THE DAMDIM TEA BUNGALOW
Damdim Tea Estate, Western Dooars.
Dooars or Duars region is the foothills of the East
Himalaya connecting Bhutan. It is believed that the name
has been derived from the word DWAR, locally meaning
gateway. As this region was densely forested, being the
flood plains of the mountain rivers, there were 18
established entry points to Bhutan. There were regular
wars in the past regarding control on this region, but
now it falls in the North of West Bengal and the Bodo
Territorial Council of Assam.
In the North Bengal portion, with the initiative of the
entrepreneurs during the British rule, several Tea
Gardens were established between the forests in this
region. Gradually, these islands of development amidst
of beautiful, virgin and wild landscapes became centre
of attraction for visitors, who often combined it with
their visit to the Darjeeling Hills. Today, this region
is all year round goldmine for the tourists.
One such Tea Garden was established as Barrons Tea
Estate, which later came to be known as Damdim, deriving
its name from the flies which the Bhutanese and Tibetans
called ‘Dema Dema’. The oldest section of this garden or
estate dates back to 1927. Prior to 1963, this estate
was under the UK based James Finlay group, which since
1964 was known as Tata Finlay group and the same by 1983
was established as Tata Tea, with its headquarters at
Kolkata (Calcutta).
It was towards the end of 2006, the Tata Tea
administration with the technical support of Help
Tourism, an East Himalaya based ecotourism organization,
decided to convert one of their assets, a Tea Bungalow
at Damdim Tea Estate for tourism purposes. For visitors
to the Sikkim, Darjeeling & Dooars region, Damdim Tea
Estate is a must addition, as it not only provides an
authentic British Colonial Planter’s hospitality and tea
experience, but also serves as the base camp for
wilderness experience.
The southern boundary of the estate is separated with
the Baikanthapur Forest Division by the Chel River. The
landscape towards the north is dominated by the
legendary Neora Valley National Park, the east by
Garumara National Park and the West by the Mahananda
Wildlife Sanctuary. In November 2006, our first guests
from the BBC Natural History division, with the support
of the Help Tourism Team, chose the Damdim Tea Estate to
shoot ‘the migrating elephants of North Bengal’, which
they have described as one of their best experiences in
India.
For the GOLFERS, the neighboring Western Dooars Club, a
heritage club serving since the time of the British
Planters, provides a nine holed golf course in the lap
of excellent scenery of the East Himalaya. The club also
has facilities of card table, billiard table, table
tennis board, dancing floor and a bar. As guests of Tata
Tea, you have an easy access to the club facilities
against a temporary membership fees.
Services:
There are presently three air conditioned double
bedded rooms with private toilet and bath at ‘The Damdim
Tea Bungalow’ with lots of sitting area, dining space,
library, exclusive lawn and a Machan (Tree House). Our
chef is a second generation serving the Planter’s
Bungalow and has a team of local youths from the Estate
to look after the guests in the bungalow.
Dedicated transport are provided for transfers and
sightseeing. Local guide is available on the Tea Trail
and Picnics. Our add-on packages for Hills and Forests
are available on request while booking. Facilities to
the Western Dooars Club can be made available subject to
prior permission of the club management and payment of
temporary membership fees. Local cultural and tribal
dance may be organized against request while making the
booking.
