Tea time in Darjeeling

Travel time - from station/airport to Darjeeling: 3 hours by car.

You’ll arrive into Darjeeling by train (New Jalpaiguri) or by plane (in Bagdogra) on the first day of your Darjeeling tour and will be transferred to your hotel. During the 3-hour drive you’ll travel across Indian plains with mountain slopes in the background. Radiating serenity and calm, Darjeeling is an island city which lies at the foot of the Kanchenjunga range. Here, the temperature is very pleasant and Indians have been escaping the suffocating heat of Kolkata summers here for years. The town straddles a slope with a height difference of up to 600 metres. From almost every hotel you have sweeping views of the surrounding countryside. The streets are narrow, steep and typically busy as usual in India, with dozens of ramshackle stalls selling anything and everything. In the market square, at the very top of the hill, you’ll find yourself encircled by snow-capped mountains, some reaching heights exceeding 8000metres (over 26,000 feet).

You’re free to explore on your own for the rest of the first day of your Darjeeling tour. Here, you can amble through the tea fields where you’ll see the Indian pickers carrying large baskets on their backs. Darjeeling is renowned for its tea, which is still produced by hand here in small factories. You’ll stay in a peaceful, comfortable hotel with spacious rooms during your package tour.

On day two of your Darjeeling tour, you’ll have an early start to make it to the top of Tiger Hill before sunrise. Weather permitting, the views are definitely worth it! You’ll have a fantastic view of the first beams of sunshine appearing between the snow-capped Himalayas- a real highlight of your India trip. As the morning mist disappears from the valley, the view will become even more amazing. It can be pretty cold and windy up here, so make sure you are warmly dressed. As soon as the sun rises higher and the valley begins to warm up, you’ll drive to the oldest Buddhist monastery in Darjeeling, the next stop on your Darjeeing tour. This monastery dates from 1875 and is home to many well-preserved books. An english-speaking guide will accompany you through the grounds and explain the history of the building.

In the afternoon, you can enjoy a typical Nepalese or Tibetan lunch in the centre of Darjeeling. You’ll visit a museum about the history of climbing in the Himalayas, accompanied again by a guide. Next on your Darjeeling tour, you’ll take a trip to the famous zoo with its rare red panda and snow leopard. You’ll finish off the day in the Tibetan refugee centre, where exiled Tibetans make clothes and carpets from local wool. You’ll spend another evening in the cosy hotel, drifting happily off to sleep after an action-packed day.

Today, your Darjeeling tour ends after breakfast. Would you like to head deeper into Sikkim? If so, you could enjoy a real India experience on our Sikkim tour which visits the towns of Gangtok and Kalimpong in the green foothills and the monasteries in the local area.

You could also choose venture on a 5-day Sikkim Trek through the lower slopes of the pristine Himalayas in our module .

Alternatively, you can travel back to Kolkota (Calcutta) by train or plane. From Kolkata, you can take flights to other parts of Northern India on one of our Rajasthan tours. Or perhaps you might like to head south on one of our South India tour packages- our travel specialists are happy to arrange these on your behalf. Just let us know your requirements via our quote request form, and we’ll make you a personal Travel Plan.