Darjeeling, May 14 -- With more and more tourists opting for offbeat locations, tourism stakeholders are scurrying to come up with new tourist points. 'Aasale Falls' is all set to come up as the new tourist hotspot near Mirik in Darjeeling. Located near the Indo-Nepal border, it is expected to draw crowds from across the border also and could complement 'Kanyam,' a popular tourist destination on the other side of the border in Nepal.

With the Hill towns in Darjeeling turning into concrete jungles coupled with serpentine traffic jams, more and more people are turning to hill villages and tea gardens in search of the perfect getaway. "With this trend setting in, homestays have mushroomed all over the Hills. These homestays are doing very well and are packed round the year," stated Suman Baraily, a hotelier. However, the need of the hour is providing activities to the tourists in and around the place of stay so that they stay over. "Mirik is a popular destination for day trips. However, with the hotels and homestays coming up, tourism is steadily emerging as the economic mainstay of this region. We from the Panchayat are trying to come up with new tourist spots so that tourists stay back in Mirik. Aasale Falls is a step in this direction," stated Aditya Pradhan, Karmadakshya, Health and Environment, Mirik Panchayat Samity, while talking to Millennium Post.

Located 18 km away from Mirik town, work has started to develop Aasale Falls in Mirik Gram Panchayat I by the Panchayat Samity. "It is one of the finest falls in Bengal. We are developing it phase-wise," added Pradhan.

The Panchayat has already sanctioned Rs 10 lakh for beautification and landscaping; Rs 4 lakh for ground levelling; Rs 3.5 lakh for pay toilets and Rs 3 lakh for eco footpaths and park gate. "Construction work is going on in full swing. We hope to open the gates of this new tourist hotspot in the next two to three months," added Pradhan.

It is also expected to emerge as an important tourist destination, attracting tourists from Nepal also, owing to its close proximity to the border. "It connects to the Kanyam region of Nepal, which already is a popular tourist spot," stated Pradhan.

The lake town of Mirik is easily accessible from both Darjeeling town (49 km) and Siliguri (44 km) and is a popular tourist destination.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.