Pedong / Rikissum / Sillery

Pedong / Rikissum / Damsang Fort - Pedong is a beautiful valley and an ideal spot for a leisure holiday. Pedong is a small town nearly 25 kilometers from Kalimpong on the way to Arhitar/ Aritar. There is a monastery that was built in 1837 and is worth visiting. It is possible to travel to Jelep La pass and Nathu La pass; four to five hours drive and the permit can be obtained from Rhenock in Sikkim. Rikkissum a small valley lies on the way; it has a monastery named Chumachein / Chumarchen. Other popular tourist spots like Relli Khola, Samthar Valley, Lava, Lolaygaon, Rikkisum, Reshi Khola, Pedong, Neora Valley, Mongsong and Rishyap are situated very close to this places and one can stay in any one of the places with sightseeing at all the rest. These beautiful locations are all well connected by roads and are ideal for leisure holidays. Pedong is one of the most beautiful places around Kalimpong and is only Rikkisum is 7 kilometers, Damsang Fort is 5 kilometers, Bird's Eye View is 2 kilometers, Silence Valley is 2.5 kilometers, Tinchuley is nearly 3 kilometers, Sillery Gaon is close to 4.5 kilometers, Ramitey is 6 kilometers, Sanchen Dorji Monastery is 1 kilometer, Cross Hill is 4 kilometers, Reshi Khola is close to 15 kilometers and these are the places one can visit from Pedong. Ramitey - Close to Pedong is Ramitey. This place offers the longest view of river Teesta. Nearly fourteen bends of the river at a glance. This place offers the best view of the Teesta flowing. On a clear day, guest can view the Himalayan range which adds to the beauty of the place. Tinchuley Hill - This is an offbeat destination. A lone hill amongst others is the Tinchuley hill and it offers one of the best views of Pedong and its surrounding area. A climb/trek for about 30 minutes to reach the hilltop is magnificent and one feels majestic. It is surrounded by the thick pine forests below and the Himalayan view in front. Silent Valley is one of the finest locations and a great meadow location. Practically a huge pasture surrounded by thick pine trees, a perfect picnic and can be best enjoyed by camping. During the rainy season, this waterlogging turns this place into a pond. It is said that in earlier days this was originally a lake long asper the elders of the region. Damsang Fort - This fort is the only fort to the last Lepcha King- Gyabo Achuk. Lepchas are the original natives of this place. Lepchas has to concede this fort to the Bhutanese who then lost it to the British in the Anglo-Bhutanese war of 1864 AD. The fort ever since is in ruins. One can hike to this fort. Huge fir trees line this place and the view from here is stunning. Rikkisum - Located at one of the best places just outskirt of Kalimpong. Rikkisum consists of the ruins of an old British bungalow. It was used as the resting point of British travelers when on their way to Tibet.  There is a stretch of meadows with house lining on one side that gives a feeling of the English county. It has a sunrise point and a great viewpoint of the Himalayan range.  

