The tourism department of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has taken the initiative to promote the hill district of Kalimpong as the “adventure hub of north Bengal” to give a boost to adventure tourism in the region.

The hill administrative body has also started the process of relocating the campsite at Triveni, situated on the confluence of the Teesta and Rangeet rivers, to another location.

“Some programmes on adventure tourism have been taken up to promote Kalimpong as the adventure hub of north Bengal. During this year, we will launch some more initiatives for further promotion of the district,” said Dawa Gyalpo Sherpa, field director of the adventure tourism wing of the GTA.

So far, adventure enthusiasts visiting the hill district can enjoy activities like paragliding, white water rafting in the Teesta and camping at Triveni.

This year, there are plans to introduce other adventure sports like hot-air ballooning, camping, hiking and rock climbing.

The trial run of hot-air ballooning at Mirik on Wednesday

“For the first time, hot air ballooning will be introduced at Reli (which is around 10 kilometres from Kalimpong). It will be in the ‘anchor fly’ mode, restricted within a height of around 300 metres. A team of experts from Delhi will inspect the spot soon for final approval of the project,” said Sherpa.

He pointed out that due to the flash flood in the Teesta in October 2023, the tourism industry in Kalimpong had to take a beating.

On one hand, NH10, the principal highway that connects the district with Siliguri and the rest of the country, got damaged and people had to take turnaround routes.

On the other hand, the campsite at Triveni, where hundreds would spend nights in camps, was completely washed away. As a result, the livelihood of around 500 people, who used to run the camps and provide different services to tourists, was badly hit.

“There is a plan to shift the campsites to Melli and Pala (both in Kalimpong district) so that tourists can enjoy camping on the riverside again. In Pala, we have a project to develop an adventure park, where we will introduce facilities like zip lining and rock climbing,” Sherpa said.

He said that the GTA was introducing new hiking routes across the district.

These include the Lava-Rechela route on the fringes of the Neora Valley National Park, the Teesta-Durpin Dara route that has been named the Cucumber Hike, and the Reli-Kafer stretch that has been named the Misty Garden Trail.

“Each of these routes is around 12-kilometre-long,” said Sherpa.