Sillery Gaon : A hamlet from a fairytale

Basisthadeb Dasgupta is an avid traveler. His passion for travel has taken him to various corners of India. As a  frequent  tourist  he always squeezes out time from his work schedule, packs his bag and sets out.

In the month of February,2015 he along with his friends  went to a series of places which fall under the famous “SILK ROUTE”. Some of them are in West Bengal and some of them in Sikkim. He shares his fascinating experience with Tours & Foods.

Our Journey:

It was 9 am in the morning. Our train has reached New Jalpaiguri Railway Station. NJP in short. I have lost count of how many times I have been here. North Bengal is like seconded home. My brother stays at Kursheong . I can anytime create causes to visit North Bengal.

The place is Sillary Gaon. Travelers are calling it “New Darjeeling”. It was the first place in the list of the places  we were supposed to visit . Our tour organizers “The Spring valley Resorts” arranged everything from Kolkata. The places were already fixed. Two cars were waiting outside of the NJP station for our team. We sipped a hot cup of tea and recharged ourselves for the journey.

The place:

Sillary Gaon is a cozy hamlet  on the Himalayan mountain range. The distance from NJP via Kalimpong is around 96 kilometers. Altitude measures 6000 ft. It took us four and half hours to reach there.

The beauty of Sillary Goan is hidden in its simplicity. A village so small in size yet It receives you with all its natural beauty. Puts soothing balm on your senses.

I was standing on the balcony, looking at  Mount Kanchenjunga . Needless to say it looked gorgeous. But to me it was so personal, so exclusive. I was not only spending  time with my friends and companions but also psychologically exchanging my thoughts with Kanchenjunga.

Home stay:

This small village does not have any posh hotel. But this makes this place unique.  There are many home-stay facilities available in Silary Gaon. We stayed at Heaven Valley Home Stay.  The experience of spending  the day in a home-stay is just what one needs. No lavishness. Home cooked foods. Just the basic facilities. The nature around you is ready to serve you with the chirping of  birds and the Panoramic view. The greenery tuned perfectly to appease your eyes. You will hardly need anything more here.

Roaming around

We roaming around. Because that’s why we are here.  We walked through the forest. Long pine trees, the music of backwoods, the pristine ambiance of nature absorbed the fatigue deposited in our mind.

We went the Ramitey Dara view point.  The distance is 1.5 kilometer.  The place gives you an exquisite view of Kanchenjunga and River Tista.

If you look straight you can see the Majestic Kanchenjunga. You look down to view the meandering Tista River with so many bends and turns.

Damsang Fort, 4 km away from Sillary Gaon , is the  other exciting place to visit . In 1690 Lepchas constructed this fort. In 1864 British destroyed it in post Anglo-Bhutan War. Today only the ruins of the fort exists.

Other information:

Home Stay facilities available:

• Heaven Valley Home Stay
• Nirmala Village Resort
• The Sillery Sojourn

Avoid the months of monsoon.

In winter, the temperature drops down. Take adequate woolen garments.