Zurich, Geneva, Interlaken, JungFru of Switzerland and in the same way Kashmir, Manali, Nainital of India are well acclaimed scenic places, attracting tourists from all over the world. But then, there are places, which are beyond anybody’s imagination as far as their natural beauty is concerned and one of those is Kalapokhri, a place in North Bengal which is 4 hours drive from Darjeeling. Unless you visit, you cannot imagine the panoramic beauty, tranquility of this hilly village which is shackled with forests. Visiting this place will make you mentally sedate, allure you to scribbling thoughts and more importantly tantalize you for shooting photos or video. The hullabaloo of urban life makes you tired; a visit to this place will lead you to the psychological path of exuberant. If you want to observe, compare and contrast between cloudy sky at one moment and mild sun immediately after that, Kalapokhri is the place to be definitely visited.
There are number of varieties of rhododendrons and its colors are beautifully dazzled to charm you who are encompassed with the chirping songs of 600 types of birds. Kalapokhri is also a holy place as per the old persons of the village. They will also tell you about the story of the village, if you are friendly with them. As per their religious belief, this place belongs to the abode of the “Blacknag” and the name of the village of Kalapokhri has been derived from the black water pond situated here. Kalapokhri is also known for a holy pond which is fenced by Buddhist prayKalapokhri is in the down side of Himalaya Mountain and at an altitude of 3170 meters, surrounded by Singlila national forest. Its hilly beauty, calm and quiet environment, friendly behavior of local inhabitants will make you vivacious to stay there for couple of days to offset the hurly burly conditions of daily hassles being faced in life. The Place is not popular with tourists as it is not well propagated by the tourism ministry of West Bengal, India perhaps because of not that well accessible roads.
After a tiring day, it will be quite serene and rejuvenating to watch the lake view and the gushing clouds. People, who have an incredible fascination for ponds which are clean and clear, offer good reflection of sky and surroundings and also at high altitudes will not be able to restrain their temptation to visit this place.
The distance of the Kalapokhri from Darjeeling (North Bengal) is only 51 Kms. Foods, namely the milky products, meats, she-yak’s milk are abundantly available. By road, one can visit here from Darjeeling. Another route is from Siliguri, again a place of North Bengal, then to Manevanjan.
This route of Manevanjan to Kalapokhri will make you dance inside your landrover (4 wheeler) when scaling up and down on the mountainous roads. During the journey, many small hilly villages such as Chitra, Meghwa, and Tunglur will come and disappear only to take you in the mood of enjoying scenic beauties with time to time closer to napping.
It will take almost 3-4 hours to reach to Kalapokhri of course, in between an entry pass is to be taken from Singlila National forest office at Gouribus. From Gouribus to Kalapokhri is 8 Kms and this distance again will be full of beauties of rhododendrons and may be a distant sight of Himalaya Bear, Leopard. A landrover will cross the beautiful forest of Magnolia, Silver fur, Giant bamboo, Teefarn, Mapel, Oak, Birch, Orchid & you can glimpse the beauties of these will not know when you have reached Kalapokhri and start taking the photographs of surrounding hilly scenarios and after a passage of time, the tranquility of this village engrossed with charming and colorful rhododendrons will take you in the state of mind of drinking ambrosia.
How to visit: Tourist is to visit first Kolkata and then to board a train to get down at “New Jalpaiguri”. From there to Manevanjam via Siliguri by bus. From Manevanjan to Kalapokhri by reserved taxi.
When to visit: Any season except rainy days in between June 15 to end of August.
Where to stay: There are lots of hotels, lodges, and booking is done normally from Darjeeling or Manevanjan. Since this place as of now, is not that famous, booking is not mandatory. Some good hotels of reasonable standard are K.B. Hotel, Singlila Hotel, Pandim, Changu.
From Kolkata, it takes nearly 12 to 14 hours to reach Kalapokhri and it is better for a plan to stay there at least for 2 to 3 days to be in the lap of natural beauty.
à For your ready information, Kalapokhri is part of North Bengal, India
