Diary of North Bengal 9/ In Jhandi’s courtyard
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| kanchenjungha, from the balcony |
A sudden uproar in our adjacent cottage
woke me up. I looked at the watch; it was 4:30, no, not morning but evening.
Actually, I just couldn’t control my sleep after having rice and Boroli
fish in lunch. Though I had the information that Boroli is the patent fish of
North Bengal, we missed it throughout our North Bengal tour. Finally when we
got to know that Boroli is available here, we just couldn’t resist. The cook
prepared the fish in a magnificent manner. As a result, the sleep, in Bengali
we call it, ‘bhaat ghoom’.
As I woke up, I just thanked the people in the adjacent cottage. Otherwise,
I would have missed a golden opportunity. I hurriedly rushed to the Balcony. Giant
Kanchenjungha was in front. As the Sun was preparing to set, the white peak turned
red. After a few moments, the Sun set and we put up woolens.
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| Kanchenjungha in the evening |
We were having our first Hill Station visit in the North Bengal trip. I got
to know the name of this place from my friend. The main attraction of this
place is much like the other hill stations of North Bengal, giant Kanchenjungha
view. But this place attracted us more than the others.
What was the reason behind this attraction?
It was the photos posted in the website of the Eco Huts located here, known
as the Jhandi Eco Huts. The photos were simply mind blowing. But as we were
moving towards the Eco Huts, few questions crept in my mind. Is the place
really beautiful like what I saw in the website? Can we find the place really
good?
All those questions washed away, on reaching the Eco Huts. It is much more
beautiful than what I saw in the website.
After progressing a bit towards Lava from Garubathan, we took the left
road, which leads to Jhandi Eco Huts, as the signboard showed. After crossing
the Chail River, the road climed through the mountains. With stiff mountains on
one side and the plains of Jalpaiguri on the other, the scenery is really
beautiful.
Our Bolero climbed through the mountainous stretches crossing one
hairpin-bend after another. We could feel the change of weather. Hot weather is
slowly paving way to cooler weather. The
monsoon has just retreated; the road is bearing the sings of it. After moving
about 25 kilometers, a tri-junction came. The straight road is going to Lava,
we took the right one and finally reached Jhandi.
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| cottages of Eco Huts with Kanchenjungha facing rooms |
I understood that we have reached on the top of a mountain. The cottages
are located on the mountain slope. Kanchejungha was covered by clouds, but we
believed we could see the peak once the clouds move away. That actually
happened in the evening.
Jhandidara, a small village located at an altitude of 6,200 ft above sea
level. The Jhandi Eco Huts, is the prime
location in the village. The Eco Hut has its own View Point. The beauty of
Jhandi, is enhanced by this view point. On one side, we can see the massive
plains of North Bengal. On the other hand, we can see the Lava Monestary. The town of
Kalimpong, on another side. But the real beauty of the view point was
experienced in the evening.
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| The plains fo North Bengal, from the view point |
The Cold increased, as the Sun set. The chilly weather was really enjoyable. So instead of confining ourselves to the rooms, we
came to the View Point. As the evening falls, the houses on the mountains are
getting lit up.
People who have gone to Mussoorie must know how the Dehradun city looks
like from Mussoorie in the evening. Here also the case is same. The Malbazar
town is looking just mind boggling. At very far away, we can spot the even the
Siliguri town as well. In the mountains, the Darjeeling town can be spotted apart
from Kalimpong. We were simply awe struck by the amazing location of the Eco
Huts.
After having dinner with hot momos, we headed back to our rooms.
Next morning, we woke up at 4:30 am. No, not by alarm clock. The urge to
see the Kanchenjungha of dawn, woke us up so early. There is a sunrise point nearby,
known as the Jhandidara Sunrise Point. If tourists inform the reception before
hand, the people associated with Eco Hut will guide them to the point. We
decided against going to the place, instead made our balcony as the Sunrise
Point.
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| Surise moments in Kanchenjungha |
We were eagerly waiting in the balcony. The Kanchenjungha was getting
brighter. With every passing minute, the peak was changing its colour. Finally,
an orange tinge was spotted at the top most point of the peak. This means the
Sun has risen in the East. The orange tinge was slowly spreading throughout the
peak. From orange, the colour changed to yellow and finally the whole peak was
white. Not only Kanchenjungha, on our right hand side, we could spot the snow
capped mountains of Nathula.
Lots of places can be visited
from Jhandi. The Eco Hut arranges sightseeing tours to Lava, Loleygaon,
Charkhol, Kolakham, Kalimpong and so on. But we were so mersmerised by Jhandi,
that we wished to stay the whole day in the Eco Hut itself. But after having
lunch, we decided to pay a visit to the Lava Monestry.
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| Lava Monestry |
Located at an altitude of about
7,000 ft above sea level, Lava, the small hilly hamlet of North Bengal is
famous for its Monestry. This Monestry is much younger compared to the other
Monestries in the country. It was established in 1987. Like the other
Monestries, we could feel the peace of mind here as well. After spending a few
moments in the Monestry, we returned back to the Eco Huts.
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| The small town of Lava, from the Monestry |
How to Reach
Jhandi is located at a distance
of 32 kms from New Mal Jn. Avail the kanchankanya Express from Sealdah. Reach
New Mal Jn the next morning. Cars bound Jhandi can be available from the
station. Jhandi Eco Hut can also arrange car,
if contacted beforehand.
Where to stay
Jhandi Eco Huts is the premium place to stay in Jhandi, though there are
one or two homestays here. Online booking facilities are not available here. To
book, please contact 09434116325
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