The village's main formal attraction is a beautifully maintained roadside garden on a hillslope, manicured by the community with a gardener's eye for colour. Flowering plantations, trimmed hedges, stone pathways, seating alcoves, and a small gazebo for meditation occupy the main level; a watchtower provides a 360-degree panorama of surrounding forest and, on clear days, Kanchenjunga.
Colourful Buddhist prayer flags line one side of the garden. The park opens at 8am and closes at 5pm. Entry is Rs 20 per person, among the more justifiable admission fees in the hills, since the money visibly returns to the garden's upkeep.
The Sacred Lake
The park's most demanding and rewarding feature: a cobbled trail climbs steeply from the main garden for approximately 40 minutes through pine forest to a small artificial lake at the summit. The lake is held sacred by local residents who perform puja here; the upper lake is reportedly populated by an unusually large number of frogs, which add their evening chorus to the extraordinary quiet. The climb requires reasonable fitness and is unsuitable for those with knee or ankle difficulties, as the cobbles are uneven and the gradient is consistent. The solitude at the top, with forest on all sides and usually no other visitor in sight, makes the effort worthwhile.
Comments