Himalayan motor rally starts in Siliguri

Siliguri  :  The JK Tyre Himalayan Drive 6 motor rally was flagged-off amidst great fanfare here on Friday.

The 1,650-km rally over five thrilling days will traverse the Dooars and Darjeeling hills in north Bengal and various picturesque routes in Bhutan and Nepal.

India's only Tri-Nation TSD (Time, Speed & Distance) rally, this unique event aims at promoting motorsports, showcasing the enormous tourism potential of north Bengal and the contiguous areas of Bhutan and Nepal.

It is distinct from other TSD rallies since it covers a wide variety of terrain, ranging from tarmac, river beds, dirt tracks, forest roads and mountainous roads.

It will skirt steep slopes that will not only present a tough challenge to the participants but will also offer a lot of thrill to them as well as to spectators.

More than 100 participants, including top rallyists from the country, took off from here on Friday morning.

On Day 3, the participants will journey to the famous jungle roads on the fringes of the Chitwan Reserve Forest areas through the gravel and dirt tracks before coming back to Chitwan for a well deserved rest.

The rallyists will drive back from Chitwan through the Dooars on Day 4 and after driving through the heart of Terai region in Nepal to enter India through the Kakarbhita border en route to Murti in the Dooars for the night halt.

The participants spend the next day driving through the Dooars region going through serene terrain with it's tea gardens, jungle tracks and river beds before entering the 3rd country Bhutan at Phuntsholing.

For the fifth and final Leg, they will leave Phuntsholing through amazing and adventurous hill tracks and climb up the hills to reach Darjeeling where the rally finishes.