Imagine a situation. On a weekend dusk, you are sitting beside the river bed at the Himalayan foothills; surrounded by lush green forests while hearing the chirping sound of returning birds and listening to the gurgling sound of the crystal clear water flowing in the river in front of you, and the sun sets in slowly. Sounds like a dream? What if I tell you that you can have it all just for an overnight journey from Kolkata? In this blog, we are going to talk about an offbeat destination in the Dooars region on the foothills of Himalaya, the Murti River.
Murti is an unusual tourist destination in the Dooars region of West Bengal. It is positioned beside the Murti River. The river Murti is fed by the monsoon water and starts its journey from the hills of Bhutan. After this, the river carries its crystal clear water through the meanders of Neora Valley and Gorumara National Park and finally meets one of the largest rivers of the north Bengal region, Jaldhaka after crossing a path of around 90 km.
The area is situated within two famous forest ranges of the Dooars region. At one side the Murti river is having the Chapramari forest; while on the other side the rural area is surrounded by the famous Gorumara national park. If you roam around and chat with the local villagers over here, you will get to know about their regular experiences and encounters with wildlife, starting from Leopard flocking into the tea gardens to groups of elephants vandalizing jute fields.
How to reach Murti :
Reaching Murti is fairly simple. There are multiple trains, leaving for North Bengal or Assam region from Sealdah. Get into any of them (Kanchankanya Exp, tista-tora express, Darjeeling mail, Padatik express, and so on) and get down at New Jalpaiguri station. From there you can book a cab and reach the resorts at Murti. Alternatively, the best way to reach Murti is to book Kanchankanya Express (13149). Get down at New Mal Junction. Murti is around 18 km from New Mal station. Another reason for booking this specific train was that this is by far one of the very few trains that pass through the Gorumara and Jaldapara ranges of North Bengal. So, you can start having the feel of the green forests from the train coach itself just after waking up with a steamy cup of tea in your hand.
Upon arrival at the station, you can suddenly feel the chilly winds of Himalayan foothills blowing everywhere. Even before you reach your actual destination, you would start feeling the thrill of it. From the station, book a toto (For of auto rickshaw) or a cab and reach your resort while traversing through the forest roads. We booked a toto as we were only 2 and didn’t have much luggage. The other side of booking a toto was to enjoy the road towards Murti, which wanders through the different turns of the Gorumara forest ranges. Though these are not at all dense regions; but still you can sense the tranquillity and serenity of the jungle every now and then. While you are on the go, just have a look on the side, you will be amazed to see tons of jute saplings planted. North Bengal Dooars area is one of the highest jute-producing regions of West Bengal.
When to visit Murti :
Though you can visit Murti across the year, the best time would probably be after September. The wildlife sanctuaries remain closed in North Bengal from June 15 to September 15. So, if you want to club the wildlife safari along with your serene stay at Murti then definitely plan your tour between October and March.
However, we visited during the Monsoon time in late July 2022. We missed the jungle safari but Dooars has a different picturesque sight during Monsoon. The dense forest, the spurting sound of the raging river, the distant blue hills, and the dark monsoon cloud with intermittent heavy rain will surely make you lost in the beauty of Murti. The forests look lush green and very soothing. The river water thought doesn’t look crystal clear but flows with a very high current. So, Monsoon also has its own charm, thrill, and beauty there. We were fortunate not to experience a heavy downpour. We came across drizzles sometimes but; those were all fine and you would rather enjoy them while clicking snaps from the top of the hills or on the curved roads of tea gardens.
Where to stay at Murti:
While there are quite a few hotels and resorts that have come up here; the best ones are from the government of West Bengal. There are two resorts; one from the Forest department (WBFDC) , named Banani and the other one is from the Tourism department (WBTDCL), named as Murti Tourist Lodge. Both of these are located very close. Banani is the oldest and the first resort in this area, and is situated just beside the river. Most of the rooms here would be river-facing and you can enjoy the burbling sound and stare at the elegant river while also looking for animals on the other side of the riverbed from your room balcony probably. While Banani offers a picturesque view, but we found the maintenance to be not that great. We have heard great reviews on the food quality though.
We stayed at the Murti Tourist Lodge by the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation. You can book the room from their website. They have cottage-style rooms spread across the lush green campus. Must say, that the property is very well maintained. They have a dedicated kids’ park with figurines and artifacts of Leopard, Elephant and so on to keep your little ones busy and also to give you ample opportunity to take snaps with the animals; though not in their liveliest form.
