We are diligently indoors and trying to make the most of this forced break worldwide. Catching up with pending posts are high on the priority list. We visited family in Siliguri couple of months back and meant to put up a small post about this strategically placed city in the Terai region of North Bengal. Kolkata to Siliguri, Siliguri to Darjeeling, Siliguri to Kalimpong, Kurseong or Gangtok and Jaldapara National Park – no wonder Siliguri bears the epithet – “Gateway to Northeast India”.

Where is Siliguri?

Siliguri is literally at the foothills of Himalayas in Eastern India. Located in the district Darjeeling in West Bengal, it has enormous tourist as well as commercial significance. It is the closest city to a host of North Bengal, Sikkim and Assam travel destinations.

Siliguri is surrounded by dense forests and River Mahananda passes through the city. Bengali Hindi and Nepali are the common languages spoken here. You can also get around Siliguri if you speak English.

How to reach Siliguri from Delhi or Kolkata?

New Jalpaiguri Railway Station, popularly called NJP is located in the middle of Siliguri city. NJP is an overnight train journey from Kolkata. There are many overnight buses as well and from personal experience we can say, bus journeys on this route are comfortable. The closest airport to Siliguri is located at Bagdogra which is about 45 minutes drive from the city. One can also take flights from Kolkata and reach in a cool span of 40 minutes.

Delhi to Siliguri is also a convenient route. There are direct trains including a Rajdhani that connects Delhi and Siliguri. There are many flights as well from Delhi to Bagdogra throughout the day and it takes about 2 hours to reach.

What is Siliguri famous for?

Siliguri is famous for travel and trade.

As we already mentioned, Siliguri is known as the Gateway to North East. Buses from Siliguri frequently ply to the very popular hill stations Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong, Gangtok in Sikkim. There are many long distance bus stands in Siliguri and the busiest station is Tenzing Norgay Bus Terminus. In fact, Tenzing Norgay is the most important bus stand in North Bengal.

State government transport department buses ply from here. In addition, many private operators run buses from Tenzing Norgay. In fact, taxis ply from this point to various tourist points and these work out cheaper for traveller groups or families. If you like forests we strongly recommend the Forest Reserves at Jaldapara and Rajabhatkhawa.

Also, Siliguri is one of the largest trading centers in West Bengal. Tea and timber trade are the most popular merchandise here and wholesale business of these items has flourished Siliguri over ages. Almost every locality has many shops selling a variety of tea leaves. Tea is sourced mostly from tea gardens in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and surrounding areas. The leaves are sold loose depending on the customer’s taste – flavour, liquor, body, strength and so on.

Siliguri is surrounded with dense forests. Timber here is an easy commodity and wood is supplied all over the country. In fact, solid wood furniture is still very common in homes and lodges in Siliguri and all over North Bengal.

Hong Kong Market, Siliguri

Hong Kong Market in Siliguri was historically popular for imported China made goods that would be brought in through Bhutan, Nepal and China borders. After the liberalization of Indian economy, it is not difficult to find foreign brands at affordable prices in open markets in India. But Hong Kong Market is still popular for great bargains. Local shoppers and tourists throng this market for buying clothes, athleisure wear, shoes, sunglasses and umbrellas. This place is known for price hackling and you can bargain to glory here.

Is Siliguri worth visiting?

To be honest, opinion is divided on this question. While one might find Siliguri a little monotonous but after couple of visits, we are of the view that Siliguri is definitely worth a dekko. Siliguri is like any modern city replete with big brands, shopping malls, banks and ATMs.

What sets it apart is the weather. Siliguri is at the foothill of Himalayas. Hence this city enjoys pleasant weather throughout the year. It is never hot and summers are also extremely bearable here. Plus, monsoon is long here and it rains frequently. This weather condition helps in keeping the heat at bay.

We have spoken about Siliguri being the base town for a host of Himalayan hill stations. There are many attractions to engage in Siliguri itself. Siliguri is located in the Terai region of Himalayas. Hence it is moist and the Bengal Forest Reserve at the periphery of the city is a great attraction for elephant sighting.

The Government of West Bengal has recently established a fair zone in Siliguri – Biswa Bangla Haat. This is a venue for sale of handicrafts from the mountains as well as local districts such as Malda and Dinajpur. These places are extremely well known for wood crafts – gorgeously crafted masks and jute and stick mats or Madur.

Plus there are picnic spots such as Sevoke and Mirik that are just out of Siliguri. These places areextremely picturesque complete with greenery and water bodies and can be great day trip options from Siliguri.

So if you are coming to this part of India, you can keep a day aside to explore this city.

What can I buy in Siliguri?

This section is going to be a summary of some the points we mentioned above. The must buy from Siliguri is tea leaves. We are more often than not used to buying packaged tea from various brands. Loose tea shops are a rarity in Delhi and probably nonexistent in Gurgaon, excluding tea cafes of course. So you should walk into a loose tea shop in Siliguri and explain your requirement to the vendors. Given their experience, more often than not, they are able to assess your requirement accurately and suggest tea varieties. These are priced by the kilo and you can buy neat packets of 200 g of a few varieties for yourself. These make very sought after gifts too.

Our surprise find was a brassware shop near Bidhan Market, Siliguri. We were passing this area and a bright shop, Copper House, drew our attention in an unexpected grocery market. We stopped and found a treasure trove of quaint candle stands, Christmas lights and brass statues. They were priced so affordable that we could not but buy some pieces including a rare idol of Kartikeya – the warrior God.

Also, if you want cool modern stuff at most affordable prices, then Hong Kong Market detailed above is a must visit.

Pro-tip

When you step out of New Jalpaiguri railway station in Siliguri, or Tenzing Norgay bus stand, you would be accosted by touts. They are not all bad people. But it is best to book tours online or go to established counters and agents for making travel bookings

PIN IT