We wanted a respite from the heat and humidity of Kolkata, but we didn’t want rain!!! That was the very first thought that came into my mind when we alighted the Uttar Banga Express. In fact, it started raining as our train chugged into the New Jalpaiguri (NJP) Station. It was the summer of 2022, and we had planned for a short trip to the quiet and scenic villages of Tinchuley, Takdah, Lamahatta and Chatakpur, in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. All these places cater to stunning views of the Kanchenjunga range, but rain and clouds can be a spoilsport if the lady luck is not in your favour.
As we came of out of the station, holding our umbrellas high and the kids wearing their raincoats, we met Satish Tamang, who had come to pick us up.
Our itinerary:
Let me first state our itinerary so that it becomes easy for you as you browse further:
- Day 1: Reach New Jalpaiguri (NJP) and transfer to Tinchuley. Enroute visit Teesta Valley Tea Estate, Poomong Barbotey Hanging Bridge, Runglee Rungliot Tea Estate, Takdah British bungalow, Takdah Orchid Centre.
- Day 2: Local sightseeing that included Taklin Monastery, Nirmal Farms in Bara Mungwa, Peshok Tea Garden, Lovers’ Meet View Point, Lamahatta Eco Park and Gumbadara View Point.
- Day 3: Transfer to Chatakpur. Visit Kali Pokhri.
- Day 4: Sightseeing in Kurseong, on the way back to NJP.
Day 1: Sightseeing on the way to Tinchuley and Takdah:
The journey from NJP to the Teesta Valley Tea Estate took us around 2 hours. Luckily, the rain had stopped, but it was still cloudy. We got out of our car and entered the lush green tea garden through a stepped pathway. The gentle slope of the tea garden, descending into a valley below and ascending again to an adjacent hill created a picturesque landscape. Outside the tea garden is the statue of a martyred local resident, who died in the Kargil war.
Next, on the way to the Runglee Rungliot, we took a diversion and reached the Poomong Barbotey Hanging Bridge. This place is not a part of the standard sightseeing points, and we had to explicitly request Satish ji to take us there (of course, at an extra cost). This British era hanging bridge is situated over a mountain stream, with towering trees all around. It is now no longer usable and its entrance is fenced off. The otherwise tranquil atmosphere here is often muddled by the rhythmic chirping of crickets.
There is a legend that a Chinese monk was travelling around the world for the perfect cup of tea. At last he arrived at the Teesta Valley where he savoured that “perfect” tea, and named the tea garden “Runglee Rungliot” or “This far and no further” in his language.
I don’t know how true this legend is, but Runglee Rungliot is the most beautiful tea garden I have ever been to. Visit the place, and you would surely agree with me. The entire environ here is spectacular and majestic. We went down the meandering path inside the garden and experienced the workers plucking the tea leaves.
After spending some quality time at the Runglee Rungliot, we continued our journey. Takdah (or Tukdah) is a sleepy town but a major one if you consider the geography of the region. In case you have forgotten some essential stuff for your trip, like cash, medicines etc, don’t miss to get it from here.
In the last few years, lots of homestays have been developed here, but the major attractions here are the British era bungalows. These bungalows are now owned either by the local residents or by the government, and some of them are rented out to the tourists.
Satish ji took us to the Takdah Club Bungalow, which is now owned by the West Bengal Forest Department and can be booked by tourists for their stay. The compound consists of the centrally located bungalow and a lawn in front of it. If you want to experience the bygone era, this is definitely a place where you can stay a night or two, but there is no view of the Kanchenjunga range from here.
Our last sightseeing point of the day was at the Takdah Orchid Centre, situated at a walking distance from the bungalow. Spread across a sprawling complex, the place consists of a few single-storied glass buildings that house a wide variety of orchids, and some well manicured lawns. The Orchid Centre has recently been taken over by the West Bengal Forest department, and since then it remains closed on Sundays.
Arrived at the Tinchuley Rai Resort:
With our plan for the day well accomplished, we headed towards our abode for the next 2 nights – Tinchuley Rai Resort. We reached there around 1.30 PM. The entire journey, including the sightseeing took us around 4.5 hours.
