Unfolding Darjeeling : Queen of hills

Unfolding Darjeeling : Queen of hills

    Darjeeling, Queen of Hills. Really, Queen of hills for a reason. I always wondered, how the unsolved mysteries of life gets easy, when one visits those very big rocks, topped with white ice and on the lap of green valleys, there are Pahadi Huts - so colorful.

Unfolding Darjeeling fig.1 : Colourful houses on the valley

    The was very hectice, as it was my first long ride, rather, our first long ride. With a 125cc motorcycle and a heart beating 125 times in a minutes, we set out for the Mountains. After a long 573 km ride, we finally entered Siliguri, the gateway to heaven. I do remember that we were half asleep when we checked in to the Hotel and parked the vehicles and hit the bed. The next day brought more adventure to us, as it was the day, when we realised that we are going above, climbing the mountains, clinging to the Tar. A warm welcome was served by the chilly wind of December. The curves of the roads, the depth of the ditches, and razorsharpness of the winds were telling that the altitute is increasing.

Unfolding Darjeeling fig.2 : Sukhna Forest

    On the way, we visited this beautiful place, called Sukhna Forest. We took the wrong way and reached one Army Checkpoint. They diretcted us to the right place. I was mesmerized to see such a beautiful forest in the leap of the valleys. However, that was not our destination. We went past forests, creeks and the surroundings was changing like people scroll their facebook wall. A 15 minutes of continuous ride was resulting into a drastic change in scenery, and each one was the best of it's own. But one thing was constant, the Toytrain traks. We were really hoping to see a toytrain, and ride alongside with the heritage, and fortunately we got to see a few. Riding trip has it's own perks. I was riding through the valley and I could feel the surroundings, the chillly wind, and the adventure of course.

Unfolding Darjeeling fig.3 : Toytrain Tracks in Darjeeling

    This trip taught us that nothing goes like it's planned, nature has it's own plans. The funniest part of our trip was we had to cut almost 90% of the places we planned to see, but I was determined, that I will visit Shiva Khola. There are a lot of creeks which has the word 'Khola' at the end. It was a creek, with almost freezing cold water and razorsharp flow in water. I was so mesmerized by it's beauty, that I went down in the water. Just imagine, it's mid-december, we are just a few kms away from Darjeeling, and I went in the water in search of Great Landscapes and returned wet.The rest of the way to the hotel, I was not wearing any shoes and gloves as all of them were wet. Anyhow, we reached the hotel around 8.30 PM. We crossed challaging roads, passed through a very steep mudway, which was a shortcut to the main City. Later, we spoke to the locals and got to know that the way we took, could become a shortcut to the afterlife, as Cheetah was seen in that area in the night. 

Unfolding Darjeeling fig.4 : Pine Woods

In the Later stages, we took a lot of decsions which were definitly not the safe ones, but those decesions created great stories. They way from Pashupati Nepal border to Mirik was another challange. Pitch darkness, graveles on the road, and obviously, the 'Chhalavas'. Both me an my fellow rider, saw Cars coming towards us, but those mysteriouly disappeared and never came. A days before, we heard from the locals about Indian Bla Bears, and guess what? I literally saw a Bear rubbing it'snose against a pine tree. Chills ran down through my spines and the only thing I focused on was to ride to an area, where there were human. Surprisingly, after Pashupati market, there were no single life on the road, not even a Trecker or Local Cars.Only us, and we can hear our engines roaring and it was the only source of heat to survive the chills. The next day, we both went to see the nearby Pine Forest, which was less dense and it was in braod daylight. My fellow tarveller spotted a deer in the woods, and he went after it to take a closer look. But, it was a deer, and it vanished into thin air.

Unfolding Darjeeling fig.5 : Shivkhola

    We as travellers, lost ways, many times. Cruising through the valley, we spent a lot of time to feel the greens, and the oranges, the yellows...and the greys as well. We have seen nightlife at Darjeelling Mall Road, explored the roads through the Pine Forests in the Golden Hours, even sometimes at night. I remember I used to wake up at 1 or 2'o clock in the night to see the clear sky. I tried to click pictures, but they were not as beautiful as I saw through my own eyes. In the Later stages of the trip, we lost our way to Rishop, and reached a beautiful location. I still remember the sunset, and clicking photos living our lives. In Rishop, we trekked through a little forest full of ferns, and found a dead creek there, which comes to life in the Monsoon. The time we paid a visit, was a dry time, so there were very less waters in the creeks.

Unfolding Darjeeling fig.5 : Shivkhola, but it is a dried part.

   

Unfolding Darjeeling fig.6 : Starry night at Rishop

 

    We witnssed Chilly mornings, sunny days, cold evenings, starry nights. I donot remember when was the last time I was so much happy. I rejoice that I lived every moment that I had, and that was only possible because I was riding, and it became an addiction now. I remember, I was sobbing in joy, when I first saw those little colourful huts in the valley, and in my mind thanking God to let me see through one of the beautiful creation of mother nature, The Himalayas.

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