Monkeys in the mist
Th e elephant moves like a rumbling boulder through sal-forested Sukna, the gateway to the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary. A military truck drives through the jungle road. If you are lucky, you can get a glimpse of the heritage Darjeeling Himalayan Railway stop to catch its breath before its ascent to Ghoom, the highest point in its journey. Sukna is also where American writer Mark Twain, in the 1890s, famously claimed that a telegram to Calcutta was sent off with the message, “Tiger eating station-master on front porch, telegraph instructions”. The sanctuary was established in 1959 to protect the gaur and the Bengal tiger. But it is leopards that often visit those who live on the outskirts of Siliguri, the major town in North Bengal. Nearly 700 acres have been marked out for the Bengal Safari, where you can see armour-plated rhinos, wild boars, spotted deer and a host of rare birds. Further, stands the arched Coronation Bridge, framed against the Teesta, built to commemorate the coronation of King George VI in 1937. Watch out for the monkeys that descend from the mist to steal your cake.
Two leaves and a bud
The winding road from Chalsa, located between the Gorumara National Park and Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary, to Samsing is draped with overgrown ferns, serried tea bushes and long-limbed trees. Clouds as fine as knitted lace skim the tops of branches and the temperature drops a few notches. I wrap my fingers around a cup of tea, as golden as the sunbeams contending for dominion over the estates scattered over the undulating landscape. This is prime tea country. Malbazar subdivision — the town has a charming clock tower — brims with estates and rusting tin-roofed factories that supply to well-known tea brands. Some of the managers in these outposts of a long-dead Empire still live the life of sahibs with bougainvillea-crowned bungalows where they ring for tea and crumpets. A crowd of tea-pickers stops to watch an elephant that has taken over the garden. On a clear day, the snow-clad peaks of Bhutan are visible, but today the sky murmurs with thunder. Jackals howl in the distance and I hurry from the broad-leafed patch where I had been forest bathing in the fading light to the road.
A river runs through it
Panoramic image of India Bhutan border at Jhalong , Dooars - West Bengal , India
You can hear the susurrating of the mountain stream at Suntalekhola even before you arrive at the suspension bridge looped gracefully over it. Only five persons are allowed at a time on it and visitors to the forest lodge on the other side stop to stare at the water skipping over the rocks below. The bridge sways gently to a long-forgotten rhythm. Located near the Neora Valley National Park, forest paths wind through sharp-scented orchards plump with small oranges. This haven for birdwatchers is so quiet you can hear the Red-vented bulbul argue with the Spangled drongo. At Rocky Island, helmed by cottages with lace curtains and potted geraniums, watch the Murti river crash its way to the plains. You can climb the glistening, smooth rocks, dip your feet in icy, clear waters or explore the caverns where butterflies flit in and out. Jelep La that connects India and Tibet is a trek away. At twilight, stop at Lali Guras, a green cleft in the earth where the Murti winds its way below, and rhododendron-speckled mountains, stand sentinel. When the first stars shine, you know you are in a land before time.
