A Full Travel Guide of Darjeeling – The Queen of Hills

Darjeeling is situated at an altitude of 7,100 ft above sea level. This beautiful hill station is situated in the northern part of West Bengal. With the magnificent view of Mount Kanchenjunga over the rolling tea gardens, Darjeeling is simply spectacular. Darjeeling is popularly known to be the kingdom of clouds. Tourist all over the world visits Darjeeling for its amazing rolling hills, vibrant culture, adorable toy trains, and tea gardens. Darjeeling is usually cold all around the year because it is so close to the Himalayas.

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Tiger Hill Tiger Hill is the most popular tourist attraction among Darjeeling visiting places. The view of the magical rays of the sun over Mt. Kanchenjunga and Everest ranges will sure make your heart skip a beat. You can go there throughout the day but if you want to witness the sunrise over peaks then try to visit as early as possible in the morning otherwise you will face a terrific traffic jam on the way and probably miss seeing the ice glazing like liquid gold with the first kiss of sun rays.

Old Ghum Monastery: Old Ghum Monastery is one of the beautiful monasteries you will see in Darjeeling. The monastery has one of the oldest statues of Lord Buddha. Photography is strictly prohibited inside the monastery. Batasia Loop is a beautiful garden situated 5km away from Darjeeling town. At Batasia loop the railway track of Darjeeling Himalayan railway created a loop by taking a sharp bend here, thus this place is named Batasia Loop. The panoramic view is awestricken beautiful. In the middle of the garden, there is a war memorial to pay homage to the Gorkha soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the nation.

Happy valley tea estate: Happy valley tea estate is the best place to enjoy the beauty of the tea garden. You have to keep this place on your top Darjeeling visiting places list. Orange valley tea estate is another beautiful tea garden situated on the way to rock garden. You can enjoy the beauty of tea garden with Mt. Kanchenjunga at the backdrop from here.

Activities:

Some must do activities while in Darjeeling are enjoying a ride of Darjeeling ropeway which is 5500ft high and 16 kilometers in length to witness the beauty of the tea gardens and cold breeze, Rafting in the Teesta river, and trekking Sandakphu. April to June and October to December is the most suitable weather for the Darjeeling tour. And you must always keep warm clothes with you. There are a lot of hotels and resorts in Darjeeling and if you want better views of the mountains you have to pay more to enjoy the serenity.

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How to go:

The nearest airport is Bagdogra by air. Regular bus service from Siliguri is available. New Jalpaiguri and Siliguri are the nearest railway stations.  

Written by, Sabbir Ahmed Seam

References (Information Collected)  

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