My Darling Darjeeling - A home in the mountains
After getting baked, grilled and fried at above 40 degree Celsius in Kolkata, I can't stop myself dreaming of soothing summer of Darjeeling . Now even I have forgotten the counts, how many times I have climbed to this age old Himalayan city, built by British ,a home away from home. Why Darjeeling is my darling when queen of hills is over populated down the years, unplanned and torn apart by continuous strikes, on demand of Gorkhaland, a separation from Indian state of Bengal. My top seven reasons to visit Darjeeling:
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| Darjeeling , a Heritage Hill Station, often known as Queen of Hills |
1.Climbing through Clouds ,Conifers and Flowers:
Once I left behind my college, city jungle of Siliguri vanishes like a magic. The road passes through tall sal ,segun trees of Sukna forest, passing Gulma tea estates, Madhuban and then towards Rohini with soothing green all around ,bordering shadowy mountains in far distance. As I drive past Karseong our car ascends up and up ,deep valleys, mountain tops everything
immersed under the quilts of clouds, as if we are floating on top of cloud. Meandering roads disappeared into the haze.
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| On the way to Darjeeling |
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| The hill side house emblazoned with flowers |
In between , sudden glimpses of flower emblazoned wooden homes made brightest canvas amidst blurred background. The flowers release their scents into the air, the cool, moist air
tingles and the eyes are delighted by the seasonal colour changes. In a little while we drive past towering pine woods, possibly darkest deep green in colour and winds passing through the pine chains whisper :welcome to Darjeeling.
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| The chain of pine trees a symbol of Darjeeling |
2.Magical Morning :
Watching sun rise over Kanchenjunga from Tiger hill is a magical moment if the mysterious Kanchenjunga wishes to uncover herself behind the clouds. But walking ups and down towards gleaming white Japanese peace pagoda through the winding fogged roads guarded with slender conifers, or up to the Ghum Railway Station ,swirls of mist obscuring vision, a joy of getting drenched in sudden summery drizzle happens in Darjeeling.Summer is lovely with soothing cold ,when clouds come close to the bed with
those open windows, sarong of fogs intimately embraces, refreshes. The bright sunshine with occasional snowfall and company
of panoramic view of snow dazzled Kanchenjunga from every nook and corner in a clear day makes the city, a special destination for winter, too.
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| The snow Capped Himalaya as seen from Darjeeling |
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| Japanese Peace Pagoda,Darjeeling |
3.Sipping “Champagne of Teas”:
I want nothing more than to sip wonderful cup of steaming Darjeeling tea
and taste is wonderful! Divine! Inspiring!. In every morning ,after a walk in the mall either we will sit into
Kaventers or
Glenery's to sip freshly brewed tea and afternoon ritual is to be in tea lounges of
Nathmull's to taste flavours of different variety. Tea has a magical effect on me. Tea is enough reason to ascend to this highland. Tea is Darjeeling's
soul,reason to be famous among world's elite class. Neighbouring hill slants of Darjeeling are carpeted with
perfectly trimmed tea bushes, miles after miles adding a verdant lush
landscape. Without this rolling green tea gardens it's impossible to
imagine existence of Darjeeling. Happy Valley, Orange Country, Makaibari
are few of the names of world's finest tea growing estates.
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| Darjeeling High On Tea |
4.Riding The Rails: We, Indian adorably
call it as toy train and this little train has become identity of
Darjeeling and a UNESCO world heritage site too. These little trains climbed through
the clouds into the wonderful Indian hills from Himalayas in north to
Nilgiris in south. From last 125 years it ferries passenger into the
Himalayas and to the Darjeeling with narrow 2 feet wide track. I took a
ride from Karseong to Darjeeling and it touches my heart .Train huffs
puffs through fogged narrow twisted track passing pine chains, quaint villages, peaceful lives ,tea estates towards the clouded mountains and my eyes misted up.
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| Riding through Darjeeling Himalayan Railway |
5.Eating at Elite Eateries:
From legendary movie maker Satyajit Ray( In Kanchenjugha movie) to recent hindi movie Barfi, none of them, not able to ignore
Kaventers,a tradition of rooftop dining arrangement and how can I, an ardent lover of food?And my other favorite is
Glenarys,a famous bakery plus cafe plus restaurants, a good place to grab my English break first with a good view of Darjeeling. I love small Tibetan restaurant Dekeling for momos , fried pork and mixed chowmin. Dekeling is famous for westerners who prefer less spicy Chinese cuisine. Sunset Lounge of
Nathmull's with fine valley view is my favorite with free wi-fi.And don't miss to peep into
Cake Lady's place who will surely mesmerize you by her mouth-watering sweet smelled cakes.
Joy's Pub is a relic reminiscent of an English Country Cottage.
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| Tibetan style Chinese At Dekeling Restaurant ,Darjeeling |
6.Royal Treatments with colonial Hangover: Experience the Raj - era , at heritage
Hotel Windmere on top of observatory hills,a perfect setting with most stunning view of Darjeeling .The
Glenburn Tea Estate is a colonial gem on the outskirts of Darjeeling where you can relax in elaborately decorated rooms inside tea estate with elegant touch.From accommodation to eateries to boarding school ,Darjeeling is draped in all sorts of colonial hangovers. To escape summer heat of Indian plains, British developed this hill station, a home away from home. Windmere hotel to Glenarys or North point School to St Paul Church, you will find the smack of old colonial architecture, a tradition .
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| A Morning Walk @Darjeeling Mall |
7. Spoilt for so many things to do:
Real Cuties ,Red Pandas @ Darjeeling Zoo:
Darjeeling Zoo is always on my things to do list for pandas and birds .With good variety of Himalayan birds(varieties of Monals) and animals (Himalayan wolf,tiger,snow leopard) this zoo is largest high altitude and famous for endangered Himalayan red panda sighting .Why red panda's are so much in craze , because they are real cuties and see my photos:
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| Red Panda @ Darjeeling Himalayan Zoo |
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The silver pheasant at Darjeeling zoo
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- Shopping at Chowrasta, Mall market.
- Visit to Rock garden ,Japanese Peace Pagoda, Happy valley Tea estates, Zoo
- Experience Sun rise from Tiger Hill
- Trek to Sandakphu and Manebhanjan
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| Cascading Waterfalls at Rock Garden at Darjeeling |
Darjeeling has lured me to her beautiful slopes and from my pen words will flow and my stories will grow on & on .
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| Beautiful Rock Garden @Darjeeling |
Travel Tips: Darjeeling is beautiful round the year. Avoid monsoon .Best time to visit for clear sky and views of Kanchenjunga is September to February(autumn to winter). March to May is soothing summer ,but foggy and cloudy all the time.
Budget Hotel: Darjeeling is a place to fit everybody's bill. I would recommend a Tibetan Hotel
Dekeling at very convenient location, close to every facilities and Mall too.But they don't have room service and fooding is available in below restaurant like Lunar and Dekeling.Super delux rooms don't have any view of Darjeeling.Delux rooms are on the road side , having Darjeeling view,but little noisy.
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Dekeling Hotel, A tibetan family run homestay cum hotel ,the family lives in the hotel too
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