BHPian toppor recently shared this with other enthusiasts: This is my first travelogue, having read through so many logs inspired me to type one of my own. Please forgive me for any shortcomings you may find. I stay in Bagdogra, as many of you would know it is the nearest airport for travelling to Darjeeling and Sikkim. The Himalayan hills are just about 20 KM’s from my home and since school days it has been a trend to just flock to the hills when temperatures soar in the plains. The nearest Nepal border called Panitanki (Indian side) and Kakarvitta (Nepal Side) is about 15 KM’s from home, and as high school kids we have been there numerous times, just to boast among friends that we have visited a foreign country. Here we go to the hills Mighty Peaks However I digress, this Saturday was my better half’s birthday and we thought of a quick tour to my in-laws place in Birpara which is about 120 KM from home. However, the surprise was that we leave the highway and take the longer route where we get to travel to the hills and then join the highway again to continue towards the Birpara. I informed the plan of travelling to in-laws place to my wife and as every married woman the mere thought of visiting their parents’ home she was super excited. I held back the detour plan though. We planned to leave early so we can spend maximum time on the hills and reach home at Birpara by evening, however what is a plan which does not has hiccups. We received a message from my son’s school that he has to go to school on the Saturday as there’s a practice session for the upcoming Sports Day event. The only good thing was that the school will end by 10:30 AM, so although delayed, we can still have enough daylight to enjoy the hills. Stunning Vistas all around Son came back from school, got ready and we finally started from home at 11 AM. We took the following route: Bagdogra – Sevoke – Bagrakote – Loleygaon – Lava – Gorubathan – Damdim – Binnaguri – Birpara For the return journey we did a simple highway run as follows: Birpara – Dhupguri – Jalpaiguri – Siliguri – Bagdogra Man and the Machine We had our breakfast at home, however as we touched the hills near coronation bridge my daughter started craving for Momo and so we took our first break near Washabarie Tea Estate. We all polished a plate each and after a quick tea, we were on our move again. We took the Bagrakote Loop bridge route which is the new route to Sikkim NH-717A. This is an all-weather alternative to the current NH-10 which is prone to landslides and blockages very often. However, looking at the condition of the road, we don’t think this is going as per the plans. The roads were damaged at multiple sections and caved in at many locations. It could not even bear the brunt of 1 monsoon, not sure about how this will serve as an all-weather route. One with my daughter The views though were splendid, on one side you had the vast plains and the other the Himalayan hills, with every Kilometer the views were beckoning you to halt and soak in the vistas. We stopped at multiple places for photo sessions. We travelled further up and the pine trees started showing up, just before Loleygaon you get this panoramic view of the Kanchenjunga peak. It was mesmerizing and we spent good amount of time, just enjoying the chill in the air. Lovely Church beside the hills in Lava It was already 3 PM by the time we moved further to Lava and had sumptuous lunch of Chicken and Pork Thali, the food was simple with Rai Saag, Dal, Potato Cauliflower and Cucumber, Radish and Carrot salad. Lunch done, it was time to move down to the plains towards Doars. By the time we reached Gorubathan, it was already dark, as you may already know the sunset happens pretty early in this part of the country. So stopped at Olive Bistro near Damdim which is run by the Indian Army, had coffee while the kids gobbled on the brownie. After this quick stop, we moved to the last leg of today’s journey and reached home at Birpara by 6.30 PM. Some quick birthday celebrations later, we had home cooked local chicken and slept off. Mountain Craving Next day being Sunday, we started leisurely after having delicious Puri and Alu Dum at home by around 11 AM, since we took the highway route it was a simple uneventful journey. We stopped at a local Dhaba enroute and had Veg and Mutton Thali and reached home by 2 PM. The small break was rejuvenating and satisfying. The driver in me got to drive close to 300 KM and the wife got to meet her parents and celebrate birthday in a long time with them, in the end both of us were happy. Tata Safari our trusted companion Few words for the Tata Safari Adventure Persona’s performance, we travelled for close to 7 hours on Saturday with utmost comfort, whether there were roads or no roads. The ride quality is supreme even the broken patches are not intrusive in the cabin. At one place where this new NH717A joins the Kalimpong to Lava road, the place was steep and a broken patch of dust and stones, I was driving pretty slowly, and had a wheel spin, when I lookback, I think if there was enough momentum this could have been avoided. The Safari picks up speed real quick, and since this is a new road there is hardly any traffic, so on curves where you can see long ahead, we were able to reach good speed while moving along the curves. The uphill climb gave us a mileage of 10.5 KMPL while on the return journey I engaged eco mode and was able to squeeze out 15 KMPL, while doing speeds between 70 – 90 KMPH. Overall it was a great weekend with some good food and a lovely drive. Thank you for reading happy driving!! Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
