway. After a drive of twists and turns, we reached Kurseong. We had quick bites of mouth-watering juicy momos in Kurseong and watched the toy train pass by the nearby track. We resumed our journey after spending some time in the town. The hill kart road is very scenic along with the toy train track. We next crossed Sonada, a small town in the lap of Nature. After reaching Ghoom, we turned right to enter the Takdah,-Lamahata road. It is indeed a feast for the eyes but we missed the majestic view of mountains as it was almost dark when we reached the route. After reaching the highest point, the road gradually descends towards Teesta. From there, it was like free falling towards the Teesta Bridge. Drivers are warned to drive in first gear as it is a sinking zone! After crossing the bridge, we again climbed up to reach Kalimpong. By the time we reached Kalimpong, it was almost 6.30 in the evening. The whole town was illuminated by the lights of market place and shopping malls. Our hotel was little far away from the main town near the Bhutan house in Khasmahal. With the help of Google map, we easily found it and boarded in our pre-booked room.
Next morning, the bright sunlight woke us up and we were all mesmerised by the magnificent view of the hills visible from our balcony. Our day started with Delo Park which is an idyllic destination for all tourists. It is situated at Deolo Hills at an altitude of 1704 m. On our way to Delo Park, we halted at the Triratna Buddha Park where a golden statue of Buddha was standing high. Before reaching the park, we saw many spots which offer paragliding facilities. After buying the tickets, we entered the park which is a nice place to hang out. It has some exotic flowers, beautiful landscapes and some activities like horse riding. The main attraction of the park is the Delo Bungalow which is one of most desired accommodation for tourists in Kalimpong. From the top of the park, one can have a panoramic view of the town, the Relli valley and the Teesta. We next visited the science museum and headed to Tharpa Choling Monastery. It is a Gelugpa monastery which signifies Tibetan Buddhism. Next, we went to Mangaldham Mandir which was our last stop for the day and nearer to the main Kalimpong market. It is dedicated to Lord Krishna. The ambience of the temple is exquisite, well-maintained, clean, calm and quiet.
The next day was memorable for us as we celebrated our fourteenth wedding anniversary in the midst of the verdant landscapes of the mighty Himalayas in Lava. Lava is a townlet in the Kalimpong district. It is only 34 km away from Kalimpong town and is located in the eastern Himalayas at an altitude of 2138 meters. The road to Lava passes through pine forests, deep valleys, some small villages and viewpoints. After reaching Algarah we took a right turn and passed through the Algarah bazaar and drove through a beautiful pine forest to reach splendid Lava. We halted at the Lava view point opposite Pine Park. Tourists need to buy tickets to enter the park which is maintained by the forest department. The place is much cooler than Kalimpong as it is situated at a high altitude. We headed towards the highway to reach Lava Bazaar. Then we entered the Lava monastery which is known as Kagyu Thekchen Ling monastery. The beautiful monastery resembles Tibetan architecture. The monastery has several prayer halls, lawns and sitting areas. The view of the mountain from the monastery is simply exuberant. There are two other popular tourist spots near Lava which are Rishop and Kolakham. Kolakham is a small hamlet in the Neora Valley National Park which offers a great view of Kanchenjunga. There are ample homestays along these tourist spots. The Lava highway goes towards Malbazaar via Gorubathan. One can directly come to Lava without touching Kalimpong from Jalpaiguri through this route. After spending some great time in this picturesque location, we had our lunch and started our return journey. Later in the evening we roamed around Kalimpong market and relished a unique delicacy ‘’Jhol Momo’’ where momo was dipped in a delectable gravy. The next day we checked out from our hotel and started the journey to our next destination Namchi in South Sikkim.
