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| Kalimpong - Deolo Tourist Lodge overlooking the Himalaya |
After a hearty lunch at Tangarine, Gangtok, Sikkim, we were on NH 31A south heading towards Kalimpong. The route bypasses the world famous hill station-Darjeeling.
The road was one of the most scenic routes in this part of the nation. The swift flowing Teesta river ran by the side of the road adding to the beauty of the scenery. While sipping a glass of hot spiced Chai (Tea), we were told Kalimpong, had three different origins.
One- it means the place where the local tribesmen gathered to organize field sports,
Second- it takes it’s name from the Bhutanese king’s minister’s stronghold and Third- it is named after Kaulim, a fibrous plant found in abundance in this region.
It was the memories of my younger days which drew me towards Kalimpong. Nothing big to boast about like Darjeeling or other great Himalayan Hill Stations of India. No mall on the upper ridge, no fashionable promenade with classy restaurants and curio shops.
But then, Kalimpong, 50 km east of Darjeeling, probably never cared much for tourists. It was, and still is, more of a, shall we say, "hill residency" rather than a hill resort. More a place where people lived rather than visited or vacationed.
I still remember when one of my friend Ganesh heard a woman's cry past midnight and thought a ghost walking on the floor in the foyer of Morgan House, one of the few guest house in 1964, a large and dark gray stone colonial mansion. Phew!
And then we entered Kalimpong. Through beautiful winding road we passed the old British residences, sloped roofs, chimneys and gables, with lovely gardens and great views. Houses that many Brits and wealthy Indians, opting to live in the town, built early last century. And then there were the Tibetan monasteries seen at a distance, and a brief glimpse of the fascinating twice-weekly bazaars where Lepchas, Bhutias, Nepalese and other local hill people traded their wares. Then we passed the nurseries. They were still there, may be more colorful- and export a mind-boggling variety of cacti, gladioli, orchids and other flowers.
I had insisted.
Though I was warned of poorly kept conditions, we headed to stay at Morgan House, now under the management of West Bengal Tourism Dept. We took a sharp turn and suddenly The Morgan House loomed behind trees still looking mysterious. Then I heard the voice of Tommy Singh who was sitting next to me...
MORGAN HOUSE
...years before when India was ruled by British....this house belongs to lady Morgan...she decorated it designed it. After lady Morgan passes away Mr. Morgan went back to England. After India's independence Government undertaken this house and transformed it into a tourist lodge. People who stayed in Morgan House at night say that they hear ghostly noises like some lady wearing high heels walking down the wooden corridor or some lady in a slow melancholy voice singing some song in her British accent.....people say her soul still stays here...( story by avik mahato)
"STOP IT", I sharply interrupted Tommy Singh."There are no ghosts then and now!"
In the evening we went downtown for an early dinner at Kelsang restaurant at the bus stand known for great Tibetan cuisine. Nothing happened in the night. The ghosts must have tried to scare us but we were drunk! Our snoring might have scared them!!
Amidst a riot of flowers!
Next morning we visited few well known nurseries-Udai Mani Pradhan Nursery, Standard Nursery and Sri Ganesh Moni Pradhan Nursery which had mind blowing varieties of orchids and the even more spectacular grafted cacti.
(Note: Kalimpong also has over forty-six nurseries which mainly cultivate gladioli which account for 80%of India's production of orchids, which are exported to many parts of the world. The Nature Interpretation Center and the Rishi Bankim Chandra Park are two ecological museums within Kalimpong)
In the late afternoon we left for another paradise- Deolo Hill and Deolo Tourist Lodge
+600.jpg "Deolo Tourist Lodge") |
| Deola Tourist Lodge |
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| Mt. Kanchenjunga-from Deolo Tourist Lodge |
The road took us up on a breathtaking experience of witnessing a sheer beauty of green mountains with deep forests. By the time we reached Deolo Hills in about 20 minutes, the mist had started rising from the valley below. Soon the surrounding were covered with a mystic gray sheet! And our hotel? My goodness! A small palace on the top of a hill in the clouds!
Yes, This was
Deolo Tourist Lodge! We got up at 5AM next day to see the nature's wonder! The sight was magnificent! The highest point was at 1704 meters which provided a 360 degree panoramic view of entire Himalayan range. We could see the entire
Kalimpong town and opposite hills of
Durpin Dara with
Darjeeling, Sikkim Hills -valleys and river
Teesta.
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| Delo Lake |
Later we went on a small trek to see
Delo Lake, a small but beautiful reservoir
This was enough for the day- a memorable experience of an exotic place
Deolo Tourist Lodge,
Kalimpong,
Darjeeling
+91 3552 274101/253341/255320
For Morgan House booking, contact West Bengal Tourism Dept, Kolkata
or look for website in navigation menu on top of home page
NOTE: Foreigners do not require any permit except visa