Mirik Knowledge Guide
History
Mirik Bazar began a commercial centre of the region where people from the surrounding villages and tea gardens came to trade and buy their necessities. The present lake area was a marshland with thick growth of sweet flag (Acorus calamus, locally called bojho). A playground stood in the present garden area where the British officers played polo. In 1969, the West Bengal tourism department began the process of acquiring 335 acres of land from the neighboring Thurbo tea estate. The work of developing this land into a tourist spot began in 1974 when Siddhartha Shankar Ray was the chief minister of West Bengal. The tourist spot, which included the newly built lake and the Day Centre, was inaugurated by the next chief minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu, in April 1979. With the flourishing of tourism, Krishnanagar developed on the other end of the lake with hotels and restaurants catering to tourists. Mirik became the sub-divisional headquarters of Mirik subdivision on 30 March 2017.
Transportation
Mirik is 52 km (32 mi) northwest of Siliguri city and 49 km (30 mi) south-southwest of Darjeeling town. Bagdogra (IATA airport code IXB) 52 km (32 mi) south of Mirik is the nearest airport and New Jalpaiguri adjacent to Siliguri is the nearest railway station. Few buses ply from Mirik to Siliguri and Darjeeling and the fare is Rs. 70. Shared taxis operate from Mirik to Siliguri, Darjeeling, Kurseong, Kakarbhitta (Nepal), Sonada, and Kalimpong. The fare has risen recently to Rs. 120 for Siliguri, Kurseong and Darjeeling (2018) and Rs 120* for Kakarvitta and Sonada (2018) per passenger. One can hire a taxi at a cost of Rs. 1200 to 1600 for Darjeeling, Kurseong, Siliguri and Kakarbhitta(Nepal)*. Shared taxis also operate from Darjeeling, Siliguri, Kurseong, Sonada and Kakarbhitta to Mirik. Shared taxis are operated from Mirik by Mirik Tours & Travels (Krishnanagar). Taxis are available for internal transportation within Mirik to travel from Mirik Lake (Krishnanagar) to Mirik Bazar at Rs. 15 per head.