www.telegraphindia.com

Avijit Sinha

Participants at the camp. A Telegraph picture

Kopish Forest (Kalimpong), Dec. 18: Deepika, Parag and their friends were elated.

At the end of a 15-km ride through the dense forests of Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary, Jhalong and the Sevoke hills, these special children had their first taste of a nature study-cum-adventure camp here today.

Over a hundred of them, hailing from different parts of the state, Delhi, Varanasi and Jamshedpur converged on Siliguri (85 km from here) this morning, eager to attend the six-day camp organised by Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation (Hnaf). They then accompanied a team of experts to reach the campsite later in the day.

“This is the 16th year we are holding the camp. Our objective is to bring the special children out of their homes and into the lap of nature, so that they can see and feel the surroundings and learn from their experience,” said Ashok Nandi, the secretary of Hnaf.

Divided into four groups — Cheetah, Deer, Moyna and Hornbill — the children will live for the next five days in 14 tents pitted for the purpose at the campsite.

“The campers will participate both in practical and theoretical sessions. They will be taught river crossing, crawling and will be taken on jungle trails,” said Hnaf president Animesh Bose.