Day 1: Mirik | Day 2: Darjeeling | Day 3: Tiger Hill, Tonglu & Tumling
Day 4: Takdah, Tinchuley & Lamahttah | Day 5: Kalimpong | Day 6: Lava
Day 6: Lava and Thangka Shopping
The final day of the trip was reserved to go to Lava, the connecting road to Lolegaon was closed, so it was a morning trip. The road is undergoing significant repairs so it went from one extreme of hardly any metalled road to the other which is almost like a mountainous highway. On the way I got to learn about my new driver’s life history and how some corrupt officials manage to swindle him of his life savings.
The day was overcast and did not make for great photography. Most of my time in Lava was spent at Kagyu Thekchen Ling Monastery. It was built in 1987 by the third Kongtrul Rinpoche, Karma Lodro Chokyi Senge, when the Buddhist community living here offered him three acres of land for the local community of Lava. Though the monastery started off with a mere handful of monks, over time, the numbers kept increasing and today, it houses over 110 monks. Today, the fourth Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche studies and trains here. One can see the monks are occupied in rigorous study of Buddhist literatures and meditation. Built in Tibetan style of architecture, the monastery has various prayer halls, lawns, sitting areas and a huge Buddha statue. The monastery offers great view of the mountains and one can also see Aritar in Sikkim as well as the Jelep La pass from the monastery. Outside the main gate is the market with hotels, eateries and shops where you can purchase clothes, souvenirs etc.
Once back at Kalimpong, spent the rest of the day shopping for Thangkas. Finally found the shop which houses authentic Thangkas. There is a shop called Thangka House on the 10th Mile Rishi Road. The owner’s name is Gyani Kazi Shakya (Mobile: 9832372343), nice man who is very keen to sell his wares. Most of the Thangkas on display are the computerized versions, they are very pretty to look at but are not the real deal. Ask Mr Shakya to show you the real stuff which is hand made, artisans spending months drawing out the mandalas and stories from Buddha’s life, that’s what you want, to take as a lasting memory of the hills.
Day 7: Back to Bagdora and then Kolkata
Finally the day had come to return back, it was a morning flight so left Kalimpong very early and saw the sunrise on the hills. It was beautiful, but time to bid farewell hill and back to the planes. The trip comes to an end but the memories of the hills live on.
Day 1: Mirik | Day 2: Darjeeling | Day 3: Tiger Hill, Tonglu & Tumling
Day 4: Takdah, Tinchuley & Lamahttah | Day 5: Kalimpong | Day 6: Lava
