The rock at Tinchuley. Picture by Kunal Sen Gupta

A walk along a fern-draped trail through the woods will suddenly lead to the rocks emerging from the undergrowth.

A magnificent view of Kalimpong town in the distance, the winding Rangit river way down below and the towering Kanchenjunga range to the west ? amid this picturesque landscape, stands the Gumpha Dara rocks, once a favourite with British visitors.

The small hamlet of Tinchuley, located above the old Takdah cantonment area in Kurseong subdivision, is almost ready to call rock climbers to come and scale the face that was once used by the British.

Already a popular eco-tourism destination, run by the extended family of the Gurungs, the village is now set to throw in its newest attraction of adventure tourism. Standing high at an altitude of around 6,000 ft, the rocks are about a kilometre from the Gurung cottage, presently the only accommodation for visitors.

?The Gumpha Dara rocks have long been forgotten ? now, only some of us clamber over them for fun during sunnier days. I hit upon the idea of clearing a trail to the base of the rocks so that visitors can climb them,? said Manish Gurung, a first-year student of Kalimpong College and now avidly into eco and adventure tourism.

?When we had gone to the rocks for the first time, we found that there were pitons (a metal spike that can be hammered into ice or cracks in rocks as a foothold for climbing) on the structure. It showed that climbers used to scale the faces regularly,? he added.

On January 5 and 6, two expert climbers, A.K. Pathak from Calcutta and Junah Thakur from Manali, visited Tinchuley and held a workshop on rock climbing where they taught Manish and a few other youths of the village how to help visitors climb the rocks.

?We did a recce of the face and then taught some residents of the area how to climb up and rappel down or descend a rock face with the help of a fixed rope,? Pathak had said.

?The pitons are very old and have been made of superior quality metal. The face is around 25 ft high and the overhangs are good for beginners as well as seasoned climbers. It will be an enjoyable experience,? he had said, endorsing Manish?s effort.

?We should be ready for visitors by March. Later on, we may think of pitching tents in the area,? Manish said.

The Gumpha Dara rocks are not without their share of legend and mystery. Below the rocks lie a number of caves that have been guarding a legend for year. ?Folklore has it that more than 200 years ago, a group of lamas, running from their enemies, had taken shelter there with their geylings (long bugles) and jhamtas (cymbals), which they used during prayers,? said R.S. Gurung, one of the family elders.

Others remember British planters, who used to visit the rocks years ago. According to some, the British armymen of the Takdah cantonment also used to train their men on the Gumpha Dara rocks.

The cantonment was later wound up during the late 1930s and the property auctioned.