Latpanchar with a prayer on the lips

4 Nov 2020, Latpanchar, Dow Hills, Peshok

Today was a hills drive day. The plan was to drive up via Latpanchar to Bagora. With that in mind, we left our resort at Murti and first had a breakfast picnic on the banks of Jaldhaka river. Incidentally the kerosene stove I had bought was a huge flop . Somehow we managed to cook the parathas and finish breakfast.

Bagora, from Murti, was a mere 80km. Forty of these were in the plains of Dooars, and the remaining 40 was in the hills. As expected, the first 40km stretch was a breeze. Then the nightmare started after we took the left turn towards Latpanchar at Kalijhora. The road was uper steep and with gradients close to 40 degrees, narrow roads, with over 1000 ft drops on either side, and all that in terrible condition of repair, all the way between Kalijhora and Latpanchar. At one point, the road passes through a saddle, where there's nothing but the single lane road for about 250m and steep drops on either side. If you are not careful, you drop a few thousand feet into the Teesta River one one side and into Mahananda WLS on the other. AT many places the road was getting repaired, for about 20km, and hence had to drive very very slowly on non-existent tarmac and hairpin bends.

At one point took a wrong turn on the road, and had to do a U-Turn. Tried doing that on a hairpin bend. The road was so steep that the vehicle would not reverse. Forgot to engage the four wheel drive during the reversing, which I should have. Instead drove on for another kilometer and found a place to turn the vehicle around.

After taking the right path now, we first reached Namthing Pokhri. It was a lovely "to be lake, except that the lake bed was dry, making it look like a football field. Quickly put on woolens, as the temperature had dropped quite a bit by then. The drive up from Namthing to Bagora was still equally laborious and quite dangerous. Captured that on a video, that I will treasure for ever. On the way, wherever there was a pass or saddle, clouds bunched together, and the visibility almost always went down to zero. It has been the scariest drive of my life.

Eventually reached Bagora - exactly when Google Maps had predicted I would. We were so exhilarated that we survived the drive, we stopped by at Bagora villahe and had a plate of veg momos at a local shop, before we made our way up to Dow Hills. Reached Dow Hills Via Chimney. Saw that Chimney now has a commemorative park, which I have never visited. Maybe will visit when we come and stay over in the next trip.

Stopped at the newly constructed Nirvana Retreat - its barely 500m from my earlier home, the DFO Kurseong's residence - The Gurans - and is a start rated property with price to match. Had a wonderful lunch there. The pork momos were to die for - typical Kurseong moist, soft, delicious momos.

After a sumptuous lunch. did one round of Dow Hills - via DHS, BF School, Director's Bungalow, Eco Park, and Gurans, and climbed back up again to Bagora and then down to Hill Cart Road. There was no way that I was returning the way we had come up the hill. With no servicing, I had no confidence in the brakes holding out the steep descent. I remember vividly how, during the last trip, while descending via takdah and rangli, the brakes in the old Scorpio had given away, thankfully just a few 100 ft above Riyang. Was not about to risk that in the steeper, narrower and worse Bagora-Latpanchar-Kalijhora road, especially when it would be dark by the time we reached the dangerous stretches.

So instead, drove up to Jorebungalow, and took a right towards Peshok, to drive back to Murti via Teesta Bazar. I haven't been on this road since 1982, and had completely forgotten how the Peshok Road looked like. This too was steeper than I remembered it, and by the time we were at Teesta Bazar, the brakes had started smelling. Stopped for a brief while at Peshok Viewpoint, but since the weather was hazy, and the light was fading, could not take a shot. However, interestingly, saw quite a few camping grounds with active tents on the riverbed at the Rangit-Teesta confluence. Maybe someday :-). This road also had a loop - which I had completely forgotten about (I remember the loop on the road to Kalimpong and on the road to EFRC). The ertswhile hanging bridge across the Teesta is now replaced by a very tall and concrete structure. In fact, Teesta Bazar is now a much crowded town on a one way road down the bridge.

The road from there to Mong Pong remains exactly the same as I remember it from 30 years back. Its along of the banks of the Teesta, broken, dusty, and twisty. The lovely Riyang FRH has disappeared, to be replaced by an ugly tourist lodge. Teetsa no longer roars along this gorge, since now there is a hydel project dam across the river at Kalijhora. The legendary roar of the river that you could hear, sitting a the Riyang FRH almost a kilometer away, along with the gently flowing Riyang Khola (where we had spent an afternoon watching Amitabh Bachchan shoot for Anusandhan) and the FRH itself, were all a thing of past, and memories.

The last bit of the drive to Murti was, as expected, fantastic. Reached the WBFDC Banani Resort for a good dinner, and a well earned rest.