Off The Beaten Path

Be It For A Weekend Road Trip Or A Longer Getaway, Why Not Pick A Place That Is Not Overrun By Tourists? We Give You Our Pick Of Some Not-so-well-explored Places That Are Worth Charting A Route To

- Preeti Verma Lal

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” F. Scott Fitzgerald mused in The Great Gatsby. I am not sure about life beginning again with summer, but every summer darts are thrown on the map for a new holiday destination and new itineraries are scripted. This summer, don’t run to the travel agent who might get into another touristy destination spiel. Don’t pick the brochure and head to where everyone is heading. Explore something unusual. Pick a not-so oft-talked about destination. Do something different even if you are going to where you have gone before. Here are a few such summer getaways, easily accessed from the main cities and metros.

Kurseong (from Kolkata)

It is Darjeeling’s lesser known cousin. Beautiful. quiet. And away from the gaze of the everyday tourist.

Before stepping into Kurseong, pack a little courage in the heart. Hairpin bends, death valleys, and a treacherous road lead into the hilly town where a nun with a compassionate heart, Mother Teresa, is said to have found her calling; a brave soldier, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, spent time in the house of his elder

The Hill Railway Train in Darjeeling brother; where tea is hand-rolled for the ritzy Harrod’s; where Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the famous blue train hisses between Darjeeling and Siliguri on a gauge track; and where 100 types of tea blends – and tea leaf fritters – get served at Cochrane Place, a boutique hotel.