Acclimatisation in Kurseong

On arriving at Silliguri rumour had it that Dar Jeeling had a strike on and therefore nothing was running!! Luckily I am heading for Kurseong for two days first…

My driver meets me from the train and as the only western tourist I am easily identified J I am informed that the main road and rail link had been blocked by and landslide so we a going to go another route - I guess this is like taking the B roads instead of A roads - However, in this instance you have to imagine that you are driving up a road along mountainsides with nothing between you and the almighty except the skill of your driver and a couple of inches of gravel!! I could feel myself clench inwardly as a looked down over the edges of precipitous drops as lorries and jeeps came cautiously down the road. As the only open route it was being heavily used and it reminded me of the Clarkson South American Challenge program - It was seriously as nerve racking 0_0 The road itself rose ever higher eventually peaking at 1450m and ran along a ridge to the hotel - A beautiful building nestled on the top of a ridge with (on a clear day) outstanding views of the Himalayas. However, the clouds had rolled in as I arrived so I had to make do with the surrounding mountains and tea plantations.

After settling in with warm shower and breakfast it was time to enjoy what Kurseong had to offer - A brief 5km hike allowed me to see how people survived and in fact thrived in this difficult landscape. Tea pickers were at work harvesting the precious tips of the tea plants and bagging them in woven baskets on their backs shaded from the sun with an umbrella each - as I passed a group of them returning from work they were all happily discussing life. Further into town you start to see many shops, all seaming to sell everything that you could possibly want - it is a bit like coming across a whole line of spar shops on one street. One store even had dairy milk chock bars… The town was busy with many people shopping for goods in the market, where fresh produce was available, even fish which was lying on banana leaves sliced up or whole ready for you to point to the bit you wanted… Strangest was the fact that some stalls/shops were selling helium filled balloons in gordy colours and even Disney characters, just seemed out of place surrounded by such beauty in the natural landscape!!

At dusk the plantation comes alive with the sound of insects, a grand cacophony which lasts into the night. Takes a little getting used to but a clear improvement on traffic noises in the cities.

Day two in Kurseong was an education in how the landscape had been affected by the influence of people. Recent landslides in the area are due in part to the heavy monsoon rainfall and in part to deforestation of the slopes. These landslides can be seen as scars on the landscape and range in size up to complete hillsides… The landscape has also been heavily influenced by tea production, the major industry and employer in the region, as tea plants have been planted over huge areas and regularly manicured of their fresh growth. Factories are dotted across the area with roads linking the production sites.

Visiting a tea factory/plantation is a sensory experience in fragrance - as you walk into the drying room the smell of tea hits you and only intensifies as you enter the rolling and sorting areas where tea is processed and separated into grades from 1st silver tip quality (appears twig like with silver tips and costs 18000r per kg or about $400 a tea box) down to tea bag quality (black dust)… The smell from the 2nd grade tea is the best, in my humble opinion but come and test it out for yourself. At the end of the factory tour we have a sample of the organic tea. A real pleasure :) The plantation was on steep slopes with a range of plants in the area - I was expecting to see row upon row of tea bushes but in fact there is bio-diversity with a range of plants mixed in with the tea including numerous trees. It is low season for tea production but we see some pickers armed with sickles and baskets making their way around the fields. A great experience when escorted by an experienced guide (this can be organised by any local hotel).

Sitting back on the veranda of the hotel overlooking the valleys either side of the Kurseong ridge it is easy to lose yourself in this breathtaking landscape, especially armed with one of the specialist Darjeeling teas brewed to your personal taste by an on site expert :)

Kurseong is peaceful and calm with stunning views in every direction. Overall an amazing place to come and enjoy while acclimatizing to altitude before travelling to Dar Jeeling on the toy train.