Chapter 2: Places visit Darjeeling
Have you read Chapter 1 of my Darjeeling trip? If not, then read it now.
Once the Darjeeling trip was executed, I had thought to make a video for YouTube and try to talk like a YouTuber. I have never done properly any videos for YouTube, so thought why not. Let’s give it a try. I wanted to help travellers planning to visit Darjeeling and also for myself to reminisce.
But when the days came closer, I cancelled my plan because it would be cumbersome, time- consuming and I will not be able to enjoy my travel. For Instagram, I take videos and reels in a vertical format and for YouTube, I have to take everything horizontally and speak.
Uff! That means all the time I will be on phone, then what the use of travelling. Hence, I cancelled and am glad I did.
Darjeeling is a small hill station and 2-3 days are sufficient to visit all the famous and wonderful tourist places. It is a popular destination in Eastern India and throughout the year, travellers visit to enjoy the salubrious coveted hill town.
If you ask me what kind of travel I love the most? Yes, you guessed it right. I am a mountain lover and always wish to visit such kinds of places.
I was excited to visit this beautiful hill station due to its old Victorian charm, toy train, tea gardens, and the majestic Kanchenjunga Mountain.
We had covered all the below places in 2 days and shared my experience accordingly. Places to visit in Darjeeling in December
1. Kanchenjunga View Point
Darjeeling is known for tea gardens and Mt.Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world. It is a snow-clad mountain that looks the best during sunrise when the morning rays shine on it and we get to see the magical golden light.
Tiger hills are the best place for the sunrise view and you can include this in your sightseeing package. However, we didn’t go to Tiger hills and instead watched it from Sterling resort’s wonderful point.
We saw the sunrise view for 2 days and I was stunned to see the glory. Later throughout the day, you can see the snow mountain clearly if the weather is good.
2. Old Ghoom Monastery
If you are staying at Sterling, you will find the old Ghoom Monastery, also known as the Yiga Choeling Monastery right next to the resort.
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It is one of the oldest Tibetan monasteries in Darjeeling built by the Tibetan monk and astrologer Sokpo Sherab Gyatso.
It was closed for the public, so we couldn’t go inside. But we clicked some pictures from outside with one of the monks. The monastic architecture looks quite fascinating.
3. Batasia Loop and War Memorial
This famous tourist place near Sterling resort is known for the panoramic view of Darjeeling town and snow-clad mountains.
The Batasia loop is a gigantic railway loop where the Darjeeling UNESCO Heritage toy train takes the 360-degree turn in a loop-like pattern.
If you are lucky like us, then you can see the toy train crossing the Batasia loop and then taking a halt for 10mins. When I heard the engine sound, I ran quickly to the center to see it, and felt surreal. You can also book a toy train ride and enjoy the quaint town.
Another attraction is the ‘I LOVE DARJEELING’ statue which becomes a mandatory click. You can’t miss clicking here.
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The Gorkha War Memorial is located at the center of the Batasia Loop. It was built to honor and pay homage to the Gorkha soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country.
One of the beautiful places to visit in Darjeeling.
4. Darjeeling Ropeway
I love cable car rides and when I came to know about Darjeeling ropeway, I added it to my itinerary. I had once experienced this kind of ride in Kashmir- Gondola ride and it was thrilling.
Due to the holiday season, there was a lot of crowd in town and when we reached Darjeeling Ropeway, the waiting period was 2 hours. Damn! It’s too long, still, I waited in hope that it will reduce soon or some people may back off, but nothing much was happening.
As we had fewer days and less time, I decided to skip it. It was a difficult decision, but I had no choice because I wanted to cover other tourist places too. If you have time and visit in the offseason, then don’t miss this ride.
Darjeeling Ropeway is also called the Rangeet Valley Passenger Cable Car because it takes you around the river Little Rangeet. It covers 5 km to and fro from an altitude of about 7,000 ft.
Cost: 260 Rs/ person
5. Happy Valley Tea Estate
Darjeeling trip cannot be completed without visiting tea gardens, right? There are many tea gardens in and around Darjeeling, so when you book for sightseeing, don’t forget to mention that you want to visit Happy Valley Tea Estate as you can see the tea gardens as well as the entire tea processing.
But it depends upon the season in which you are travelling because in winter, tea plucking does not take place and you can’t see the processing session that happens in the Happy Valley factory.
- Happy Tea Valley Boutique
- Happy Valley Tea Garden
Also as the leaves have already been plucked before winter, the garden doesn’t shine. However some parts of the garden not only in Happy Valley but also while visiting Darjeeling, you will find a foliage tea garden where you can click some pictures.
