Best Places to visit in Darjeeling

The small hill towns surrounded by green mountains, the sunrise falling on the snow peaks of Kanchenjunga makes it dazzle, the slopes of the hills overloaded with the never ending tea gardens, the monasteries to explore the culture, the food joints to know more about the local place, the festivals to connect with people and the wild flowers along the roads to lure your eyes creates the perfect spot for vacations you want to revisit forever.
The place is a perfect combination of modern culture along with a tinge of colonial vibe attracting all the daring minds and inexperienced souls to come and explore.

A perfect place in Bengal where one can experience the natural breathtaking beauty along with having delicious food, shopping and indulging yourself into other adventurous activities. You can also make a short two day trip to Kalimpong which used to be a subdivision of Darjeeling district but now declared as a separate one.

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Darjeeling tourism
Amartya Ghosh Dastidar/Instagram

So, before you plan a trip know about the main places to visit, where to shop, the famous restaurants and what to do for some thrilling experiences. Before knowing the points of attraction you should know its exact location and the best time to visit Darjeeling.

Located in the Himalayan foothills

It is located in the north of West Bengal at an altitude of 6,710 ft in Lesser Himalaya. A UNESCO World Heritage site for the Himalayan toy train from where you can get an amazing scenic beauty of the place.

Darjeeling India
Curly Tales/Instagram

Best time to visit Darjeeling

Well, the preferable time to visit Darjeeling is either between April to June or September to December. But personally I would suggest the latter one as there’s more chances of frequent showers during the months of April, May and June and due to that you won’t be able to witness the sunrise from observatory hills and you will feel like the entire trip has been wasted. For some people that is the sole purpose of visiting Darjeeling.

If you are planning for a short trip you can cover the main points by three days but if you have with plenty of time in your hands you can make a long trip which will cover both Darjeeling and Sikkim or you can also visit Bhutan or Nepal as all these places are surrounding Darjeeling the traveling cost won’t be an issue.

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Things to do in Darjeeling
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Places to visit in Darjeeling

The main point of attraction in the town is Mall or Chowrasta which is a open square ground surrounded by small stores and food joints. It is a vehicle free zone and hence everyone can freely enjoy the views of mountains and valleys from here.

Most of the tourists tend to stay near the Mall as it is the hotspot of all the activities in the town. The local market, the food joints everything is here and you can also spend time sitting on the benches and enjoy the scenic beauty. Darjeeling Mall is famous for the cheap winter clothes and other accessories which you can get even at half prices if you know how to bargain. It’s a perfect place for a shopping lover and one can really find it hard to keep hands off the woolen garments, handmade crafts and what not.

Mall Road Darjeeling
Kanchenjunga view-point on Mall Road,Darjeeling. Travelmanic /Flickr

Apart from the Mall most of the packages provides a visit to 3 points and 7 points or mixed points. The seven point trip is a one day trip that comprises of the local Buddhist monasteries, museums, art galleries, parks, waterfalls, the tea estates on the mountain slopes, cable car rides, zoo and many more.

darjeeling tea garden
Krati Agarwal

The three points consist of the going to Tiger Hill, a monastery and Batasia loop. Tiger hill is located at a distance of 13 km from Darjeeling which is famous for a jaw dropping view of sunrise over the Kanchenjunga range. It seems like the mountain peaks are wrapped around by a gold foil shinning and glittering by the sun rays. The view is exceptionally beautiful and hence a massive crowd gathers to witness the sunrise. So, if you want to get a clear view it’s suggested to reach the point by 3:30am. By the time you come down from the observatory point you will find the city is just waking up. Then you visit the monastery followed by the Batasia loop. At Batasia loop if you are lucky enough you can witness the toy train whistling its way into the city. It is a wonderful view up from there and you can see the landscapes of the entire city.

Apart from these local sites you can also visit Mirik which takes a couple of hours from Darjeeling and famous for the orange orchards, tea estates and Mirik Lake. Personally, the land surrounding the lake isn’t well maintained and you might be a bit disappointed if you visit this place.

Places to visit in Darjeeling
Mirik Darjeeling Siddharth Thapa/Instagram

You can also visit Pashupati market which is located in the Nepal border and it is famous for winter garments especially jackets. There is also a small temple in the same area. The roads stretching from Darjeeling to Pashupati are surrounded by tall pine trees and look wonderful.

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Shopping in Darjeeling- Pashupati Market
Mirik Darjeeling trawell

You can also visit Singalila, a national park to make a Jeep Safari and also to places like Lamahatta, Mongpu and even Sandakphu.

And if you are a trekking lover you should visit Darjeeling during the duration between February to June and explore the roads to amazing forests to witness the endangered species, the mountains and camping. It’s unique up in here as you catch the sight of four out of five highest peaks in the entire world.

Trekking in Darjeeling Sandakphu
Sandakphu is the highest peak in the Indian state of West Bengal. Suproteem Mukherjee/Instagram

Don’t miss to experience Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

While you are traveling all the way to Darjeeling you shall take the toy train to Darjeeling from railway station and not shared taxis from NJP or Siliguri as it will provide the best view of the town and slowly crawling up a mountain.

Darjeeling toy train
Tourtravelogy

Foods to enjoy in Darjeeling

When it comes down to food do try the delicious momos, noodles and soup in the small shops at affordable rates. Taste their foods like the Nepali dishes, the Tibetan soups and every food that is unique to their culture.

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Street Food in Darjeeling
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The people there are very welcoming

Everyone of you should make a one week trip to Darjeeling so that you can also get indulged in activities like mountain climbing as there are training institutes in the town and trust me you will love it.

Festivals of Darjeeling- Bhaileni
darjeelingonline

So, that’s all I had about Darjeeling and probably I will discover something new on my next trip.

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Meet Krati Agarwal, a 28-year-old IIT ISM Dhanbad alumna and visionary entrepreneur. With over 100k LinkedIn followers, she's the force behind a successful six-figure marketing agency, specializing in influencer marketing and PR. A passionate writer, Krati aspires to transcend her business triumphs, channelling her creativity into future endeavours – writing books and creating impactful short films.