The Murti Tourist lodge is situated only 50 m away from Banani. Though there is no river-facing room here, but one can easily cross the road and take a wonderful view of the flowing river every now and then till 10 pm at the night. After 10, no one is allowed to leave the resort campus owing to the risk arising out of wild animal movements. The cottages come here with basic amenities like a television set, AC, cupboard, room service, tea kettle, and so on.
The other USP of this resort is their food. They would serve in your room too. To be honest, you won’t be able to find a lot of options here but whatever, you get would be delicious. They also provide complimentary breakfast. Again not much option. You need to choose from Continental brad-butter-omelet-tea or Classic desi Bengali breakfast including Luchi-Sabji-Omelet-tea. But believe us, after waking up in the morning and seeing the mesmerizing river flowing in front of you; half of your hunger would be gone there only. The remaining half can be filled up with the regular breakfast they provide.
What to do in Murti ?
Well, to be honest, a lot. If you are going during the peak season (Oct-March) you will need 3-4 days to cover the entire region, considering your jungle safari, Murti river sightseeing, and so on. Since we went there when the forests were closed, we still had some buffer time.
The first day, upon reaching the place we just relaxed. Went out for an evening stroll along the river bed. Went straight to the single-lane river bridge and observed the furious river with its full force flowing beneath us. There is a saying, “Don’t push the river it will flow and don’t push the love it will grow”. Each and every word of this would seem true when you stand in front of this magical beauty and watch the graceful river along with the plush green Chapramari range on the other side of the river. Unlike most hilly rivers, this specific bed of Murti is a little different. The river bed is quite wide and you would enjoy each and every step while walking along the bridge or beside the river bed. We spent a good amount of time sitting near the riverbed while collecting and throwing pebbles at Murti. While coming back to our base, had a steaming cup of evening tea on the way.
Sight Seeing at Murti :
The next day, after having an early breakfast we went out for the sightseeing. There is a seven-point sightseeing you can go for from Murti. Some of them are visit to tea gardens, Jaldhaka barrage in Jhalong and Bindu, Viewpoints at Samsing and Suntalikhola etc. The resorts generally have contact with local drivers and cabbies. Normally for a whole day trip at WagonR it costs around INR 3k.
The important places in this sightseeing plan are mentioned below for your easy and quick reference.
- Chalsa – Located at around 8 km from Murti resorts, this place is famous for its vast stretches of tea gardens. We visited some of the largest tea gardens of North Bengal in this region.
- Samsing – A wonderful viewpoint, located at around 25 km ; from where you can have a birds-eye view of Murti river flowing through its own meanders and curves.
- Suntalekhola – Situated at around 30 km from Murti in the western region of Dooars; Suntalekhola is a village and major tourist attraction point in the Kalimpong district. Upon reaching this place, you need to leave your cab and book a local car there for another 3-point sightseeing. It costs another INR 2000/- and requires approximately 2-3 hours of time. Unfortunately, since we did not have much time. We skipped this part. There are 3 viewpoints in this village located beside a small stream called Suntalekhola or Orange river
- Rocky Island – This is another amazing viewpoint on river Murti, which is situated again at around 28 km from the WBTDCL resort. You need to climb up the hills a bit in order to reach this wonderful place. The river flows with its full force here and there are rocks scattered here and there.
- Jhalong- Located at around 35 km from the resort, Jhalong is a small village where the River Jaldhaka flows with its full vigour. The scenic beauty here is amazing. Once you reach and step out of your car, the river will keep you attached to this place for a while. Placed on the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas along the bank of Jaldhaka, Jhalong is known for its cardamom plantation but after being emerged as an offbeat destination of the Dooars region, camping along the river bank of Jaldhaka has become a famous activity too.
- Bindu – Bindu, the house of India’s second oldest dam is around 8 km uphill from Jhalong. Bindu is a border village located at Indo-Bhutan border. The front area of the dam is literally a photographer’s paradise. The raging Jaldhaka river coming out of the dam with full strength itself is a sight of magnificence. There are plenty of stalls and local shops in Bindu, where you can sip a hot cup of tea or have your afternoon snacks with cheese omelet Maggie or buy Bhutanese chocolates.
So, if a hilly river that wanders through the foothills of the Himalayan range is on your bucket list, then Murti should be your most natural choice. We also continued our journey and moved towards the hills of Kalimpong and Darjeeling later on. More on that, will be published soon. Till then if you want to experience Gurgling sound of the raging Himalayan river along with the lush green forest, plan your next trip to Murti.
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