A small town nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, Kalimpong is an obvious amazing regards for any nature enthusiast, witnessing a marvelous view of the snow enclosed Himalayan Mountains and Kanchenjunga. Kalimpong has been coined from a fibrous local plant Kalibong or Kaulim, which is used for paper making industry. Today Kaulim is found in abundance at Kalimpong and that is not the only plant to flourish there. The little hill station is extraordinarily blessed with flowering plants and roses, orchids, lilies, rhododendrons etc bloom in amazing profusion there. Flowers seem to grow out of thin air there and we had been mesmerized by the way locals had used them in profusion to decorate every inch of their houses.
Kalimpong’s slopes had been covered with pine, neon green bamboo, maple, oak and fir trees and many beautiful ferns and mosses had crept among them. Naturally the air had been scented wild green and occasional mild mist had drawn the landscape even mesmerizing. Its seems awesome when the sun plays hide and seek between the rolling candy floss clouds and breeze had blown in cool whispers over the Teesta Rangit valley. Teesta is a valley, located at a distance of 16 kilometres from Kalimpong. Located at the bank of river Teesta, the place gets its name from the river itself. Rafting is something that all tourists are seen flocking for, which is an adventurous and thrilling experience which one can have at Teesta in the white water of river Teesta. Tourists are often seen fishing and enjoying picnics at the banks of the river.
Another favorite walk had been to the Deolo Hill viewpoint. Deolo hill which is located at 6000 feet above the sea level is a half an hour drive from Kalimpong town. Deolo is located at the top of the Kalimpong hill which has beautiful gardens, parks and has a beautiful landscape with slopes and tall cliffs. Deolo hill acts as a view point from where the tourists can see the complete Kalimpong town from the cliffs and the Himalayan Mountains at Sikkim from the other side of the hill.
Deolo Hill with its manicured lawns, views and blooming flower beds had always been a visual treat and the rhododendrons had splashed the garden in pinks and reds. That road had held many old colonial buildings, churches and schools and often melodious hymns being practiced by local choir groups had rung through the hills.
Kalimpong is an easily walk able place with few attractions and public transportation includes shared jeeps, motorbike rentals etc. Durpin Dara, Zang Dhok Palri Phodang Monastery, Dr Graham’s Homes and the haunted Morgan House etc are some of the places to visit and nature lovers can opt for visits to the cactus, orchid and other exotic flowers nurseries.
There is also a sizable amount of great wildlife around Kalimpong and being a part of the Neora Valley National Park, the surrounding forests are home to endangered species like the Red Panda, Himalayan Tahr, barking deer. Bird watching is also a very popular activity there and bird lovers can look out for the Himalayan woodpecker, flycatchers, pheasants, warblers etc.
Villages of Kalimpong are perfect for hiking and it is also possible to trek all the way to Pedong. The hike from Lava to Rishop is also pretty spectacular and apart from hiking, Kalimpong is also a great place for paragliding, white-water river rafting, golfing, fishing etc.
On one occasion tourist can visit the Zang Dhok Palri Phodang Monastery. Blessed by none other than holiness Dalai Lama himself, the monastery had been a lovely stop and it had been a storehouse of rare Tibetan scripts. Beautiful paintings had decorated its ceremonial hall and colorful strings of Buddhist prayer flags had fluttered in the peaceful wind. Everything about Zang Dhok Palri Phodang Monastery had been quiet, soothing.
The food of Kalimpong had also been one of the favorites of the hill town and the momos, soupy thukpas and other Chinese Indian dishes are main attractions.
With such luxury of time, Kalimpong had been an indulgent lazy vacation for tourist’s ambitious hill station trip.
Photo credits: Google Images