A Travelogue – Aranyak Resort, Jaldapara

A Travelogue – Aranyak Resort, Jaldapara

Advik Das (8 years)

Every year in December holidays, I go to India with my family. My hometown is in Siliguri, and my extended family comes there to meet us during the new year time.
Last year during holidays, we went to “Aranyak Resort” in Jaldapara forest, with our extended family. I went with my aunts, uncles, mum, dad, cousins and my brother.

The long drive to the resort was really fun. We chatted, cracked jokes and had snacks. I remember playing extremely fun word games with my cousin. We also looked out of the window and discussed what we saw.

When we came very close to the resort, the GPS told us to go in a way that did not lead to the resort. But as the resort owner was my uncle, we were able to get help from him and reached the resort soon after.
The outside of the resort was great, and was especially good for me, as I collect rocks, and the area had lots of rocks. After we were shown our rooms, we went to the nearby river, which was just meters away from the resort. When I waded in, I felt fishes touch my feet as they swam by. After that, we hurriedly got ready for the jungle safari trip in the afternoon.

We got into the off-road jeeps designed for our big group. Amidst the dense foliage, we spotted elephants, deer, bison, rhinoceros, peacocks, and peahens. At the end, we went to a tower taller than most of the trees, to see above the forest.

After the safari trip, we went back and had delicious Bengali dishes. That night, we took our torches for a night-time walk by the riverbank. At bedtime, I think I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.

At dawn, my parents spotted deer coming for a drink from the river and a peacock showing off its tail feathers to the peahen. To my dismay, when I woke up, they were gone. After getting ready, I went on an early morning walk with my dad. During the walk, we took a steep slope to get close to the river. Soon after, my mum and brother came along. Mum was a bit concerned about letting my brother take the slope down, but he managed it. After a few minutes of silence, we went back to the others in the group.
Next, we had a delicious breakfast and left for home.

Little bit more about my hometown:
Siliguri has forest on one side and majestic mountains on the other. It’s at the foothill of the Himalayas, just below Darjeeling. I think you should pay a visit, don’t you?