Darjeeling is one of the most popular hill station in India. The british Raj had established it as an R and R center for their troops long back in 1800.
People or tourists come here to spend their holidas in calm, cool and pollution free relaxed atmosphere.Darjeeling is occupied by mountain people mainly belonging to the eastern Himalaya or Tibetan refugees.
Darjeeling offers some fascinating and breath taking views of the snow capped Kanchenjunga and the deep valleys. Another enchanting thing about Darjeeling is the Buddhist monastery. A visit to the tea plantation gives one brief about how exactly tea is being processed before it reaches our homes in packed containers. Trekking on high altitude points to get closer views of Kanchenjunga is what some of the adventure loving tourists prefer to do.
Darjeeling also has a famous toy train which travels through the steep mountain sides form New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling.One ride in the toy train is must to have a complete holiday in Darjeeling.
Climate: The winter temperature ranges from 03 °C to 19 °C and the summer temperature ranges from11°C to 20 °C.
How to reach
Distance:
By Train: The nearest railway station is new jalpaiguri which is located near Siliguri.
By Air: The nearest airport is Bagdogra which is about 96 km from Darjeeling.Regular flights are available from Delhi, Guwahati and Kolkatta till Bagdogra. All major cities are connected by flight to Delhi and Kolkata.
By Bus: Regular and frequent bus service is available from Siliguri to Darjeeling.
What to see and what to do:
Darjeeling gives you a variety of scenic natural beauty.It brings calm and relaxation along with its beauty.
- Tiger Hill: It is located about 11 kms from Darjeeling and is the highest spot at 2590m.It is famous for the majestic dawn views over Kanchenjunga and Himalayas. It is a fun filled and pleasurable 2 hour ride.
- Senchal Lake: Located in the close proximity of Tiger hill is the scenic lake cum picnic spot.
- Kanchenjunga Views: The third highest mountain in the world, located at 8598m. In Darjeeling the best views of the mountain range are from Bhan Bhakta Sarani.
- Ghoom Gompa: Famously known as Yogachoeling Gompa is located 8 kms south of the town near the railway station near Ghoom.It enshrines an image of The Maitreya Buddha.
- Bhutia Busty Gompa: A colorful monastery near Chowrasta with Kanchenjunga as its back drop provides a spectacular view.It houses the original copy of Tibetan Book of the dead in its library.
- Other Gompas: Three other gompas are there in Ghoom, a very large Samdenchoeling , a smaller Sakyachoeling and the Phin Sotholing. One can also find monks selling Tibetan and Sikkimese handicrafts and religious things.
- Observatory Hill: A kali shrine is located here which is ppular both among Hindus and Buddhists.
- Dhirdham Temple: Located just below the railway station, it is modeled on the Pashupatinath temple of Kathmandu.
- Bengal Natural History Museum: It was established long back in 1903 with about 4300 specimens of estuarine crocodile.
- Padmaja Naidu Himlayan Zoological Park: This zoo houses variety of wild animals along India’s only collection of Siberian tigers and rare species of Red Panda and Tibetan wolf.
- Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and Museums: This institute is entered through zoo and is located at a distance of just 2 kms from the town. The museum houses a collection of historic mountaineering equipments, specimen of flora and fauna of Himalyas.
- Passneger Ropeway: About 3 kms north of town is India’s oldest passenger ropeway which connects Darjeeling with Singla bazaar built over the Ranjeet river. It is about 5 kms long.
- Lloyd Botanical Gardens: These gardens hot a collection of Himalayan plants, flowers and orchids. A must visit.
Also one can go shopping in Darjeeling and find a host of things that you would want to take back home. Thangkas, brass statues, religious objects, wood carvings, woven fabrics, carpets. Each of them is equally impressive and made with real finer details.
Hotels and Resorts in Darjeeling:
- Hotel Anand Palace, Darjeeling.
- Snow Lion Homestay, Darjeeling.
- Gymkhana Resort, Darjeeling.
- Sunflower Hotel, Darjeeling.
- Cedar Inn – Darjeeling.
- Hotel Mohit, Darjeeling.
- Hotel Viceroy, Darjeeling.
- Sterling resort – Darjeeling.
- Mayfair Hill Resort Darjeeling.
- Hotel Windamere, Darjeeling.
- Central Resort, Darjeeling.
- Hotel Sinclairs, Darjeeling.
- Hotel Elgin, Darjeeling.
