Jaigaon – Phuentsholing is a land border between India state of west bengal and chukha district of Bhutan . It is an open border between this two countries and people can move freely from one side to the another side but upto a certain distance . indians can move upto phuentshilong city without a permit but after that you need a permit from the immigration department .
Only indian state west bengal and assam have land border with Bhutan , Arunachal pradesh and sikkim has physical border but no road . From phuentsholing you can get buses towards the capital Thimphu and Paro city . This city is mainly used for the trade between this two country .
How to reach Phuentsholing ?
Jaigaon and Phuentsholing are the adjacent city across the border . It can be reached , only by the road transport . NH 317 A connecting this city with rest of India . Nearest big city is New Alipurduar which is 60 km from the border town and siliguri is 148 km .
Nearest airport to this city is Bagdogra(150 km) .
Nearest railway station is Madarihat (30km) , where local train stops and New Alipurduar (60 km) where most of the express train stops. New Alipurduar is the gateway to the border city Phuentsholing .
Places to visit in Phuntsholing :
Bhutan Gate :
Bhutan gate is a international gate between the India and Bhutan which is build in Traditional butane style . From this gate all the vehicles cross from India to bhutan and viece versa .
In this border towns , on the both side INR is valid . just after you crossed the gate you see men in Gho . (It is a knee length skirt ) and women in kira(a woman traditional dress ) and building are more traditional .
Amo Chhu Crocodile Breeding Centre :
This is a crocodile park where you can see different types of crocodile in a short space of area . In one cage there is big crocodile and in another cage there was smaller fish eating crocodile .
There is a entry fees to enter this space .
Zangto Pelri Lhakhang :
This is a traditional Buddhist monastery . This is situated , high in the hill . Luckily , I reached there at the time of prayer . This was beautifully decorated with traditional art and lots of stories .
Inside this monastary you can see different bells , drums and flute . Outside of the monastery you can see dungchen , a long horn type of flute .
Important facts about Bhutanes culture :
- Most of the Bhutanes wear traditional dresses . Men wear Gho(a knee length skirt type dress) and woman wear kira (this is the combination of long shirt and the long skirt).
- Most of the buildings in the Bhutan are build in the traditional style and have lots of arts and decoration .
- Inside bhutan people don’t horn when driving .
- One single foreigner woman can travel visit Bhutan but not a single foreign man . A foreigner man must accompanied by someone .
- Bhutan’s progress is not measured by the GDP rather by the GDF(gross domestic happiness ). They believe that happiness is the piller of growth in their country .
Summary :
This border is for the bhutan entry from west bengal’s Jaigaon . Phuentshilong is the border town in bhutan from where buses are available for the Thimphu and paro . Phuentsholing is the commercial centre in the indo bhutan border . In the city of phuentshilong there is some local attraction , like Bhutan Gate , Zangto Pelri Lhakhang and Amo Chhu Crocodile Breeding Centre .