Rise of a new ecotourism spot: The case of a multiethnic mountain village in North Bengal, India

The concept of ‘ecotourism’ is a newly emerged concept in the purview of tourism industry. It is a form of tourism which is essentially a nature - based tourism and intended towards conservation of natural areas as well as resources, thereby, becoming the part of sustainable development. Most importantly, from an anthropological context, it involves the members of local community enabling them to be economically benefitted at the same time. The given study has been done at the outset of a multiethnic mountain village named as Sillary Gaon, administratively falling under Kalimpong district of West Bengal. This village, commonly known as ‘New Darjeeling’ of West Bengal, grows out to be a new ecotourism spot of the state. The present study tries to explore the historical underpinnings behind the growth and development of this new ecotourism spot, most importantly, by highlighting on inter-community and intra-community network responsible in this regard. The study is the outcome of first-handed fieldwork, the most preferred approach in anthropological discourse.