Kalimpong – Another Face in the Crowd (But for the Dogs!)

Kalimpong travel is often reduced to a hurried day stopover by visitors rushing through the eastern Himalayas. Yet, beyond the familiar viewpoints and monasteries lies a town that quietly reveals its own rhythm—if only one cares to look beyond the obvious.

Kalimpong—a quaint town eighty kilometres from Siliguri—is often relegated to a day stopover by the busy tourist.

The hamlet has her own share of monasteries, ruins and history—if only one cares to look beyond the obvious.

Kalimpong’s Four-Legged Residents

The town peeps in quietly and her pets keep a close watch.

Dogs there are aplenty—giving the town its own flavour.

Some doze in front of closed gates, leaving the curious wondering what lies beyond.

Some wait patiently for customers.

And others wait as customers.

There’s one that strolls empty roads looking for some recognition.

Some seek the company of two-legged animals—often ignored but persevering in their friendship.

Beyond the Tourist Trail

Beyond its residents, the town reminds the visitor of its happening past.

The nostalgia chaser finds solace in the ruins of a bungalow made famous by its resident.

Nearby Crookety House—the abode of the Roerichs—remains off limits for most.

The colonialists keep busy clinging to their past and thrusting it upon the current time.

Some glance back at life from the sanctuary of their monastery.

Others make sure work of guarding their possessions.

The town is often startled by the casual, uninvited pat from the eager visitor.

All the drama—and its residents couldn’t care less.

A Town That Refuses to Hurry

The town of Kalimpong and her residents keep trudging along, spending days and nights at their own pace and space—never mind what the casual tourist demands.

—An evening in Kalimpong.

Beyond the Postcard

Like any hill station vying for its share of tourist money, it has its handmade paper factory, a mountain viewpoint, a cactus nursery, an apparently haunted house, an army cantonment with its paraphernalia, attempts at minting money from the colonial past and an overcrowded future.

For the wanderer rich enough to while away time, the hamlet offers the luxury of doing nothing—simply sitting by.

Rooms once occupied by illustrious personalities abound across the town.

For the rest—the mere humans—it’s a stopover in the rush of spending time.