Jaldhaka River Valley, Kalimpong, West Bengal India

The river valley at Jaldhaka is situated at about 1500 ft above sea level on the shores of the Jaldhaka River that happens to be one of the major attractions of this valley. People visit this place for its natural beauty that offers ample opportunities for travellers to go for fishing and riverside picnic.  

The Jaldhaka river is formed by the conjunction of three streams at Bindu, the end point of the Jaldhaka Police Station at Darjeeling district in West Bengal. The three streams are known as Bindu Khola, Dudh Pokhri and Jaldhaka that originates from the Kupup lake, a small glacial lake in Sikkim. The combined streams meet at Bindu to form the Jaldhaka river, thus forming a riverine boundary with India and Bhutan in the left bank. The main tributaries that join the river in its right bank are the Murti, the Naksal Khola and the Sutunga in the last course. The Diana is the main left bank tributary.

The river flows through the three North Bengal districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Bihar. The entire watershed is the most fertile agricultural zone along with the Teesta Basin. The upper course is famous for crops like ginger, medicinal herbs and fruits like oranges and pomegranate. The middle course comprising Jalpaiguri district is entirely tea and corn dominated and the lower course is dominated by rice, jute and tobacco. The inter-river formed lands are cultivated with crops like bamboo and mat sticks. In the lower basin, the inter-river lands are cultivated with banana.