MONSOON MANIA - 3N 4D DOOARS PACKAGE

Covers: Gorumara National Park, Samsing, Sunthalekhola, Fagu Tea Estate, Lava, Dello along with Elephant safari

Day 1: New Mal Junction to Lataguri. Excursion to Samsing Sunthalekhola in the afternoon

Upon arrival at the New Mal junction railway station/airport, you are received and driven to your hotel/resort at Lataguri. This place is close to the Garumara National Park. We prefer to put up our guests in hotels/resorts whose location gives you the feeling of being either in the forest or in a tea garden.

After lunch, we take you for an excursion to Samsing & Sunthalekhola.

Samsing is a tea estate in the Dooars, a small locality of about 100 houses which has grown around the tea gardens. On the top of the hill there is a beautiful Guesthouse. The silence of the place is disturbed only by the noise of the gurgling river Murti, which flows about half a kilometer below. The drive to Samsing is through lush green tea gardens and the descending mist on the tea gardens during the monsoons is a sight to behold. It is a great spot to watch birds as well.

Suntalekhola or Suntaley Khola (also Suntaleykhola) is a small village and a tourist spot in the Darjeeling District of West Bengal. The altitude of the place ranges from 650 to 950 m. It gets its name from a small stream: Suntaley Khola. In Nepali, Suntaley means orange and khola means stream. This place is nearly 5 km from Samsing.  The green patch on the left side of the way to Suntalekhola is amazing and holds many rarities of birds and butterflies. There is a small hanging bridge just before the WBFDC accommodation.

Overnight at Lataguri Hotel/resort.

Breakfast (No) Lunch (Yes) Dinner (Yes)

Day 2: Transfer to Kalipur or Rhino Camp/Dhupjhora Elephant camp.

Checkout after breakfast and depending upon prior booking, you would be driven to the Forest Department’s accommodation either at Kalipur Eco-Cottage (WBFDC Property) or Dhupjhora Elephant Camp  (WBFDC Property) .

Activities at Kalipur Eco-cottage :

Enjoy an Elephant joy ride in the morning and Tribal/Folk dance in the evening. Bullock ride (Optional) to Medhla Watch tower. If you are at Kalipur, in the evening, you will enjoy the bullock ride and visit the Medhla Watch tower. Watch wild animals from the watch tower and return at evening. Enjoy an evening of tribal dance.

Dhupjhora Elephant Camp:

Accommodation is available in a few cottages but the tree house (named Teesta) popularly known as Gachbari is the one that attracts one the most. The rooms are equipped with attached bathrooms but without geysers. However hot water is provided to your room on request.

Activities at Dhupjhora Elephant Camp:

Elephant Captivity management where you can see and enjoy giving elephants a bath, Elephant joy ride and Folk dance in the evening.

Overnight at Kalipur Eco Cottage/Rhino Camp.

Breakfast (Yes) Lunch (Yes) Dinner (Yes)

Day 3: Elephant safari and transfer to Fagu Tea Estate.

Early in the morning, enjoy an Elephant safari (If not availed the previous evening). Thereafter, check-out from the forest accommodation and drive straight for a unique experience of staying at a Tea Garden. Even before you reach the Bungalow, the drive through the tea gardens of Gorubathan is soothing to the eyes.

Enjoying the monsoon shower sweeping across miles of tea gardens from a hundred-year old Heritage British Tea garden Bungalow located on a hilltop with breath-taking views of the splendid Himalayas in the background and a cup of simmering Darjeeling Tea is the ultimate Monsoon Mania, enough to revive the memories of the British raj.

Well that is the Fagu Tea Estate, in a single sentence, your sojourn, for a   rendezvous in the monsoons with the memoirs of the British Raj.

The most important activity at Fagu is the guided tours that are organized locally for visiting the tea estate. The tour starts with a visit to the Fagu tea factory where one can watch and participate in the process of tea making that involves tea plucking, tea processing and tea tasting.

Other activities include riverside picnic and various trekking and hiking exploration trips to nearby reserve forest areas, mountain top villages and waterfalls, but it all depends upon the length of time you have in hand. Bird watching is als o a popular activity here with a variety of exotic bird species that thrive in this region.

Overnight at Fagu Tea Estate.

Breakfast (Yes) Lunch (Yes) Dinner (Yes)

Day 4: Drop to NJP via Lava and Dello.

After breakfast, we start for the last leg of our journey to NJP.  On the way visit the Lava monastery as well as Dello.

Situated at an altitude of 7,016 feet (2,138 m), Lava   is a small hamlet 34 kilometres east of the town of   Kalimpong   via   Algarah   in   Darjeeling district. It is one of the few places in West Bengal to receive snow in winter. The route to Lava is scenic with the change in vegetation from   tropical   deciduous   to the wet   alpine   trees of   fir ,   pine   and birch . Lava is also famous for the Kagyu Thekchen Ling   monastery, more commonly called the Lava monastery.

Dello , also known as  Deolo  or  Deolo Hill , is   a large plateau with landscaped open lawns and pine and conifers around its edges and a beautiful well maintained lawn and garden.   At a height of 1914m and only 6km away from Kalimpong, Dello is a perfect getaway amidst the majestic mountains for tourists who can enjoy the picturesque landscape overlooking the Teesta valley from   the edge of a ridge.

The  sight of the beautiful meandering Teesta, the Teesta Valley on one side, the Sikkim hills on the other and the Kalimpong town itself with the Kanchendzonga above, all in a single picture frame. presents an awe inspiring spectacle.

Have lunch at a wayside inn (Own Cost) and thereafter, drop to airport/railway station for onward journey. Your Dooars sojourn ends with sweet memories of the Forests, the Hills and the Tea Gardens.

Breakfast (Yes) Lunch (No) Dinner (No)