Darjeeling – Hidden Town in the Himalayan Beauty

Tiger Hill Darjeeling must see places

If you are feeling cold, a cup of tea can warm you!! Feeling too exhausted, a cup of tea can cool down things!! Feeling depressed, a cup of tea can cheer you up!! Too much excitement, a cup of tea can calm things!! Now, you might be wondering why the hell I am putting quotes on tea when the blog post is on Darjeeling trip !! Darjeeling is one of the most famous tea producers in the world. In fact, Tea is like ‘love in the air’ of Darjeeling. And I am not joking; you don’t need to drink tea to freshen up, just breathe and it’s done. Ha-ha!!!

viewpoint Darjeeling must see places

Clouds are low everywhere as seen on Darjeeling trip

A few decades ago, Darjeeling was just a cluster of villages which was administered jointly by Nepal and Sikkim. Looking at its favorable climatic conditions for tea plantation, British established a hill station after leasing it from the Chogyal of Sikkim. Subsequently, Darjeeling became a well-known new British settlement and trading point for tea.

How to Reach:

New Jalpaiguri (NJP) is the nearest railhead to Darjeeling which connects the city with all the major parts of the country. There are many trains from cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Guwahati, Chennai, Kochi, and Bengaluru. Visit IRCTC for train bookings.

On reaching NJP station the best way to reach Darjeeling is to take a shared taxi which you will get just outside the station and charges will be around  INR 150-200.

Note: Do buy an extra seat if you don’t want to be squeezed for a 3-4 hours journey.

If you prefer to take a flight then the nearest airport is Bagdogra (about 70 km from Darjeeling).

how to reach darjeeling

Getting around Darjeeling 

Most of the must-see places are easily accessible on foot. For visiting the Himalayan Zoo and the Mountaineering Institute, you can either take a taxi or either walk which would take around 30 min. Tiger Hill is about 20 km from the central city and you can get a shared taxi from Chowrastha.

Darjeeling city view

View of Darjeeling Town

A town in lesser Himalayas, Darjeeling stands proud as its gateway. To a backpacker’s delight, nature lover, mountaineer’s wish, honeymooner’s dream, photographer’s shot – Darjeeling has something to offer for everyone. Powerfully attracting visitors with its green tea fields on one side against the white majestic snow-capped peaks on the other, Darjeeling’s panoramas are just breathtaking.

Darjeeling city

Now to end all your anxiety about what the hill station has on offer for you, let me put some light on Darjeeling must see places if you are in this grand city.

Darjeeling city Darjeeling must see places

Darjeeling city views

Places to visit on Darjeeling trip

Himalayan Mountaineering Institute:

HMI was the main reason why I always wanted to visit Darjeeling. Tenzing Norgay along with Sir Edmund Hillary who was the first to conquer Mount Everest founded this Institute in 1953. At HMI you will find mountaineering records of major expeditions undertaken and a nearby museum displays few historical facts and equipment used for trekking. Hopefully one day I would be back here at HMI not as a visitor but as a student for pursuing basic and advance mountaineering course. Visit HMI official website for more info.

hmi Campus places to visit in Darjeeling

Himalayan Mountaineering Institute Darjeeling

Himalayan Zoo:

Known in full as Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, it shares the premises of HMI. It is the largest high altitude zoo in India and the main attraction includes a white snow leopard and the famous red panda. To get more info check out Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park

Zoo Darjeeling must see places

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway:

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the “Toy Train,” is a 2 feet narrow-gauge railway and was established in 1881. You might be wondering why I didn’t talk about Darjeeling Himalayan Railway when I was writing about ways to reach Darjeeling from New Jalpaiguri. You can never be sure that the train service is currently available or not, due to frequent landslides and severe weather conditions. Once you reach Darjeeling, you can inquire about various joy rides. For more details refer to Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Wikipedia.

