Tiger Hill Trek

On May 2006, just before the onset of the monsoon rains, we did a wonderful one day trek to the Tiger Hill near Darjeeling. Tiger hill is a popular sunrise point visited by large hoards of tourists. The trek started at 6.00 am from our Darjeeling residence at Toong Soong. We were four in the team. Myself and my Darjeeling friends Srikanta, Poulami & Moumita. We passed through the Senchal protected forest and also bypassed the Senchal lake. Its a pity, we did not see any wild animals except some mischieveous monkeys and birds. Most of our trail near the top passed through dense outgrowth of a species of very small bamboo plants. These bamboo shoots are the favourite food of the red panda. Since all the other members were first-timers in the world of trekking, we walked in a very leisurely manner. Thus we reached to the top of Tiger Hill in four hours. At 10 am, we did not find any tourists since they left just after sunrise. The weather was pleasant with a totally overcast sky. On the top, we made wonderful sandwitches made of mayonese, tomato, onion & cucumber slices. We also had some fruits and boiled eggs.
We are thinking about of some more treks of this type.

Tukvar Puttabong

Sagarda came to Darjeeling on one of his frequent visits. Though he came here on official trips, he always had time to spare. He stayed mostly at the Plaza Hotel. On his insistence, I had to stay with him at the hotel many a time. But this time he decided to stay at my place.

We decided to go on a short trek to Tukvar Puttabong, on the Sikkim side slope of Darjeeling. On 4th August 2006, we took a Maruti omni car which dropped us at the entrance of Tukvar Puttabong Tea Estate. Met the accountant with reference from my friend Supriya Biswas. He worked here once before joining LIC. The accountant showed us around. Outside the factory, there was a big sign announcing a declaration. It states that the tea from this factory made a world record by fetching a record price of Rs. 10,001/- per kilogram on the year 1992. The tea garden and factory themselves were heritage sites since they were established back in 1852.

Started our downward walk. Went to the base of ropeway tower. Started our upward walk towards Darjeeling. Chewed some dry fruits such as cashewnuts and raisins. It was a warm day. I was exhausted and sweating profusely. After a few kilometres walk, we got aboard a pickup van from the Tea Estate. Came back to Darjeeling.