With schools closed, Kalimpong experiences summer rush of tourists

YOWAN MOTHAY, EOI, KALIMONG, MAY 31, 2023  : Nowadays, the number of tourists in Kalimpong has increased tremendously. People related to the tourism business say that this rush will probably remain the same till the second week of June. Currently, schools and colleges are closed in West Bengal. As a result of the extreme heat in plans, the state government had advanced the summer vacation in primary, secondary and higher secondary schools from May 2, ahead of the scheduled date of May 24. 

 Due to continuous rains on the nights of May 24, 25and 26, there has been a substantial drop in the temperature in Kalimpong.

All the tourist destinations in Kalimpong are chock-a-block with visitors. Every tourist spot has a long line of vehicles carrying tourists. There is a long line of vehicles carrying tourists on either side of Delo, the paragliding area. The parking lot of Kalimpong Science Centre is full.

Tourists, not only from West Bengal but from all over the country are arriving in Kalimpong. Schools and colleges in other states are closed too due to the summer. 

The Darjeeling hills are a cheap, easy and safe mountain destination; hence the rush of tourists to Kalimpong. 

Now that the West Bengal government has announced, however, that the secondary and higher secondary schools will reopen on June 5 and the primary schools on June7, tour operators say the rush is likely to remain till the second week of June. 

If the conditions are favourable it will start raining from the second week of June and the arrival of tourists will automatically decrease. 

This schedule of summer vacation is not applicable, however, in the hill districts of Kalimpong and Darjeeling under the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.

According to the annual holiday list fixed by the GTA, the primary, secondary and higher secondary schools in the hills are running smoothly.