Railway places to visit in Darjeeling

A steam train at Darjeeling Railway Station

Tiger Hill

Located at the highest point in Darjeeling area, Tiger Hill enriches us with some dazzling sunrise view of the Kanchenjunga and the snow-covered peaks of the entire eastern Himalayan range. Tiger Hill is one of the two points in India from where you can capture the whole panorama between Mount Everest and Kanchendzonga along with other peaks like the Rathong, Kabru, and Kokhtang. Your Darjeeling trip would be incomplete if you miss watching the sunrise from Tiger Hill. Shared taxis are available at around 4 am in the main market area. Visit Darjeeling tourism for more detailed info.

Mt kanchejunga places to visit in Darjeeling

Breathtaking views of Himalayan range from Tiger Hill

Batasia Loop:

The Batasia Loop is a spiral railway created to minimize the elevation of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India. The place is famous for housing a Gorkha war memorial and while in the toy train you can witness a 360 degrees view of Darjeeling. Check out Batasia Loop Darjeeling Tourism for more details.

Batasia Loop places to visit in Darjeeling

Batasia Loop

Happy Valley Tea Estate:

Happy Valley is the most accessible Tea Estate, as it is only about 3-4 kilometers from town. Spread across 437 acres, it is Darjeeling’s oldest tea estate. The scenic charm of this tea garden is heartwarming. Refer to Happy Valley Wikipedia for more details.

Happy valley Tea Estate places to visit in Darjeeling

Happy Valley Tea Estate 

Darjeeling has so much to offer and to avoid making this blog post long, I am not going into details of few other tourist attractions but would list them with clicks of few.

  • Nightingale Park
  • Japanese Peace Pagoda
  • Passenger Ropeway
  • Chowrasta
  • Rock garden
  • Ghoom Monastery
  • Mahakal temple
  • Observatory Hill
  • Singalila National Park
  • Dali Monastery

 Dali Monastery places to visit in Darjeeling trip

Dali Monastery

Japanese Peace Pagoda places to visit in Darjeeling trip

Japanese Peace Pagoda

Best Time to Visit:

For tourists, there are two best seasons to visit Darjeeling, one between March to May (i.e. spring & summer), and the other between October to November (i.e. autumn). Fog or mist, cloud, and rain are all integral part of Darjeeling’s weather. If you are planning to visit Darjeeling to capture spectacular views of the snow-capped mountains like the majestic Kanchenjunga, then you will need to avoid these factors.

Places to stay:

Being a very popular tourist destination, Darjeeling has enough stay options. What if you wake up, open your window and enrich yourself with breathtaking views of snow-covered Mt Kanchenjunga. There are few hotels which provide such views. Cedar Inn, Darjeeling Tourist Lodge – Main Building, The Hermitage, Highlanders’ Inn, and Hotel Dolphin are the few I know.

For a backpacker like me who looks for budget stays, I would suggest you look for The Diocesan Guest House which is run by the church. You can choose from dormitories or double or single rooms. I was charged 100 INR per day for the dormitory.

Darjeeling trip

Darjeeling trip

It’s not all about the above tourist spots that Darjeeling offers, it is the natural beauty of Darjeeling which will surely make you fall in love with this amazing Hill City. Darjeeling has all the great ingredients to provide you a perfect break from your daily life. Hey!! What are you waiting for?? Just take a break from your daily life. Pack your bag and just leave. It’s all about the memories that you can take away with you and nothing else. Guess you know what I mean by nothing else.

onacheaptrip

Me on Darjeeling trip

Do follow me on Instagram as I am regularly posting travel posts and stories over there. Also, you can message me on Instagram if you want to join me on my next trip.

Are you looking for some essential travel gear? Check out my post on What’s in my Backpack.

Hope you would have enjoyed reading this post on the beautiful Darjeeling town. To get regular updates on upcoming budget blog posts from On a Cheap Trip, please subscribe by entering your name and E-mail address in the Newsletter below. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest as well as on Twitter.

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15 thoughts on “Darjeeling – Hidden Town in the Himalayan Beauty

  1. I am from center part of India who never visited Darjeeling. I had heard about this beautiful place and thought of going there.. after reading your article, it has become a must travel destination for me. I love to read your post and see the beautiful pictures. Your blog is a perfect travel guide for us!

    1. You should definitely visit India.Yeah, the architecture is beautiful.Let me know if you need any help if you are visiting 🙂

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