Darjeeling

Darjeeling is a hill town at about 2,050 m on a ridge of the eastern Himalaya in the north of West Bengal, famous around the world for the tea grown on its slopes. Darjeeling looks north to Kangchenjunga, at 8,586 m the third highest mountain on earth, which fills the skyline on clear mornings. The town was developed by the British from the 1830s as a sanatorium and summer retreat.

Tea planting began in the 1850s, and today the Darjeeling tea estates produce a delicate, fragrant black tea protected by a geographical indication. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a narrow-gauge line opened in 1881, still climbs from the plains with its small steam and diesel toy trains, and it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute was set up here in 1954 after the first ascent of Everest, with Tenzing Norgay, who lived in Darjeeling, as its first director of field training. The town's people are mainly Gorkha, Lepcha, Bhutia and Tibetan.

What to see

• Sunrise over Kangchenjunga from Tiger Hill, about 11 km from town
• The toy train joy ride to Ghum and the Batasia Loop war memorial
• The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and its Everest museum
• Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, known for red pandas and snow leopards
• Tea estate tours and tastings, such as Happy Valley
• Chowrasta and the Mall, the town's central square and promenade

What to wear

Darjeeling is cool all year and cold from November to February, when nights near freezing. Bring warm layers, a jacket, hat and gloves for Tiger Hill at dawn, and a rain jacket from June to September. Comfortable walking shoes are essential on the steep lanes. Dress modestly at monasteries and remove shoes in shrine halls. The Gorkha men of Darjeeling wear the daura suruwal with the dhaka topi, a patterned cap, and Bhutia and Tibetan women wear the bakhu robe.

Local food to try

Darjeeling's food mixes Tibetan, Nepali and Bengali traditions. Try momos, thukpa, shaphaley (fried bread stuffed with meat), sel roti and churpi, a hard cheese. Glenary's on Nehru Road is a long-running bakery and tearoom, and the lanes around Chowrasta have tea shops where you can taste first and second flush Darjeeling. Vegetarian food is easy to find.

Good to know

• Best time: March to May and October to December, when mountain views are clearest
• Town open all year; Tiger Hill sunrise needs a very early start
• Individual sights such as the zoo, HMI and toy train rides charge their own fees
• Allow two to three days
• About 70 km from Bagdogra airport and New Jalpaiguri railway station, around three hours by road
• Book toy train rides ahead in peak season; views are often cloudy in the monsoon

Nearby places

Darjeeling pairs naturally with Sikkim: Gangtok and Rumtek Monastery are about four hours away, with Tsomgo Lake beyond. Kolkata and the Victoria Memorial are an overnight train or a short flight south.