We were dead hungry by this time. So we quickly had a bath and then devoured the homely lunch consisting of rice, potato fries, vegetables, pulses and egg curry.
On a clear sunny day, you can view the Kanchenjunga range clearly from the comfort of your room in the Rai Resort. But the luck was not in our favour (and that continued for the rest of our stay) – it was cloudy with no visibility of the majestic range.
Another advantage of staying in the Rai Resort is that, they have their own View point. It provides a magnificent and (almost) 360 degree view of the surroundings, including the Kanchenjunga. It also has a swing and few wooden benches. We spent an hour lazying around here, and then came back to our cottage.
In the evening we enjoyed piping hot cups of Darjeeling tea with vegetable pakoda; followed by chapatti and chicken curry at night. The food was awesome. Last night we didn’t have a good sleep in the train, so we retired early.
Day 2: The Sunrise:
We got up around 4.30 AM and looked outside. It was cloudy. But we were still optimistic to experience a great sunrise and headed towards the resort’s View point. Other guests also started gathering, but being a private view point, it was not much crowded. We patiently waited for some time till the Sun rose. Due to the clouds, the sunrise was ultimately not that grand.
As the morning progressed, the sky cleared up a bit. Around 8 AM, as we were getting ready for our breakfast, we could see the Kanchenjunga for the first time, although it was too faint to capture in our camera. The resort staff informed us that, it was the best sighting in the last 2 months. They also suggested us to visit the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts during mid-October to January, as that time the weather is normally clear and sunny and the Kanchenjunga is visible clearly.
Day 2: Sightseeing around Tinchuley:
Normally the following points are covered in a sightseeing trip from Tinchuley: Taklin Monastery, Peshok Tea Garden, Lovers Meet View Point, Triveni Sangam, Lamahatta Eco Park, Gumbadara View Point, Tinchuley Monastery and Tinchuley View Point. We had already visited the Triveni Sangam during our Kalimpong trip, so we requested Satish ji to include the Nirmal Farms in the itinerary.
In the morning Satish ji called us to inform that he had got some urgent work, and he is sending another person – Gyanen Rai to show us around. Gyanen ji arrived around 9 AM and we started soon after.
Our first stop of the day was at the Dupkhang Choiekhorling Monastery, popularly known as the Taklin Monastery. It is a two storied building with a couple of prayer rooms. The environment was so peaceful that we sat down in one of these rooms and rejuvenated our mind and soul.
At the back-side of the monastery, an Enlightment Stupa has been constructed recently. This place provides breathtaking views of the nearby hills and the Teesta River flowing below.
Bara Mungwa is known for its Orange orchards that bear a great sight during the winter months. We passed these orchards as we reached the Nirmal Farms. It is sort of a factory outlet, where they prepare and sell products made from the local produce. There is a variety of fruit jam, marmalade, juice, pickle and tea to taste and for sale. We purchased few items like Green Mango jam, Ginger jam, Orange squash and their famous Bamboo shoots pickle.
Then we headed a few steps downstairs, where they sell freshly made juice, tea and coffee. The juice for that day was Pineapple Juice, which they prepared in front of us. And I can say that was one of the best juices that I ever had.
Next we moved towards the Peshok Tea Estate. On the way, we stopped at an unnamed View point with nice view of the Kalimpong Hills. Peshok is another nice place to be among the tea plants. We walked along the narrow pathways for some time and then headed towards the Lovers’ Meet View Point.
In my blog on Kalimpong, I had taken you to the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of Rangeet and Teesta rivers. The place from where you can catch a bird’s eye view of this confluence is known as the Lovers’ Meet View Point. It is a great visual treat for any nature lover; with the green Kalimpong hills on one side and Sikkim hills on the other and the two rivers meeting in between.
Both the Peshok Tea Garden and Lovers’ Meet View Point have food joint stalls, where you can grab a quick bite.
