Place – MAIRUNG GAON in Pedong Block of Kalimpong District, West Bengal . Approx 100Km distance from Bagdogra airport and a few kilometers less from New Jalpaiguri station.
Time to reach from Bagdogra/NJP – Approx 3 and half hours by car if every thing goes well and you don’t stop for delicious local momos and tea in between near Sevok.
Our place of stay – Very welcoming and homely Goroomgo Lotus Born Homestay run by a beautiful lady and a great cook Sajni Sharma and her family. Special mention her two friendly dogs – Gulgule and Puchu.
And to know about the cost of trip , do read Familycation(part-1)
and the journey begins……
We reached Bagdogra airport by around 12 Noon, our flight got delayed. We started for our first destination MAIRUNG GAON by our pre-booked car. We were tired, got stuck in jam and we were hungry. So, we stopped at a local joint for lunch. From the myriad option from menu we chose momo which were super delicious, bytheway. It was our first and the tastiest one of the trip along with Dalle Khurshani(spiciest chili) red Chutney and Elaichi Chai( Cardamom tea).After lunch we started our journey again. Music on. The roads were very picturesque surrounded by lush green mountains and flowing blue-green Tista river.
It was 6PM, absolutely dark and we were travelling through lonely undulated forest roads (although good and safe roads) and finally we reached our destination. As we stepped out of our cozy ride we got shock of the evening when the freezing breeze hit our faces. Our host along with her family and two pet dogs were standing right there to welcome us. The stay was a bit uphill. We preferred staying inside the room rather inside the blanket for the rest of the evening with hot Darjeeling tea, snacks and dinner, later.
It was 6:30 AM, I woke up to explore the place which I couldn’t last night. I also called my SIL my partner in crime. Our first view from the balcony of the home stay was out of the world. Sunrays lighting the peaks of the faraway mountains golden contrasted with the other mountains, yet to receive sunrays, exuding hues of blueish green and lush green of Mairung forest spread across the landscape. We sat there for an hour atleast sipping hot cup of tea and enjoying the serenity of nature complemented by soothing Buddhist prayers being played at some nearby temple. Later we were joined by the rest. We all enjoyed. Later in the morning we decided to explore more but our moms decided to stay back as they were little tired and it was very cold.
After breakfast we headed towards Rishikhola around one and half hour away from our place. Roads were very bad, under construction, at times we felt like returning back but thankfully we didn’t otherwise we would have missed out the utmost beauty of nature. Rishi khola is a place in Bengal- Sikkim border along the bank of river Reshi. Due to bad roads there were not much tourist and we spent few hours enjoying the nature in the bank of river Reshi .
Then while coming back to Mairung Gaon we saw few spots like stunning Milan Top view point, beautiful Saschen Dorjee Monastery.
After finishing our lunch in the hotel we decided to take a stroll of the Mairung village and guess who were our guides--Gulgule and Puchu. Believe me, they actually showed us the entire village. It was pre Christmas time. The yards of the houses were decorated with beautiful lights & baubles. We could hear the folks practicing carols from far. And the view of the valley (Damsang Valley) was amazing from the village. With the intensity of sunlight dimming, it was chilling and we decided to get back to our blankets and enjoy family time over momos, Dalle Khurshani Chutney and tea. We finished our dinner early and slept.
Next day morning we again woke up early to get the mesmerising view of the valley and the mountains. After breakfast we bid adieu to the place for our next destination.
On the way we all enjoyed the various spots of Kalimpong city like beautiful Science center, picturesque Dello Park where one can opt for paragliding.
See you all in our next destination and the best one of the lot. Stay tuned for Familycation Part-3.
Thank you for reading..............
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