The way to Happy Valley Tea Estate is through a narrow downhill road which is thrilling and chilling. Therefore, be careful. It has spectacular views and is one of the highest tea estates in West Bengal.
Cost: Visit to the garden is free. The factory tour which includes the plucking and the processing session, tea tasting cost 100 Rs
As it was winter, the factory tour was closed. However, we get to see the gardens and purchase the best quality Darjeeling tea from their tea boutique.
A must visit place in Darjeeling.
6. Japanese temple and Peace Pagoda
The Japanese temple is also known as Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist temple built in a traditional Japanese style in 1972 by a Buddhist Monk from Japan. It was open for the public and I went inside where there were frames of different places of Japanese temples across the globe.
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The Peace Pagoda is located beside the temple which was built as the symbol of world peace. It is quite huge and has four avatars of Lord Buddha.
The panoramic view can be seen from the top of the pagoda which is fascinating.
7. Chowrasta Mall Road/ Christmas in Darjeeling
Just like any Mall road in the hill station is the heart and soul of the town, same goes with Darjeeling Mall road which is the most happening place to visit.
It is a pedestrian-only zone and no vehicles are allowed. Chowrasta means where 4 roads meet and you will find the hill vibes the most here as all the tourists walk around and explore the mall on foot.
On Christmas Eve, we had shifted to Little Tibet hotel located on mall road. Just outside the hotel, the mall road starts and we walked to reach the main point.
Places to visit near mall road Darjeeling: While walking we saw beautiful benches to relax with the backdrop of Mt. Kanchenjunga and the panoramic view of the quaint town. Ah! The sight was pleasing. I clicked some photos with the local police ladies who were very sweet.
We moved forward and the street shops came that had wonderful souvenirs, windchimes, shawls, or anything you need. I purchased some souvenirs and moved ahead.
We then reached the main point and I was stoked to see the Christmas market. It was a dream come true moment for me as I always wanted to see the vibrant Christmas market. I had only seen in Hallmark movies and YouTube and used to fantasize, but it became real now. I was ecstatic and thanked God for this moment.
The Christmas vibes in Darjeeling were fantastic and cheerful. We had a lot of fun and spend the whole day. Before coming, I had no idea about the Christmas celebration in Darjeeling and hence, it was a superb surprise for me.
The news channel TV9 Bangla had come to cover Darjeeling in Christmas and I gave an interview, but it was not broadcast. L
We were there from 1 pm and walked around to explore the curio shops, tea shops- Nuthmalls, Golden Tips, cafes- Glenary’s, Keventer’s, street foods. We were strolling around the Darjeeling Mall and when tired relaxed on the benches having the street tea.
Later in the evening, it started raining and it was becoming too cold to stay esp when we were there from 1 pm and I already had a cold. Thus, we left the Mall road around 6:30 pm.
I would recommend everyone visiting Darjeeling to keep a day only for Darjeeling Mall in your itinerary because it’s the heart of the hill station.
Other famous tourist places in Darjeeling (I haven’t visited them, but if you have time, then you can)
- Darjeeling Toy Train Ride
- Tibetan refugee self-help center
- The Darjeeling Zoo
How to see places in Darjeeling?
- Book online: You can book a cab online for sightseeing.
- Enquire at the hotel you are staying in: Hotel charges are the same as online.
- Tourist corner at Mall road opposite of Keventer’s: If you are staying at Mall road, you can visit the tourist corner and can get a cab.
- Club side taxi stand in front of Ramada: Located at Mall road, you can book a reserved car.
- Taxis: Our hotel staff later suggested we take a taxi that the locals use for commuting which is easily available and explore the places.
- Walk around: Some tourist places are nearby to each other, so you can explore them on foot and then can hop on the taxi.
We had booked it from darjeelingtaxi.com and paid Rs 2200 which included 5 places. However, I won’t recommend it. The cab driver came on time, greeted us well, opened the door, and talked nicely, but when we didn’t buy the tea bags from the street market he recommended, his behaviour changed and was rude.
Nevertheless, we didn’t let it affect our trip and thankfully we had booked for one day only.
Cost: Rs 2200 for 5 points. If you are visiting in offseason, it will be less.
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I hope you enjoyed reading this post and had a virtual trip along with us. Next time you plan to visit Darjeeling, make sure to add these places to your itinerary and have a wonderful vacation.
Chapter 2 ends here. More chapters coming soon. Stay tuned.