HOW TO REACH DARJEELING
Darjeeling can be reached by car, train, and flight.
The is no direct train or flight to Darjeeling, the nearest airport is Bagdogra which is 69 km away.
The nearest railway station is New Jalpaiguri(NJP) which is 72 km away from Darjeeling, but there is a narrow gauge toy train from NJP to Darjeeling which takes around 7-8 hours.
From NJP / Siliguri you can book a cab or get a shared cab to reach Darjeeling which takes around 3 hours via Rohini Road. Bus for Darjeeling is also available from Tenzing Norgey bus stands in Siliguri.
POPULAR TOURIST PLACES IN DARJEELING
Darjeeling Local 7 Points Sightseeing
- JAPANESE TEMPLE & PEACE PAGODA: Built by the Japanese Buddhist monk, Nichidatsu Fujii, in 1972, located on a hilltop Japnese temple is a beautiful place that offers a beautiful view of mountains and a tea garden, Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa that was also built by Nichidatsu Fujii in 1992 and located just 100 meters beside Japnese temple.
- DARJEELING ZOO: This is one of the popular tourist places in Darjeeling, here you can see different Himalayan endangered species, like Red Panda, Black Panther, Himalayan Wolf etc.
- HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINEERING INSTITUTE: This spot is inside the Zoo, if you have an interest in mountain climbing this is a must-visit place.
- DARJEELING ROPEWAY: Rangeet Valley Ropeway aka Darjeeling Ropeway is a 2.3 Km ride which goes over Rangeet Valley tea garden.
- TENZING ROCK: This place is near Ropeway and you can try mountain climbing under the supervision of experts.
- CHITREY TEA GARDEN: This is a famous tea garden, you will see many tea stalls which sell tea produced in this garden.
- HAPPY VALLEY TEA GARDEN: This is one of the largest and most famous tea gardens near the Darjeeling bus stand.
3 Points Sightseeing
- TIGER HILL: This tourist spot is located on observatory hills 24 Km away from Darjeeling rail station, this is a sunrise viewpoint and offers the most beautiful view of Mt. Kangchenjunga during sunrise.
- BATASIA LOOP: This is also called Gorkha War Memorial. This Loop was constructed to make the toy train hike easy while moving upward, now it is a decorated park with a wonderful view of the toy trains going around and a war memorial has been constructed in the middle of the park to honour the Gorkha soldiers who sacrificed themselves in war.
- GHUM MONASTERY: Ghum Monastery is one of the oldest Tibetian Buddhist monasteries in Darjeeling located 8km away from Darjeeling Town, established in 1850 by famous Mongolian monk Sokpo Sherab Gyatso. You can see the statue of the Maitreya Buddha, which is about 15 feet tall.
- DALI MONASTERY: Druk Thupten Sangag Choeling Monastery also called Dali Monestry was established in 1971 by the Tibetan lama, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. This is a place for Buddhist teachings, philosophy, culture, and practice.
There are two other spots that can be done along with these 3 points
ROCK GARDEN & GANGAMAYA PARK: This place is also called Chunnu Summer Falls and it is basically a natural waterfall which is 10 km away from Darjeeling, this place is well decorated and has sitting arrangements, one can spend some time here enjoying the beautiful view of surroundings and waterfall, this is place is also a great photographic point.
Darjeeling Tourist places within walking distance.
There are few tourist places within 2 km of Darjeeling Mall that can be visited without renting a car.
- BHUTIYA BASTI MONASTERY
- MAHAKAL TEMPLE
- OBSERVETORY KANGCHENJUNGA VIEW POINT
- BHANU BHAVAN
- ST. ANDREW CHURCH
- ST. PAUL'S COLLEGE
- DHRIDHAM TEMPLE
- HANDCRAFTED CENTRE
- DARJEELING TOY TRAIN STATION
