The northern fringes of Kurseong town
houses St. Mary’s Hills where ‘The Grotto’ is a famous destination for
locals as well as tourists who visit Kurseong. Despite the existence of
such a hotspot, the tourism department is virtually lying asleep over a
gold mine. It is high time the department develops the area to bring
forth its immense tourism potential.
Kurseong does not boast of many tourist
destination and the few visitors who trickle here is mostly because of
the place’s natural beauty. But besides this gift by nature, there is no
infrastructure to promote tourism at all and nothing is being done in
this regard. The natural sites Kurseong boasts of include ‘The Grotto’
and the ‘Eagle’s Crag’, to name a few.
The Grotto has a statue of the Virgin
Mother Mary. Families and young couples of different faiths visit the
site and offer prayers. The surroundings of the Grotto are blessed by a
dense forest covering and a peaceful environment. People believe the
statue of Mary possesses divine powers and they light candles to seek
her blessings. A natural spring runs besides the statue and that too is
considered holy.
Local residents Prashant Rai said,
“Whenever guests visit our home, they enquire about the places to visit
in Kurseong and I always take them to The Grotto where they are
dumbstruck by the silence and serenity of the dense forest, the holy
environment and the beautiful scenery they get to view.
Another local named Sunil Sharma said
The Grotto and its natural beauty is an ideal spot for tourism
authorities to make a blueprint for enhancing the infrastructure to
attract more tourists. In its present state too, the place attracts a
large number of people despite lacking any infrastructure and one
wonders the popularity the area could gain if it is developed
conscientiously by the concerned department.
When asked a local GTA member was asked
about this, he said they have been planning several projects to develop
tourism on a large scale in the hills.
“We will definitely look into the potential and viability of developing the areas in and around The Grotto, he added.(EOIC)