Darjeeling

A town built along a ridge

Darjeeling sits at about 2,000 metres on a narrow, Y-shaped ridge in the far north of West Bengal. The British laid it out in the 1830s and 1840s as a hill sanatorium, and the town still runs along the old lines: the Mall and Chowrasta square on top, Hill Cart Road and the railway below, and steep stairways joining them. Most people who live here are Nepali-speaking Gorkhas, with Tibetan, Lepcha, Bhutia and Bengali families mixed in, so you hear several languages in one lane.

Getting there

There is no airport or plain-line station in town. Fly into Bagdogra, about 90 km away, or take a train to New Jalpaiguri near Siliguri, then go up by shared jeep or taxi; the drive usually takes three to four hours. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway also runs the whole 88 km from New Jalpaiguri, but it is slow and is often cut by landslides in the monsoon. In town, you walk. Chowrasta and the upper Mall are closed to most traffic, and shared jeeps handle everything farther out.

The early starts

The famous view is Kanchenjunga, the world's third-highest mountain, filling the northern sky. You see it best at dawn, so plan your days around early starts. Tiger Hill is the classic sunrise, about 11 km out. The Peace Pagoda holds drum prayers from about 4:30 am. The Batasia Loop has a garden around a spiral of track with the peaks behind it.

Tea, the toy train and the monasteries

Happy Valley Tea Estate is the closest working garden, about 3 km below town, and one of the oldest in the district. The toy train's short joy ride goes from Darjeeling station to Ghum and back, with stops at Batasia and the railway museum at Ghum. Near Ghum stands Ghoom Monastery, also called Yiga Choeling, with its tall clay Maitreya Buddha. Back in town, the Mahakal shrine on Observatory Hill is used for both Hindu and Buddhist worship, with a Hindu priest and a Buddhist monk side by side.

Eating

Hill food here means momos, thukpa, aloo dum with puri and sel roti at festival time. Glenary's on Nehru Road and Keventer's at Chowrasta are the old breakfast rooms with views. Kunga on Gandhi Road is the Tibetan kitchen people queue for. Drink the local tea plain, without milk, to taste what the estates are known for. See the food guide and the restaurant list.

When to come

October to early December gives the clearest mountain views. March to May brings rhododendrons and first-flush tea, with haze creeping in by late spring. From June to September the town is wrapped in cloud and rain, and landslides close roads and the railway. The best time to visit page goes month by month.