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Heaven Valley Sillery Gaon

sunrise on kanchenjunga from sillery gaon
Sunrise on Kanchenjunga from Sillery Gaon

Sillery Gaon is a small mountain village on the Lap of Himalaya, inside tall and deep dhupi or pine forests along with different species of flora and fauna. It is situated in the newly formed Kalimpong district, with an altitude of about 6,000 feet above sea level and around 29 km away from the Kalimpong town. The name Sillery derives from the Cinchona Plant, which is the source of Quinine used as medicine for the disease of Maleria. Since British Raj, Cinchona Plantation is the main cultivation at Sillery Gaon. Pedong, a hill town on the old Silk Route is just 8 km driving distance and 4 km trekking distance from Sillery Gaon.

This offbeat tourist destination is also known as the New Darjeeling to the tourists, which is an ideal place to escape from hustle and bustling city life. Sillery Gaon offers an evergreen eco-friendly environment along with the chirping of birds and the magnificent view of Mount Kanchenjunga, the third highest peak in the World and other snow-capped peaks on far horizon. It is a crowd-less village, where around 30 families live and most of them are belongs in tribal communities. They are very friendly, down to earth people and all time ready to help tourists. Agriculture and Cinchona plantation are their main occupations. Recently Sillery Gaon has becomes a new tourist destination in the map of Darjeeling tourism. They cumulatively promote the eco-tourism and arrange some Home-stay facilities for travellers with as much as possible modern facilities.

Attractions in Sillery Gaon

Sillery Gaon offers you three interesting soft treks route to Silence Valley, Damsang Fort, and Ramitey View Point in the lap of Mother Nature. Other than this treks, one can explore nearby Aritar, Lampokhri Lake and Pedong in a day-trip.

Ramitey View Point:
Ramitey View Point is a marvellous destination nearby Sillery Gaon. It is a 3 km non-metallic driving distance from the village, but a soft trek of 30 minutes (about 1.5 km) to Ramitey through deep forests along with the Mount Kanchenjunga may give you a rare experience and excitement. Ramitey View Point offers an extensive and longest view of 14 turns of river Teesta bellow along with the breath-taking panorama of Mt. Kanchenjunga range above. The confluence of river Teesta and river Reshi is visible from the Ramitey View Point. In a clear day, one can get a complete view of the entire region of Teesta Bazar to Majhitar in Sikkim are also viewable from the view point.

Damsang Fort:
An hour soft trek from Sillery Gaon lead you to the ruin of ancient Damsang Gadi or Damsang Fort at Algarah, which is 6 km away from Sillery Gaon and just 1 km distance from Pedong. It was constructed by last Lepcha king Gyabo Achuk in 1960 and lost to Drukpa king of Bhutan and the fort was massively affected & fell into ruin by the British Indian forces during the Anglo-Bhutan war in 1864. The remnants of the fort only exist now. 20th December every year, Lepchas from different parts of Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Sikkim comes together at the Damsang Gadi and celebrate as the birthday of King Gyabo Achuk, where they practice some auspicious rituals. Apart from the Fort, it is also ideal place for bird watching. Nearby Hanuman Top is another tourist spots at Damsang Fort, where a sculpture of Lord Hanuman is placed. A bird’s view of Kalimpong city and its adjoining areas are visible from this Hanuman Top.

Silence Valley:
Silence Valley is one of the most interesting places to visit in Sillery Gaon. It is a small green field, which may be the quietest and pleasant area you visit ever in your life, surrounded by tall pine forests. This downward grassy land is a surprise to visitor. Chirping of birds are only sounds you may hear from the amazing place. Long before Silence valley was a lake, even now it forms a small pond at monsoon. Your day trip may be concluded with the breath-taking beauty of the Silence Valley.

Orchids Garden :
Orange cultivation is the second largest economic source to the people of Mirik after Tea gardening, It produce high-quality oranges, which are commonly known as Darjeeling oranges and also one of the largest orange producers in Bengal. Most of the orange orchards in Mirik located at Mirik Busty, Murmah and Soureni Busty. Mirik Busty is around 2.5 km driving distance from the Mirik lake, where one can get an experience about the hilly village life and their culture.

How to reach Sillery Gaon?

By Road: Pedong is the nearest town to Sillery Gaon, just 6 km away and a 30 minutes driving distance. From New Jalpaiguri Railway station or Bagdogra Airport or Siliguri, you can hire a vehicle to reach Pedong via Teesta Bazar and Alagarh and then reach at Sillery Gaon. It is a journey about 3 hours and 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can also take shared cars or buses to Kalimpong and catch shared taxis to Pedong.

By Rail: New Jalpaiguri and Siliguri are nearby railway station to Sillery Gaon. It is another 3.5 hours road journey to reach at Sillery Gaon.

By Air: Bagdogra (IXB) is nearest airport to Sillery Gaon. It is a domestic airport run by IAF. All major air services are available from all over India. It is 12 km away from Siliguri and 100 km from Sillery Gaon and a three and half hours driving journey.

Accommodation

There have no any hotels or Lodges at Sillery Gaon. But, the hospitality of Sillery gaon Homestay is just extraordinary and unforgettable. Most of the homestay are well furnished, equipped with attached Western Bath. You may not get all modern facilities, but basic amenities like hot water, electricity, transport facilities and guides for local trek are provided in home stay. Some on demand services at homestay are Bar-B-Q, BonFire, Camp Fire, Camping and Trekking.

Contact us for any tour package or Home-stay query at Sillery Gaon.