SB drove to Kolkata in the beginning of April and we wanted to utilize the long weekend of 13th/14th April to schedule this trip. His cavalry included his mum and two relatives – all very fit and enthusiastic senior citizens in his All New Thar. In my FL Yeti 4x4, it was my wife (MD) and I.
Yes, I was quite skeptical if Yeti would make it due to its car-like ground clearance, lack of a low range box or even a 4x4 Lock option. However, Bhpian Debuda’s
thread (Skoda Yeti sighted at Sandakphu!)was testament to the car’s abilities and it made me a bit more optimistic to attempt it if the road condition wasn’t too bad.
We initially planned to drive to Darjeeling first, climb Sandakphu the next day, spend the following day at Mirik before returning to Kolkata. But that’s so mainstream, thus SB got recommendations for a few off-beat locales. We quickly researched and having liked what we saw, modified our itinerary to include these two:
Chatokpur - 26 KM south of Darjeeling, located at a height of about 8000 ft
Lepchajagat - 15 KMs from Darjeeling at about 7000 ft.
Day-1: 9th & 10th April, 2021; Kolkata - Siliguri - Chatakpur
We met-up at and started from Azad Hind Dhaba (Gopalpur) at about 11 PM after finishing up the day’s work and pointed the car’s nose towards Siliguri after a quick refuel. Gmaps suggested us to not take the (via) Bardhaman route (NH-2) and instead diverted us via Memari – Katwa – Khargram to join NH-12 at Moregram. The state highway was narrow and uneven/bumpy at places but we were thankful to the absence of infamously diverse and chaotic local traffic.
The Thar’s ability to unwittingly annihilate bad patches of road ensured that when SB stopped at a small dhaba at Moregram for a tea break, I was already about 4 KMs behind him.
We started from Moregram at around 2:30AM. The rest of the drive through Malda – Raiganj – Islampur all the way up to Siliguri was pretty uneventful. The roads were good except for the stretch between Raiganj and Islampur where road widening work is ongoing. We stopped for breakfast at a BPCL owned dhaba “Apna Ghar” just before Bagdogra where some empty “Khatiyas” beckoned me enough to take a quick 15-minute power-nap. Started around 9AM from there and hit city traffic soon after before finally hitting the twisties.
Quick tea break just after Raiganj
Tasty affair at Apna Ghar restaurant
To reach Chatakpur, one has to take a right turn from Sonada onto a very narrow and steep road. It meanders through a small settlement leading onto a protected forest range. At the checkpost, we had to enter our details and pay a fee for car and person(s) before the remainder of the climb up to the homestay via some steep rutted trail. That was merely a warm-up for what the Sandakphu trail had in store for us the next day.
The stay we chose is called
Humro Homes Norbu Homestay. Just google Humro homes, you can contact and book your stay from their website. It is a basic but cozy homestay.
Parked up for the night..
We were famished and were greeted with hot fried noodles and omlette for Lunch. After a hearty lunch, while we were contemplating the evening plans, the weather took a turn for the worse, greeting us to the hills with rains and hailstorm. So we decided to just cozy up and catch-up on some sleep. When I woke up late in the evening, it was still drizzling and the wind was chilly. The owner, probably noticing my room lights turned on, brought in plates full of yummy steamy pakoras alongside hot tea. We spent the rest of the evening chatting, sharing stories of prior adventurous trips (“adda” as we Bengalis call it), and before we knew, it was dinner time.
A simple but tasty affair. We retired for the night soon after.