When the rhododendrons and magnolias bloom, Tonglu turns into a riot of colours. Alternatively, you can drive upto Meghma and walk the remaining 2 km to Tonglu, though it isn’t an easy trek! The silent little hamlet is a perfect retreat to detox and explore the mountains. Trekkers know it as a roadside halt along the trekking trail from Manebhanjan to Sandakphu. Located at a little over 10,000 ft, the settlement of Tonglu is named after one of the higher peaks of the Singalila Ridge, and is situated inside the national park. That project is now near completion, with construction set to end by May, and operations scheduled to begin just before the Puja season, or September-October of this year.
In January 2019, the West Bengal Wasteland Development Corporation Limited and Divisional Forest Officer, Parks & Gardens (North) Division, jointly invited tenders for the creation of an eco-resort at Tonglu, at a cost of over Rs 3 crore. Several tour operators who run the Sandakphu trek have tents or camps situated along the trail, but if you did not have a tent, you would have to stop at multiple tea houses along the way, which offer food and lodging for the night. For all these years, however, one of the problems that trekkers faced was that of accommodation. The ‘Sandakphu trek’ is among India’s most famous trails, and is popular with beginners and experts alike. But the real magic of Sandakphu is that four of the world’s five highest mountain peaks, namely Everest, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse and Maka-lu, can be seen once you have gained its peak.
Sandakphu is on the edge of the Singalila National Park and has a small village near its summit. At an altitude of 3,636 m (roughly 11,000 ft) above sea level, Sandakphu is the highest peak in West Bengal, located in Darjeeling’s Singalila Ridge, on the West Bengal-Nepal border.
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