The Jayanti Riverbed

This is the showstopper. Jayanti, the “Queen of Dooars,” is a village dwarfed by the sheer scale of its river. For most of the year, the Jayanti is a vast, 100-metre-wide expanse of white pebbles, boulders and sand, with only a small, crystal-clear stream trickling through. At dawn and dusk, wild elephants often emerge from the forest to cross it. Just sitting on the bank and watching the light change on the Bhutan hills is an experience. The best thing to do in Jayanti is free. Wake up before dawn. Walk out onto the vast, silent riverbed. As the sun rises, it will hit the peaks of the Bhutan hills, turning them gold, while the forest on your side is still in shadow. The sound of the river and the birds is all you'll hear.