Soureni

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Soureni सौरेनी
Village
Soureni Location in West Bengal, India
Coordinates: 26°31′N 88°07′E / 26.51°N 88.11°E / 26.51; 88.11Coordinates: 26°31′N 88°07′E / 26.51°N 88.11°E / 26.51; 88.11
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District	Darjeeling
Elevation	1,330 m (4,360 ft)
Languages
• Official	Bengali, English
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	734227
Telephone code	91 35422

Soureni is a village near Mirik in Darjeeling district, West Bengal, India. The market of Soureni Bazar caters to several villages and tea gardens of the surrounding area. There are two tea estates near Soureni Bazar - Soureni Tea Estate and Mechi Tea Estate. Soureni has a huge potential for tourism with numerous scenic spots. It lies on the alternate Darjeeling-Siliguri road, about 7 km from Mirik.

History

Dakman Rai,^[1] the famous Nepali sardar (landlord), was given large tracts of land by the British during the establishment of tea gardens in Darjeeling. These included Soureni, Phuguri and Samripani. Bhoujit Rai, son of Dakman Rai, established a tea garden in Soureni by planting a tree variety called "Saur" and some tea on this personal estate. He later sold off the estate to the Tiwari brothers, Ramlal and Jalooram Tiwari, who had come from Rajasthan to Darjeeling in 1870 and had established a shop in Kurseong of which Bhoujit was a customer. The Soureni Tea Estate was formally established in 1902 by the Tiwari brothers. The Soureni Tea Estate was sold off by the Tiwaris in 1990. Enormous contribution was made by Mr. Lingwood^[2] to the development of Soureni, including the establishment of its first high school.

Places of interest

Soureni-Tingling Viewpoint - One of the best viewpoint in the entire North-East India with a meandering road amidst the green slopes of the tea gardens.
Hallaney - The views from both sides of this ridge road show Kurseong and the plains of North Bengal on the one side and the hills of Nepal, with the well-known Antu Dara,^[3] on the other.
Bunkulung^[4] (Jayanti Nagar) - A developing commercial and agricultural village in the valley near the Balasan river. Ecotourism and home-stay facilities are being promoted in this area.
Soureni Busty - Numerous orange orchards lie in this area.^[5]
Tea Gardens - Soureni Tea Estate,^[6] Mechi Tea Estate, Phuguri Tea Estate,^[7] Tingling Tea Estate, Singbulli Tea Estate, Ghayabaree and Millikthong Tea Estates.^[8]