Adventure sports buffs, especially those interested in trekking, mountain biking and spending nights in tents in the Darjeeling hills, have reasons to cheer.

The state forest department has decided to come up with a number of new accommodations across the hills. These accommodations, foresters said, would also be effective for backpackers.

While the department has planned to renovate an old structure near Tiger Hill — a tourist hotspot near Darjeeling — it will develop camping sites in locations along trekking routes.

Rajendra Jakhar, the chief conservator of forests (wildlife, north), said an old building near Jorebungalow, which was earlier used by a dairy, has been abandoned for years now.

“It is around 22km away from Darjeeling town, on the way to Tiger Hill, and surrounded by Senchal Wildlife Sanctuary. We will develop it as a backpackers' hut,” the forester said.

Under the plan, there will be separate dorms for men and women with basic facilities.

“We also plan to provide bicycles so that those who love to explore Darjeeling town on their own can avail the facility. All these facilities will cost around Rs 500 per person per day,” Jakhar added.

The department will spend around Rs 12 lakh for the project.

The second facility, Jakhar said, will be four camping sites to come up in the Singalila National Park area, perched at a height of 7,600 feet from the sea level. The park is located along the route that leads to Sandakphu, Bengal's highest point.

“As of now, four areas for camping sites have been identified at Tumling, Kaiyakata, Sandakphu and Thakum. The national park is already well recognised as a trekkers’ hub. Thousands of tourists visit the park for a glimpse of the wide range of Himalayan peaks along with other scenic natural beauties en route to their trekking,” a forest official said.

At every location, there will be six tents, each having twin accommodations and a bio-toilet. High-quality tents, mostly used at the base camps of Mount Everest, will be put in the camping sites. For each accommodation here, the department will bear a cost of Rs 1.2 lakh.

“We want to make these campsites operational before winter. All these facilities would be managed by the Darjeeling wildlife division of our department,” the official added.