Any vacation tour to Darjeeling is incomplete without a visit to Mungpu, also known as Mongpoo. A small mountain village, located at an average altitude of about 3,700ft and about 25kms from Darjeeling hills. Cinchona plantation, colorful flower nurseries, tea gardens, crystal clear water streams and cultivation of other medicinal plants are the most striking features of the beautiful Mungpoo. The great poet & Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore spend a portion of his precious time in the serene and quiet ambience of Mungpoo on many occasions. The house named Rabindra Bhavan has now been converted into a museum (Rabindranath Museum) for the tourist to have a glimpse to some of his personal belongings.
Other notable spots include the Dichen Sherpa Choyling Monastery located adjacent to the local market and on top of a hillock. Siksin village also known as Reshep village is only at a few kms distance, has its old heritage of the Cinchona plantation and also a rest house under the control of the cinchona Directorate. On the other direction from Mungpoo, drive 6 kms to reach Jogighat, a small bridge is built here over river Riyang which has turned out to be a picnic spot for locals as well as tourists. Several other tourist sightseeing attractions can be reached from Mungpu like Shelphu, Sittong, Latpanchar area after crossing the bridge.
The distance of Mungpoo is around 51kms from Siliguri, 60kms from NJP (nearest railway station) and 39Kms from Kalimpong. The nearest is Darjeeling (approx 25kms) which takes about an hour to reach by taxi. It would be appropriate to base your stay at Darjeeling and make a day trip of Mungpoo while also covering the adjoining sightseeing areas. You can reach Mungpoo by either booking a private taxi or cab and sightseeing at Mongpoo should not take more than 5 to 6 hours. Accommodation options were somewhat limited in Mungpoo, but nowadays Mungpoo (Mongpu) does have few homestays providing excellent homely environment and food with great hospitality by the locals.
