Panchthar’s ‘three destinations’ to visit in New Year

• Rabindra Kafle

Labrekuti

Panchthar. If you are looking for a place to visit in the New Year, three places in Panchthar may be the right destination for you.

You can make the New Year full of joy on the colorful hill with Rhododendron flowers, for which you don’t have to spend a lot or have to look for someone else’s means. When you reach a new destination, you will be surrounded by the gifts of nature and the behavior of the locals.

There are not many tourist destinations in Panchthar, which is shrunk between Ilam and Taplejung. There is a lack of infrastructure and publicity in the existing destinations. But with the arrival of spring, the appearance of the high mountains changes.

From the same place, you can see the mountains and the Terai by walking on the flowers of Rhododendrons. The cooing of the coyote along with the chirping of the birds and the ‘tingling’ sound of the sheep bells culminates in joy. So in the New Year, you can make arrangements for sightseeing at three destinations in Panchthar.

First: From Labrekuti to Lohakil 

After a four-hour taxi ride from Jhapa’s Birtamod, you reach Pauvabhanjyang Bazaar at an altitude of 8,200 feet. After talking to the locals at Pauwabhanjyang where you can taste the local foods according to the season, you are confused as to where to go first.

Because there is only so much to do. It is easy to reach Kanchidokan Bazaar on the Mechi Highway and start walking around. After traveling about two kilometers from there, you reach Labrekuti.

It is believed that Kirant religious guru Falgunand drew water from this sadhana and meditation. While wandering around Labrekuti Manghim (temple) and Rhododendrons, tourists are always waiting for the welcome gate made of small plants of Rhododendrons.

If you have time, you can take the staircase under construction from Fantilo Chaur to Silauti. Silauti is a high hill where Mahaguru Falgunand is buried. The Kirantis consider Kumbhakarna (Faktanglung) to be the place of salvation. But those who cannot reach Faktanglung are believed to attain salvation by visiting Faktanglung from Silauti.

That is why the tomb of Falgunand has remained here. After visiting Labrekuti or Silauti, you can reach Lalikharka by traveling a few kilometers through Kanchidokan Bazaar. Where you can find sweets of local products in the homestay. From there, you can return to Pauwabhanjyang. From where it reaches Sadhutar to the north, Lohkil to the east, and Silauti to the southeast.

Sadhutar’s small pond is now a popular destination. There is hardly anyone who is not fascinated by the view of the small pond in the shadow of Kumbhakarna and Kanchenjunga mountains. In a short time, you can go to Lohakil with the time you have saved from Sadhutar, which you can enjoy a lot.

After resting at Sukepokhari in the lap and the surrounding houses, you can watch the sunrise and sunset, play hide and seek in the forest of Guransai-Gurans, have a picnic at Patenagi and Kuhibhir in Ilampatti. The ironclad can provide as much fun as you want, and there are more than a day to go.

Second: around Lampokhari

If you want to go a little farther and still have a lot of fun, you can reach Lampokhari. It takes about five hours to reach Lampokhari from Fidim via Jorpokhari-Tharpu-Changthapu. But there are half a dozen small and large ponds in Lampokhari where more than a dozen species of Gurans are found.

There is no food or accommodation facility in Lampokhari. You can go down for about an hour and stay in the settlement or the nearby Changthapu market. The surrounding sheep and cow herds can also be observed. In the middle of the green dense forest, there is a wide area on the hill and a pond. The fragrance of Rhododendrons flowers.

There is no place to go for a moment. The road reached here only last year. Outside tourists have not started coming. Locals say that the Lampokhari area is as strong as Tinjure Milke Jaljal, the capital of Gurans, but is overshadowed by a lack of infrastructure and publicity.

Third: Fallot

In the New Year, the Nepal-India border area is also a suitable place to visit. This season has only clear weather and moderate cold. The Chauri Festival has been organized here on the occasion of the New Year.

The mountains of Rhododendrons look red from the Falot area, which offers panoramic views of the mountains of Nepal, India and Bhutan. The joy of herding may not make you want to return home.

To reach Falot’s four nights, three borders, Gorkhepani, and other places, one has to travel on a dirt road from Fidim Even if the road is a bit uncomfortable, the joy of reaching the destination helps to forget all the pain. Sandakpur, a popular tourist destination in Ilam, can be reached on foot from Fallot.

Fallot has herds of sheep and goats. Arrangements have been made to settle in these cowsheds. Various bodies including Deep Jyoti Youth Club have brought the concept of Gothwas to make Goth a tourist destination.

After reaching Fallot, you can’t move around in one day, so you have to stay. Indigenous food can be tasted from various dishes of chowri milk in the cowshed. Due to the epidemic of coronavirus infection and elections in the Darjeeling region of West Bengal, the number of Indian tourists visiting Fallot will be less this time in the New Year, which will allow Nepali tourists to travel without crowds.