Road trip from Kolkata to Darjeeling, Takdah, Bolpur and back in Tata Nexon by Indian Roadie Abhimanyu Chatterjee in February 2022

Road trip from City of Joy to the Queen of Hills and the abode of the bard and back, viz. Kolkata - Darjeeling - Takdah - Bolpur! 

Kolkata to Siliguri 

(Kolkata_Siliguri) 

Kolkata to Darjeeling 

(Kolkata_Darjeeling) 

The itch was already there, being tired of sitting back home mostly, courtesy pandemic. So had to hit the road. And what better than the Himalayas. Good old Darjeeling this time. 

Start date (from Kolkata to Siliguri) : 14/02/22 
End date : (returned  to Kolkata) : 22/02/22 

Distance covered (round trip) : 1575kms 

Vehicle used : Nexon Petrol (4yrs+) 

It was around 10pm that we started from Kolkata to avoid night curfew, the original plan was to start at 4am in the morning. We reached rather smoothly at Siliguri around 10:30am. Time taken 12.5hrs (with bio and food breaks). Route taken via Kalyani, Krishnanagar, Botolbari (Bengal to Bengal). Road condition is far better as compared to my past experiences all through, with some rough patches in the Botolbari road, yet manageable. Put up at West Bengal tourism property in Siliguri (recommended). 
Next morning (9am) started climbing the mountains towards Darjeeling via Rohini. Loved the scenic drive. Took a tea break near Kurseong. Finally reached Darjeeling around noon. And a narrow steep climb later reached the West Bengal tourism property. The tourist lodge is preferred for its parking facility (a major issue in Darjeeling). The private balcony with each room provide sweeping view of the valley and Kanchenjunga. Although luck didn't favour us much as we only got a glimpse of the Sleeping Buddha... Mall, Observatory road, Mahakaal temple were some of the favourite places we visited while in the Queen of Hills.
After 2 days in Darjeeling we proceeded to Takdah. We didn't take the usual route from Darjeeling to Takdah via 6th Mile, but rather took the Jalapahar road to Lamahatta, scenic Peshok tea garden, Tinchuley to reach Takdah in 1.5hrs. Misty, meandering roads, chirping of birds, nature trails passing through dense coniferous forests, sight and sound of mountain streams coming down the slope every few yards you walk, blooming orchids, rolling tea gardens, that's what Takdah is all about. The word 'Tukdah' in Lepcha means mist/fog. Started as a British Army cantonment, the sleepy hamlet of Takdah still has a few Colonial bungalows, now converted into tourist accomodations. We had a grand stay at one such heritage bunglow (ref to picture) and soaked in the world away from this world. Stayed at Tukdah for 2 days and started rolling down via Rungli Rungliot tea garden towards the plains. On our return leg we halted at Malda (West Bengal tourism property again, recommended). Took us 8hrs to reach Malda (from Tukdah) via Botolbari road. Next morning we made an impromptu booking for Shantiniketan tourist lodge (West Bengal tourism property, recommended) & proceeded to Bolepur. Took us 5hrs to reach via Moregram (horrible craters in first few kilometres of Moregram). Enjoyed a leisurely drive around Bolepur in the afternoon. Next morning started at 10am and reached Kolkata via Burdwan by 2pm. 

(Narrated in the first person by Indian Roadie Abhimanyu Chatterjee) 

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* Road Trip To Darjeeling 

* Road trip to West Bengal 

* West Bengal Trails 

* Drivelog

Upgradation of Kolkata to Siliguri highway announced in 2021 budget

BJP is the only hope for West Bengal after almost 50 years of neglect. 

Ms. Nirmala Sethuraman during her 2021 Budget speech on Monday, 2021-02-01 has announced a 675 kms of national highway work at a cost of ₹25000 crores for road infrastructure development in the state. 
It will include upgradation of existing Kolkata to Siliguri corridor. 
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* Indian Roadie Infrastructure Projects  
* Modi Hai Toh Mumkin Hai

Siliguri to Kolkata by car in 19 hrs on 2017-10-30

An Indian Roadie fan/ member took 19 hrs by car to drive Siliguri to Kolkata, a distance of barely 580 kms via #NH31, #NH34 on 2017-10-30.
Major part of Dalkhola to Baharampur is in pathetic condition.
He crossed Dalkhola railway level crossing (a nightmare) in less than 12 minutes.
The pain started thereafter with pathetic road conditions & absolute lawlessness.
It took 80 mins to cross Farakka Bridge.

I have noticed that the moment NH34, the #ShameOfBengal is highlighted, there's a lot of heartburns for some people on various forums. Some Bengal residents go hyper and even get aggressive while trying to justify that the negative state of affairs for a Kolkata - Siliguri drive is not as bad as perceived to be. Why is this behavior of remaining in denial so pronounced?
However, that's still no consolation.
I have been driving around India including on this Kolkata to Siliguri route since 1985 for professional reasons.
Prior to that it was with my dad atleast 10 odd times.
It's our shame/ disgrace since times immemorial! Let's admit that.