Visiting a different country is always exciting but it also requires advanced planning and at least a few days in hand. What if I can tell you that you can visit a different country and then return to India on the same day? Are you saying you don't believe me!!!! But I am telling the truth. It is possible to visit a foreign country from India in a Cab and you have to cross the border on foot!!
Well, you can Visit Nepal from Darjeeling and then return back to India on the same day. Nepal shares border with India with five Indian states - Uttarakhand , Uttar Pradesh , Bihar , West Bengal and Sikkim. In the northern part of West Bengal , there is a beautiful hamlet -Mirik. Mirik is a place straight out of the fairytales. Surrounded by endless lush green tea gardens , Colourful flowers, one can play hide and seek with the clouds.
The Nepal border from the heart of Mirik is just around 15 kilometers. So, when I visited Mirik in the BCE (Before Corona Era) , this market topped my list of places to visit. I was really excited to walk across to a foreign land without a passport!! So, our cab for the day dropped us at the border. Indians do not require a passport or Visa to visit Nepal. However, one must carry the Voter ID card to cross the border. Aadhaar card is not accepted here and so people planning to visit this place must remember to carry their voter ID cards. Here , after checking our ID cards we were allowed to cross the gate which read 'Welcome To Nepal'. Pashupati Nagar market is a huge market where everything from chillies to Warm jackets , and food to cosmetics and electric gadgets was available. The shops lined both the side of the road. and on the green hill slopes there were the houses of the local Nepalis with beautiful balconies and colourful flower pots.
A few kilometers away from the border , there was a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. We hired a cab which dropped us at the temple. You cannot cross the border in an Indian vehicle. So, after crossing the border one would have to hire a Nepal vehicle, if required. However, Indian currency is acceptable and Indians can make purchases and payments without having to buy the currency of Nepal.
The temple was beautiful and had a huge footfall of devotees from both the nations. The entrance gate had colourful flowering plants of immense beauty!
After exploring the market and taking blessings at the temple , it was time to go back to my country with a beautiful and unique experience - A foreign trip without a passport , without a visa , in about an hour or two , not on an aeroplane but on foot!!! So we returned with some chillies and a pair of dolls from the market of Nepal.
Back across the border ,mother India was waiting with a bag full of gems for her children to explore and enjoy and here is how we spend the rest of the day and the next morning in Mirik , before heading off to another destination.
Mirik is a beautiful place but is still away from the tourist radar. Hence, what we explored was mist covered hamlet , surrounded by vast expanses of the famous Darjeeling gardens. We walked among the tea gardens and sipped on Darjeeling tea at a tea stall there , hiked to a Devi temple situated on top of a hill , explored a temple of a Nepalese tribe dedicated to Yalambar , spent a beautiful evening at a Buddhist monastery.
This was my first ever visit to tea a garden. The green was so green , often playing hide and seek with clouds that I was mesmerised. This was more beautiful than I had ever seen in any photograph or any movie!! Everywhere there were thickly covered green slopes interspersed with tall trees. This tea garden was established in 1881 on a paddy field with numerous streams(dhara),owned by a farmer named 'Gopal' and hence this tea estate came to be named as 'Gopaldhara' tea estate. We explored the narrow lanes cutting through the greenery and examined the tea leaves with great attention and then felt the urgent call of our souls which screamed Darjeeling tea!!! So, we headed off to a stall on the roadside!! The tea tasted heavenly!!!
Mirik has numerous tea estates and on the way we stopped at the 'Thurbo Tea Garden'.
It was already 4pm after we returned from the tea gardens and our last destination for the day was the Bokar Monastery. This monastery, also known as the Mirik Monastery, is a thriving place of education where monks stay and learn the principles of Buddha. The beautiful architecture and the frescoes depicting principles and tales of Buddhist literature were truly fascinating. Also, views of the surrounding hills from this monastery was breathtaking.
One of the most important places to visit in Mirik , is the sumendu Lake. It is located in the heart of this hamlet. We took an early morning walk along the banks of this lake on the next day and breathed in the fresh mountain air. On the other side of the lake were the forested hills. On moving to the forest side , we were surprised to see little children dressed in school uniform coming from somewhere up on the hills to wait for the bus. All our eyes could see were trees on the hill slopes and we wondered where the colony was located!
While we were exploring the lake side, we noticed a statue of a man with bows and arrows in the premises of a small temple like structure. Also there were small statues of pigs inside the premises. On enquiring a local passerby we came to know that the statue was of 'Yalambar'. Before we could ask any further, he hurried away. On googling the name , we found that Yalambar was the head of a tribe and was the son of Ghatotkach of Mahabharata and his tribe reared pigs. You can read about Yalambar here.
Hike to the Devi Sthan
Just across the Mirik lake , there was a gateway leading to the temple dedicated to goddess Durga which could be reached by a short hike among the greenery. No sooner did we enter the gateway than a pair of furry friends started accompanying us. Their sudden arrival felt like they were waiting for us. They matched with our pace while we climbed and photographed the surroundings. They stopped when we stopped. They waited when we could not match with their pace. The feeling of companionship is something I would cherish forever. we clicked photographs with one of them. The other one was too playful to patiently wait for a photograph.
Finally we reached the temple and the peace and positivity of the surroundings percolated deep within our souls. There were numerous small temples everywhere and the greenery formed an umbrella cover overhead. Prayer flags fluttered and the smell of incense and the sound of bells filled the air. We spent quite some beautiful time visiting each small temple. Our companions waited at the temple entrance for the entire time and accompanied us back to the lakeside. We petted them and then they ran away and vanished forever leaving us with some beautiful memories.
Did I tell you that I challenged nature? I challenged her that I would surely capture with my camera all the beautiful flowers that she has strewn around!! And she took up the challenge even more seriously!! The more I photographed , the more variety started unveiling and at last I gave up!! Here are a few of my flower captures in Mirik.
After exploring the Devi Sthan ,we returned to our hotel and packed our luggage as we planned to head towards Darjeeling that day. Little did we know that God had made separate plans for us that day and that we would be never reaching Darjeeling!! Well, that is another story!
So, there are enough reasons to explore this sleepy hamlet Mirik. From experiencing a passport free foreign trip to exploring the hidden gems of North Bengal, Mirik would give you memories to cherish forever.
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