The Lamahatta Eco Park was developed as recently as in 2012. But due to the immense popularity that the place has gained, a lot of homestays have come up here. These homestays are located on one side of the road and the park is on the other side.
Once we entered the park, we were greeted by a beautiful and well maintained garden full of colourful flowers and orchids. In the middle, is a wooden tree house, from where we got stunning views of the surrounding places.
The main attraction here is the 750 meter trek to a sacred lake. This trail, along the towering Pine and Dhupi trees is astounding. There are wooden and bamboo benches on the way where you can take rest. It took us around 45 minutes to reach the top.
The trek itself is a little difficult for elderly and for persons having problem with their lower limbs. But that should not be a deterring factor for you not to visit Lamahatta. You can anyways spend some quality time here sitting in the garden amongst the nature.
By the time we came down after visiting the lake, we were very hungry and we headed for the Mountain View Homestay, located just opposite to the entry gate. Unlike most of the other homestays in the district, the ones here double up as restaurants to the visitors to the park. We enjoyed a bowl of hot chicken Thupka and momo at their first floor restaurant, from where we also had a scintillating view of the Eco Park.
Post lunch, we started our way back to Tinchuley. On the way, we stopped at the Gumbadara View Point. This is another place from where you can get spectacular views of the Kanchenjunga range on a clear day.
Gumbadara was our last point of the day, as the Tinchuley monastery was closed and the Tinchuley View Point provides the same view as we got the private view point of the Rai Resort.
In the evening, it started drizzling and the temperature came down by a couple of notches. At night, we opened the door of our cottage and could even feel the cloud entering our room.
Tomorrow, we would move to Chatakpur, an unspoilt and virgin village, situated at a distance of around 36 KM from here. So, we started packing our belongings, along with the memories of the small hamlet that will surely last for long.
Some useful information and tips:
Best time to visit Tinchuley, Takdah and Lamahatta:
Many tourists travel to the hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong during the summer holidays to get a respite from the heat of the plains. But, the best time to visit to the region is during the extended winter months, i.e. mid-October to February. During this time, the sky is normally clear and you will get an exquisite view of the Kanchenjunga range. We travelled in May, when it remained mostly cloudy.
Review of the Tinchuley Rai Resort:
Rai Resort is one of the most sought-after properties here, due to its location and the hospitality of Mr. Ajit Rai and his family. The added advantage here is the private view point, as I already mentioned earlier.
The very first thing that will attract you here are the colourful and vibrant cottages. You can view the Kanchenjunga from almost all these rooms. We stayed in the Sunakhari cottage, which was clean and cosy. For this cottage, the charges were Rs. 1900 per night.
Another advantage here (as compared to other homestays in this region) is that the lodging and food charges are separate. The food here is normally charged at a package basis – Rs. 650 per person for day, which includes 4 meals – lunch, evening snacks, dinner and breakfast. This is even customizable. For example, for our 2 kids we took 1 food package. Also, for the day when we had lunch outside, Mr. Rai adjusted the corresponding amount.
The Rai Resort also has its own fleet of cars, which you can book for your travel needs. Although we didn’t avail this service, after speaking to other guests it seemed to me that they are little costlier than the outside rate.
You can book the Rai Resort online from their website: http://www.tinchulayrairesort.com/.
The story of Rai Resort would remain incomplete if I don’t tell you about Messi – the German Shepherd, and a star attraction here. I have never seen such a calm and friendly dog before. He followed us everywhere we went, and enjoyed whenever we cuddled him. Messi was always accompanied his friends – Ronaldo (a Spitz) and Kale (an Alsatian).
During the time of check-out, Mr. Rai and his wife followed their traditional custom of gifting us with a scarf.
Details of Car:
We travelled from NJP to Tinchuley in the Wagon-R of Satish Tamang (+91-86170-89135). This trip, including all the sightseeing, had cost us Rs. 3200.
For the Local sightseeing, Gyanen Rai (+91- 78726-67614) charged us Rs. 2800. He also drives a Wagon-R.
Both of them were very nice, and I would recommend them if you are visiting this part of Darjeeling.
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