Delo: Yet Again
It was a May evening and seated in the comforts of our room, through the glass panes, we could see lightning streaks penetrate deep in the valleys, sometimes illuminating the dense forest lands. We could hear the muted gale swaying the trunks of the trees. That night, we had a candle lit dinner with rice and a delicious chicken curry. The power supply was restored quite late – but that experience stayed with us long. That was Delo in 2022.
So, this November, when we were wondering where we visit for a weekend, somehow those memories came back and we chose to visit Delo. Mid-November is also a time when the hills are at their best. The monsoons have left the country, the air is dry and with almost cloudless skies the snowbound Kanchenjunga is visible for most of the day. Winter isn't deep, but you can feel its chill. In some parts of the Himalayas, one can also see the autumn colours. The plan was to take a couple of days off drive to Delo on a Friday. Spend the weekend somewhere in the hills and then drive back to Calcutta on Monday.
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| On the Kalimpong- Delo road |
We had booked a Premium room, in the new building, which cost us Rs 5000 per night for 3 persons. It had been a very long day and after a hot shower and dinner of rice and chicken curry we went off to sleep. We slept like logs that night only to wake up in the morning to the sounds of birds. A step into the balcony, we saw the sun up and showering the valley with beams of sunlight.
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| River Teesta flows by |
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| A panoramic view of the hills near Yuru retreat |
Our breakfast comprised of toasts, eggs and coffee. More than the food, it is the view which is appealing. Consider you are perched on a peak, where you are surrounded by an amphitheatre of green hills, some low, some high, but most comparable to the altitude you are at currently. A river flows at the bottom of this canvas and on the top, rising beyond the green hills are the snows of Kanchenjunga. That day, the Kanchenjunga range was visible amidst some clouds and looked picturesque.
If there was a list of thing to do in the Delo/Kalimpong area then visiting the Delo park, Dr Graham's homes, Pine view nursery, the Durpin Monastery, the Army golf course are some of them. For dining out, Gompu's Bar and Restaurant in the Kalimpong market is an old place. But what I love about the Kalimpong are those little villages spread apart by dense conifers, small houses with a small patch of a garden decorated with flowers. Chibo is one such village which we had visited during the 2018 pujo vacation.Around mid-morning, we went on a drive to the villages on the Lava side. First, we towards Rishyop and then we crossed over into the Neora Valley national park and went to Kolakham and finally trekked to the Changey Falls.
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| Twisties along the Lava-Gorubathan road |
We had been on these roads earlier and hence skipped taking any photos. Our lunch that day was maggi at a road side shop near the Changey falls.
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| Sunsetting around the Delo hills |
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| Sunset on the 2nd day of our stay |
Some words here about Yuru retreat. We had been here twice in the past. Rooms in the past were moderately priced at Rs 3000 per night. There were some hiccups during our earlier visits too with the power going off and geysers not working. But with the premium rooms now costing Rs 5000 per night, expectations were higher. The rooms were huge, but lacked "premium-ness". Weather sealing and sound proofing were not adequate. The food at Yuru used to be top notch - even this can't be said anymore. The dal fry, gobi masala and chicken masala were all bland. The waiter mistakenly delivered Chicken Bharta to our room and even asked us to have that till we politely refused. So, with these undesirable experience we chose to checkout a day earlier.
We took the Lava-Gorubathan road, crossed Sevoke and then drove straight to Hotel Badshah to spend the night. The next day was back home.
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| Tea gardens on either side, near Gorubathan |
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| The tripmeter at the end of the journey |
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