Location

Teesta Bazaar is located at 27°04′N 88°26′E / 27.06°N 88.43°E / 27.06; 88.43.^[1] Teesta Bazaar is situated at an elevation of 90 m (300 ft) above mean sea level. River rafting can be undertaken at this point. There are multiple organizations organizing river rafting for tourists. There are three distinct difficulty level starting from 3 km to 12 km where 3 km is meant for families and 8 or 12 km are meant for adventure sports. The rapids found is Teesta mostly ranges between Class I-III. The rafting was introduced by DGHC (Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, now GTA) in the year 1991. It is also at the point where the Teesta river flows into West Bengal. Most of the area around Teesta is patrolled by the Indian Army as it comes under a sensitive border area. The juncture where Teesta river meets Rangeet river is known as Triveni. Recently tourists have started frequenting this place for camping in tents and enjoy the pristine confluence of the two rivers.

Area overview

The map alongside shows the Kalimpong Sadar subdivision of Kalimpong district. Physiographically, this area forms the Kalimpong Range, with the average elevation varying from 300 to 3,000 metres (980 to 9,840 ft). This region is characterized by abruptly rising hills and numerous small streams.^[2] It is a predominantly rural area with 77.67% of the population living in rural areas and only 22.23% living in the urban areas. While Kalimpong is the only municipality, Dungra is the sole census town in the entire area.^[3] The economy is agro-based and there are six tea gardens in the Gorubathan CD block.^[4] In 2011, Kalimpong subdivision had a literacy rate of 81.85%, comparable with the highest levels of literacy in the districts of the state.^[5][6] While the first degree college in the subdivision was established at Kalimpong in 1962^[7] the entire subdivision (and now the entire district), other than the head-quarters, had to wait till as late as 2015 (more than half a century) to have their first degree colleges at Pedong and Gorubathan.^[8][9]

Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.