Winter ducks at the Gajoldoba Teesta barrage

Gajoldoba is a fishing village on the Teesta, about 30 km from Siliguri by the Odlabari road and roughly an hour from Lataguri. The barrage built here for irrigation holds back a broad stretch of slow water and sandbars. From November to February it fills with ducks: annual waterfowl counts have recorded around 10,000 birds here, including ruddy shelduck, gadwall, northern pintail, common merganser and lesser whistling duck, with cormorants, egrets and terns.

The best way to see them is from a small country boat with a local fisherman, early in the morning when the water is still and, on clear days, Kangchenjunga shows to the north. Agree the price and duration before you get in, and ask him not to chase birds into flight. Bring binoculars; most ducks keep their distance.

History lovers will like the other Gajoldoba story. The first tea garden in the Dooars was opened at Gazaldoba in 1874, the start of an industry that changed the whole region. Fish fried fresh at the stalls by the barrage makes a good breakfast. The WBTDC runs a tourism property called Bhorer Alo here if you want to stay.