Panchthar As soon as you reach the hill of Chintapu while climbing up Panchthar, you can see a fascinating sight – a forest full of colorful gurans. Looking down, red, white, blue and pink colors are scattered in the green forest. The scene is even more charming when the strong wind that blows sometimes along with the midday sun shakes the trees.

Sometimes the fog covers the mountains, sometimes it suddenly disappears. There is a local saying, ‘The fog coming from Elam is blown away by the wind of five layers.’ This saying is realized in its full meaning only after arriving here.

Local Anil Nembang smiles as he points his finger towards his old shed from Takura in Chintapu, ‘My shed is surrounded by crows.’ He adds, ‘When the grass blooms, our place looks different – colorful, fun.’

Actually, Chintapu-Thulitar region is a natural park of Gurans. Although there is no formal study of how many species of guras there are, according to the locals, guras of many colors and sizes are found here. With the arrival of spring yam, the appearance of the forest area changes when these flowers bloom.

According to Nembang, who is running a homestay in Majhaule, this area looks different in every season. He says, ‘The green forest in Barkha, the white mountains after October and now the colorful Guras are attractive.’

Chintapu-Thulitar is an important area not only for cattle, but also from the point of view of biological diversity. The rare wild animal red panda is found here. The diversity of birds, herbs and plants is another attraction of this region.

Places like Bhuspate, Majhaule, Thulitar, Chintapu, Homadanda, Goruwale, Deurali and Pareva Dhunga in this area are special destinations for nomads. By starting the trek from Paivabhanjyang, you can reach the three borders of Sandakpur and Charrate via Chintapu. This route is a confluence of natural beauty and cultural diversity.

Even though there are so many possibilities, Chintapu-Thulitar is still overshadowed. Local Deepak Dulal says, ‘There have been many attempts to make this area an excellent tourist destination, but there has been no concrete result.’ He says that the possibilities are limited due to the lack of basic infrastructure such as roads, housing and information systems.

In terms of transportation, this area is not that far. Thulitar can be reached in about one and a half hours from Fidim, the headquarters of Panchthar, while it takes about two hours to reach by bull from Ilam Bazar.

Chintapu-Thulitar region is waiting for more publicity for the beauty generously given by nature, scenery that changes according to season and rich in biological diversity.