Kettle Valley (Dilaram)
Situated close to Kurseong in Dilaram in Darjeeling district is best for nature lover. The nearest post office is Tung and its in a place called Chowkidara just by the side of Hill Cart Road. Nearby Tea Estate is Dayal Thong Tea Garden in West Bengal.
It is the family home of the Chhettri’s. Located nearly 10 kilometers from Kuseong on the way to Darjeeling away from the crowd. It’s a 2 minutes’ walk from the motorable Hill Cart Road. The family has converted two rooms into comfortable guest rooms with western style toilets in a rural ambiance. Rooms have private balcony facing the Kurseong town and the far pristine hills of Sandhaphu & Mirik. During winter one can have a view of snow covered Himalaya from this stay. The place is surrounded by virgin green forest of Magnolia, Chestnut with cardamom plantation. Guests are offered excellent service provided by caring hosts, home cooked simple meals served in family heirloom brass utensils, all meals prepared from freshly grown organic vegetables from the home stay garden and nearby fields. An ideal place for a lifestyle exploration and cultural exchange. One will have to stay a minimum of two nights but 03 – 04 nights is better. In between one can visit places like Buggura, Makaibari, Kuseong town, Mamring, etc.
Village walk / Nature walk / Jungle trails are few activities guest can indulge in. There are number of trails around Kettle Valley where one get to experience the rich and diverse vegetation and people. One can take a private forest walk or do bird watching. Take a village walk and see the daily activities of the rural life. The place is surrounded by tea garden hence guest can take a tea garden tour and see the processing during the season or give a hand during plucking season. One can also see the unique cultivation practices and varied range of crops planted by the farmers of villages.
Whole day trek to Chatakpur View point is arranged for Guests. The trek passes through huge forest and hamlets. Guests get to experience the varying vegetation as the elevation changes. The view from the view point is great, you can see the might Mount Kanchandzonga and its adjacent ranges, the valleys & hills of Sikkim and greenery all over.
Other places of interest are Bhanzang Salamander Lake. It is the major attraction of this area, located around 10 kilometers from kettle valley by car or hike for around 2 hours. It is a beautiful lake that shelters the rarest and most endangered species of salamanders – A species under threat of extinction. In the past, it used to be a favourite place for the Britisher for boating and people from the neighbouring town used to hang out.
Next best activities is to train on local gorkha cuisines in an homely atmosphere – The home stay serves various gorkha local cuisines; guests are invited to participate and learn to prepare the local cuisines at kitchen with the beloved owner of the resort. Momo / Dumplings are worth tasting. One can also teach a few dishes so that the home stay food menu gets enhanced and varied
Extended sightseeing tours can be arranged to Darjeeling. It is around 25 kilometers and Kurseong is around 10 kilometers. So one can visit these places get back by evening. The tour can be suitably customized to guests requirement.
Communication :-
Kettle Valley is about 10 km from Kurseong town and 48 kilometers from Siliguri the gateway to North Bengal. The airport of Siliguri is known as Bagdogra while the major railway station is New Jalpaiguri. It takes approximately 2 hours to reach Kettle Valley on the way to Darjeeling if you travel by Hill Cart Road.
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