The airport Bagdogra or railhead New Jalpaiguri are both in a tropical environment an hour’s drive away. Makaibari is in a temperate clime, and Sandhakphu, some hour uphill at 5000 meters is alpine –arctic. This creates a unique biotope with a diversity of flora and flora unmatched elsewhere globally. The biodiversity compressed in this small biotope makes it a dream for naturalists , botanists, ornithologists.
The strategic location of Darjeeling, which is a virtual gateway to Nepal, Sikkim, Tibet, and Bhutan, also makes it an important political hub. This factor, coupled with the ethnic diversity of her residents offers a global melting pot, which is an exclusive window of harmony in diversity.
At Makaibari, over twenty varieties of bamboos grow, together with a plethora of endangered species both in the plant and animal kingdom.
Our forests are home to Bengal tigers, leopards, deer, boar, monkeys, reptiles, and over 300 bird species-with the Pied Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) ruling the roost. Insects are at home, and the garden’s proud is the “Tea Deva”, the mimetic insect (Phyllium bioculatum) looking like a tea leaf, first sighted in 1990 at Makaibari.