Latpanchar | Bird watchers paradise

Rufous necked Hornbill at Latpanchar

              Latpanchar- A Bird watchers paradise

        Latpanchar is a  new destination of birders situated at an altitude of 5000 ft above sea level on the hilly region of Mahananda Wild Life Sanctuary. It is in the Kurseong division of Darjeeling district. Since it's part of the sanctuary, apart from the birds there is good chance that you will come across some wildlife here like deer, barking deer, wild boars, and some times even leopards and elephants while exploring the jungles around. The village is known for its proximity to the core area of the Mahananda Wild Life Sanctuary. It is also famous for the medicinal plants it produces; there is a large plantation of cinchona around here. Snow-capped peaks of Kanchenjunga is also another attraction of Latpanchar.

           Birds of Latpanchar

       Apart from natural beauty, Latpanchar has  gained popularity for its birding potential. There are about 250 species of birds available in the area including the Rufous Necked Hornbill.  You can hear frantic calls and melancholy songs of birds from all around especially the Blue Whistling Thrush and Indian Cuckoo. Berry Tree  is home of varieties of birds. Birds like Himalayan Bulbul, Scaly Thrush, Scarlet Minivet , Great Barbet ,Black Bulbul ,Chestnut Tailed Starling, Blue Throated Barbet are present in abundance feeding on the berries.  Asian Barred Owlet, Grey capped pygmy woodpecker, Grey Treepie , Black Winged Cuckoo Shrike, Lesser Yellow nape, Black Baza, Long Tailed Broadbill can also be seen here. Among other birds, the commonly seen ones include Yuhina, Scaly thrush, Woodpeckers, Black bulbuls, Ashy backed shrike, Spotted eagles, Magpie, Minivets, Minla, Drongo, King Fishers, Robins and if you are lucky, Himalayan Pied hornbills.

          Other attractions of Latpanchar

      Ahal Dara View Point: About 5kms away from the village.You can take a car to reach to its base  and walk up the boulder path to the top which is about 500 meters up. From here you can get a spectacular view of Kanchenjunga peaks and below and you can see the lower reaches of the forests on mountain slopes and the river Teesta flowing as far as Haldibari.
      Namthing Lake : From the base of Ahaldara View point the main road continues and leads to a lake called Namthing Lake through Cinchona and pine trees. One side of the lake is surrounded by dense pine trees. Other than many different types of birds, this lake area is well known for the rare Himalayan Salamander (small lizard like creatures).
       Sarsari Dara: This is another place from where you get sweeping views of Kanchenjunga snow peaks, other mountains and the valleys around. You can walk up to this place (about 1.5 kms from the village).

           How to go Latpanchar

      You can take a taxi from New Jalpaiguri railway station(NJP) or Bagdogra airport. Latpanchar is about 44kms from NJP (takes about 1.5 hours by car) and 49kms from Bagdogra (takes 1 hour 45 minutes by car). From Kalijhora (on Sevoke road), a hilly road  goes up on the left and leads to Latpanchar.

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