Kalimpong

A further summer resort from the colonial times is enticing for relaxation on the way back from Sikkim. Kalimpong, at only 1250m above sea level, is a popular holiday resort thanks to its pleasant climate even during the winter. It is also known for its nurseries that boast of a large collection of plants and flowers of different varieties. The Flora and Fauna is particularly enriched by the different species of birds. The view of the Kanchenjunga in the background adds to the fascinating experience during the walks through countryside...

Deolo Hill, Dr. Graham's Homes, Durpin Dara, Zangdogpalri Fobrang

Durpin Dara and Deolo Hill are the two view points in Kalimpong that give you an overwhelming view of the 8589m high Himalayan peak and the mountains in the foreground. You should take a taxi up there before sunrise, especially if the weather in Darjeeling and Sikkim has not been very clear. Some monasteries and temples and the Wednesday market are also worth seeing in Kalimpong.
On the way to Deolo Hill you pass through the extensive campus of Dr. Graham's Homes, a school of a very special kind. Like in Darjeeling, there are also boarding schools which date back to the diligent missionary activities of various English sects. The school which was established by Dr. John Anderson Graham in 1900 does not only educate the students in theoretical subjects. The school owns a farm, a chicken farm, a dairy, a bakery and a hospital. The girls and boys live on the campus in small, picturesque houses which are hidden between bushes and flowers.
Durpin Dara, the other viewpoint, is also associated with a place of learning. In the monastery of Zangdogpalri Fobrang, novices are acquainted with the teachings of Buddha. The monastery, surrounded by a military zone, was constructed as recently as 1952. It belongs to the old school of the Nyingmapa, like Pemayangtse Monastery in Sikkim. The novices who are trained here give a ceremony with musical instruments regularly every afternoon. On this occasion visitors may photograph from a distance.

Tharpa Choling, Chinese Monastery

Tharpa Choling Monastery was pulled down in 1995 to be rebuilt. Some monks still live here and novices are given monastic training. Built in 1937, it is the oldest one of the three Gelugpa monasteries in Kalimpong...
...The abbot's flat is in the old palace next door where a small Chinese Monastery is also being built. He lives in the United States where he presides over a Buddhist organisation. With the donations he receives he can support his parish in Kalimpong with the reconstruction of the temple.
The Chinese Monastery has lost its importance since the passes to Tibet were closed in 1959, and the Chinese traders who lived here or in Delhi, Calcutta and other north Indian cities, have left because of the tension between India and China. An old monk still looks after the small temple and carries out the rituals for happy journey or the promising fulfilment of some other undertaking in exchange for a donation...

Zhekar Choede, Thongsa Bhutia Busty

Not far from the Chinese Monastery, in the midst of noisy car repair shops, some Gelugpa monks from the west Tibetan monastery Zhekar Choede settled down after they escaped from Tibet. Many died after the strenuous escape and the difference in climate decimated the community of the monks. Nevertheless they wanted to set up a new place of learning in accordance with the example of their mother monastery. The walls of the small temple are slowly being covered with paintings while the 16 monks of the small monastery are busy around the clock to earn money for the completion of their new sanctuary...
...The oldest monastery in Kalimpong is at the end of the 10th Mile market street. A path leads down to the Thongsa Bhutia Busty, named after Kalimpong's affiliation to Bhutan when it was built at the end of the 17th century...

Durga Puja

The day of the full moon at the beginning of October or the end of September is the highlight of a fortnight-long Hindu festival honouring the mother goddess Durga. Mother earth and mother nature or the female energy in this goddess are revered. Besides the two great Hindu Gods Shiva and Vishnu, Durga also has her own followers, although she is a form of Parvati, the female energy of the God Shiva. Durga is represented as the one with many arms holding different weapons and sitting on the back of a lion. She conquered a demon in the form of a water buffalo. Hence Durga Puja is also the celebration of the triumph of good over evil...

Kali Mandir, St. Augustines School, Jagdamdgara, Main Bazaar, Raja Dorjee Market, St. Mary Church, Mangal Dham

We go for a walk in Kalimpong. First we visit the small Kali temple in the south of the city, close to the road to Teesta. Kali Mandir gives the impression of a being a place of meditation and we are quite tempted to stay...
...Back in the city centre, as we go through a narrow passageway beside the State Bank in the Main Bazaar, we find ourselves in front of a temple building, that looks half completed and half ancient. The name Jagdamdgara may refer to the worship of the world's mother from which Durga and Kali have also developed. The reverence of goddesses is an evidence for the existence of a pre-vedian religion which was adopted by Hinduism...
...On Wednesdays, the food market takes place on the Raja Dorjee Market. The farmers from the area put their crops out for sale, some tea sellers put Darjeeling and Assam tea of various quality in boxes and sacks around themselves, an old woman displays the handmade twig brooms and at the corner, a fishmonger weighs a big fish and before putting it on sale cuts it up into sections...
...You can visit the St. Mary Church from the side street of the market that leads to Relli. Don't look for a church with a tower as the church is built in a Buddhist monastery style. The austere interior is carpeted and has benches along the walls. It is not worth going inside. The interesting thing about it are the paintings on the walls on the outside...
...If you are not tired yet, you can visit Mangal Dham further downhill, a big new temple complex of the Hindu sect Shri Krishna Pranami. The big building lies in a well-kept garden. With its Shikara towers it looks almost futuristic...