Manebhanjyang, Darjeeling
Maney Bhanjang
মানেভঞ্জ্যাং मानेभञ्ज्याङ Maney Bhanjyang | |
---|---|
Transit-town | |
UTC+5:30 (IST) | |
PIN | 734221 |
Telephone code | 0354 |
Nearest city | Darjeeling |
Maney Bhanjyang (2150 m) is a small transit-town in the Darjeeling Sadar subdivision, Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal in India. It is located at the gateway of the Singalila National Park, 28 km away from Darjeeling town. The income of the local residents is geared towards tourism, especially foreign trekkers. Maney Bhanjyang is the start of the trailhead for the trek to Sandakphu on the Singalila Ridge, the highest point in West Bengal. Conveyance for Sandakphu is also available mainly from Maney Bhanjyang in the form of Land Rovers of 1960 model. The 4-hour ride can be quite 'jumpy' as drivers maneuver their prized possessions along snaky curves and uphill roads.
Mane Bhanjang lies on the border between India and
The village has a renovated playground where a football tournament is organised in a very lustrous way every year during the Independence Day of India and from last 2 years, Mini Gold Cup has been organised by MBFA (Maney Bhanjyang Football Associated) which has grown up to be a huge success lately.
Moreover, Land Rover Taxi Association of Maney Bhanjyang is the largest operator of Land Rover Taxis in the entire South East Asia. While there are some people who claims that, this is also the biggest Land Rover Taxi operator association. Keeping aside the debate and controversy; one thing is for sure that, these fleet of ageing Land Rover Series I vehicles are the "lifeline of an entirely remote area", where there is no tar topped roads, but only some rocks laid to be called as the 'Road'.
The association is known as the Singalila Land Rover Association, and it operates a total number of 45 Land Rover Series I vehicles. Although these SUV's are more than half a century old, but all of them still looks and performs as good as new. From the exterior, the iconic Land Rover Green badges are gone or completely faded away; instead there are aluminium plates with the iconic Land Rover symbols and the name itself. Surely those badges took the toll of travelling on the rough roads and cloud wrapped gushy wind.
Geography
5miles
River
Wildlife Sanctuary
National
Park
Maney Bhanjyang is located at an average elevation of 1928m in the Darjeeling Himalayan Hill Region in the Singalila Ridge, the highest point in West Bengal. These hills are a part of the
Maney Bhanjyang is surrounded by several small villages and hamlets within a radius of 5–8 km. Being a border of Nepal and India, the Friday Market or the "haat" brings the entire population of the area together for various household and business purposes.
Area overview
The map alongside shows the northern portion of the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region. Kangchenjunga, which rises with an elevation of 8,586 metres (28,169 ft) is located further north of the area shown.[1] Sandakphu, rising to a height of 3,665 metres (12,024 ft), on the Singalila Ridge, is the highest point in West Bengal.[2] In Darjeeling Sadar subdivision 61% of the total population lives in the rural areas and 39% of the population lives in the urban areas.[3][4] There are 78 tea gardens/ estates (the figure varies slightly according to different sources), producing and largely exporting Darjeeling tea in the district. It engages a large proportion of the population directly/ indirectly.[5] Some tea gardens were identified in the 2011 census as census towns or villages.[6] Such places are marked in the map as CT (census town) or R (rural/ urban centre). Specific tea estate pages are marked TE.
Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.
Transport
Maney Bhanjyang can be reached directly from
Maney Bhanjyang is the base camp for trekkers heading toward Sandakphu and Phalut. All required accessories and stuffs required for the 2–4-day trek is available here. The famous Rhododendron trek and the Himalayan Run & Trek are organised from here.
Education
Maney Bhanjyang has three schools in total. Maney Bhanjyang High School has classes from Grade V to Grade X and is upgrade to higher secondary school up to Grade XII. The course curriculum followed is that of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. Other schools are Rhododendron Integratus Boarding School and R.C. Mission Primary School which are primary schools that teach from the kindergarten level to Grade V.
References
- ^ Gurung, H. & Shrestha, R. K. (1994). Nepal Himalaya Inventory. Kathmandu: Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.
- ^ "Sandakphu-Phalut Trek". Himalayan High. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ "Darjeeling". District Profile - General Information. District administration. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ "District Statistical Handbook 2013 Darjeeling". Tables 2.2, 2.4b. Department of Planning and Statistics, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ "Darjeeling Tea". District administration. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ "2011 Census – Primary Census Abstract Data Tables". West Bengal – District-wise. Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 21 March 2020.