Sangchen Dorjee Monastery - One of the oldest monasteries in Pedong. This Monastery was established around the early 1700 A D. It provides historical insight into the history and culture of the place. Sangchen Dorjee Gumba also has fresco paintings on the inner walls of the main chamber depicting Tantric Buddhism. Chyaam dance or the Buddhist Mask dance is also held here every year. Franco Swiss Museum - Fathers of the Foreign Missions Society of Paris (called MEP in French i.e. Missions Estrangeres de Paris) were given the charge of evangelizing Tibet 1846. Fr. Augustine Desgodins was here in 1880 to explore the possibility of entering Tibet by the south. Pedong seemed to be the most suitable place so he settled down there in 11th November 1882. The mission failed. The Franco-Swiss Missionary Museum was set up at Pedong on 20th January 2005 in memory and the dedication and sacrifices of the French and Swiss Fathers Crosshill - During the mission or Tibet Mission, a lot of Evangelists lost their lives or never came back from Tibet. Fr. Augustine Desgodins in memory of them erected a cross at a vantage point facing Tibet directly with a hope that someday the evangelists may return. The Crosshill is located at such a point wherein the view of the facing mountains is magnificent. From here one can get a glimpse of Tibet or now The people’s republic of the Chinese border. It is a perfect sunset point. Reshi Khola - Any guest who is interested in angling/fishing can spend some time here. Reshi Khola can be the most rejuvenating and fun spot of the region. One can also visit Jelep La Pass from here or Lava Lolaygaon. Bathing or spending time with some beer is the favorite place. cool dip every now and then or simply sitting on a rock with your feet in the water with a bottle of beer or juice can completely take you to new heights. If you are lucky you can also order for some fresh river trout. Sillery Gaon – Nearly 03 kilometers before Pedong and 0½ kilometers ahead of ‘20th Mile’ along the Kalimpong-Algarah-Pedong road is these small destinations. It’s a rocky off-shoot road takes a sharp elevation through a lush green forest. This is a small village with nearly 30 families in the middle of the forest. This area was covered with cinchona plantation and was introduced in the region by the British for quinine extract and to be used for the treatment of malaria. It is a small hamlet in the Kalimpong district of the state of West Bengal, India. It is situated at an altitude of nearly 6000 feet. Situated away from the main line and from modern civilization Sillery is a place where one finds perfect serenity. Situated at an altitude of nearly 6000 feet it offers beautiful views of Mt. Kanchenjunga and the sunrise and makes it a perfect place for one to unwind.

Places of Interest 

• Samthar
• Charkhol 
• Kalimpong
• Kagey
• Lingsey
• Aritar
• Lava
• Lolaygaon
• Rishyap
• Mongsong
• Ramdhura
• Iccheygaon
• Silent Valley
• Zuluk 
• Memencho Lake
• Nathang
• Algarah
• Kupup Lake
• Peshok
• Lingtham

Communication / Connectivity

Airways: Bagdogra Airport (IXB) is approximately 115 kilometers from Pedong / Sillery or Rikissum.  Bagdogra airport is served by regular Indian Airlines, Spice Jet, Go Air, Druk Air, Indian Airlines, IndiGo and Jet Airways. There are daily flights from Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Guwahati, Delhi, etc. The airport is well connected by roadways and railways. The drive will be roughly 04 hours from Bagdogra Airport. Taxi as well as Private Vehicles for nearby tourist spots is available from the airport.  It is advisable to book vehicle earlier through net or contact as during season & festival the supply reduces. Pakyong Airport (PYG) is just 75 kilometers from these three places and is nearly 02½ hours - 03 hours drive by road. It is always better to have the early morning flight to airport or else driving after sunset is not advisable

Railways: New Jalpaiguri Railway Station (NJP) is approximately 110 kilometers away and is the nearest major railway station. Pedong / Sillery do not have railway station neither do Kalimpong.  New Jalpaiguri (NJP) station has all the three gauges i.e. Narrow, Meter and Broad. There are regular train services to all the major railway station like Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Patna, Mumbai, Guwahati, Bangalore, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Jaipur, Agra, etc. Taxi as well as Private vehicles for nearby tourist spots are available from the Railway Station (NJP) / Siliguri Junction or Siliguri Town Station 

Roadways:To Reach Pedong, Rikissum & Sillerygaon one has to change direction and leave National Highway 10 near Chitrey and travel 14 kilometers to Kalimpong. Pedong is nearly 22 kilometers from Kalimpong town and is roughly 06 kilometers from Algarah. Sillery is 04 kilometers from Pedong and Rikissum is nearly 14 kilometers from Kalimpong towards Algarah i.e. it’s halfway between Kalimpong & Pedong. There are two major routes to Pedong one is along the River Teesta and then through Kalimpong to Pedong / Sillery or Rikissum. National Highway 10 is to Gangtok and one has to travel along the route till Chitrey / Teesta Bazaar and then turn to Kalimpong. The other route is via Dooars which is longer via Gorubathan & Lava. There is one more option of reaching Pedong via Rangpo, Rorathang and Reshikhola. This route is used for the Offshoot of Silk route. All these places are well connected with Roadways only the Lolaygaon road goes bad every monsoon and it is better to leave lolaygaon for the monsoon season.