2,042 metres, 87 tea gardens, a two-foot-gauge railway running since 1881, and the third-highest mountain on earth 70 kilometres to the north. No permits, no altitude drama — the easiest of the two to travel.
01 Essentials
Stable reference data. Ticket prices, opening hours and permit rules change without notice — we confirm every one of them in writing before you travel.
Permits. No permit is needed for Darjeeling, for any nationality. Permits only apply if you continue north into Sikkim, which we handle separately.
02 The map
Tap a marker for what it is and directions. Pin positions are indicative; the directions link searches by name, so it always resolves to the real place.
03 Attractions
Ordered by what most people come for. Photography here is representative of the region rather than of each individual site — we are replacing it with our own as we shoot it.
Viewpoint · 2,590 m
The sunrise viewpoint for Kanchenjunga, 8,586 m and 70 km away. On a hard, clear October morning Everest shows as a grey tooth far to the west. Ticketed, and busy — we leave before the buses.
Nearby: Batasia Loop, Ghum Monastery, Senchal Lake
Railway · 2,100 m
The spiral where the railway turns a full circle on itself to lose height, wrapped around the Gorkha war memorial and its garden. Best in the hour after the first train.
Nearby: Ghum Station, Tiger Hill
UNESCO railway · Ghum 2,258 m
Running since 1881 on a gauge of exactly two feet, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. Ghum is the highest railway station in India. Steam works the joy-ride service; seats need booking ahead.
Nearby: Batasia Loop, Ghum Monastery
Tea garden · est. 1854
The closest working garden to town, picking on the same slope since 1854. Walk the rows while the morning line is still out, see the withering loft, then taste standing at the bar.
Nearby: Chowrasta, Peace Pagoda
Conservation · 2,134 m
Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park runs the conservation breeding programmes for red panda and snow leopard. The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute shares the site and the ticket.
Nearby: Chowrasta, Peace Pagoda
Temple · 1992
White stupa on Jalapahar ridge with drumming at the morning and evening prayers, and a clean view along the range when the cloud lifts.
Nearby: Chowrasta, Observatory Hill
Town square
The flat pedestrian square at the top of town — benches, bookshops, horses, and the whole of Darjeeling walking past between four and six.
Nearby: Observatory Hill, Happy Valley
Waterfall gardens
Terraced gardens down a waterfall about ten kilometres below town. A long, steep descent and a longer climb back — worth it on a clear day, skip it in monsoon.
Nearby: Chowrasta
04 Things to do
Any of these can be built into a journey. Tell us which ones matter and we shape the days around them.
Happy Valley, Glenburn, Makaibari — walk, factory, tasting
Steam joy ride to Ghum, reserved seats
Tiger Hill, or quieter ridges above Ghum
Senchal sanctuary, Tinchuley, Lepchajagat
Singalila ridge to Sandakphu, 3,636 m
On the Teesta near Melli, about two hours down
Yiga Choeling at Ghum, Bhutia Busty
Momos, thukpa, Tibetan bakeries, tea houses
Takdah, Tinchuley, Chota Mangwa
Blue hour on Chowrasta, first light on the range
05 Where you stay
We name specific properties in your written quotation rather than on a public page — availability and rates move constantly, and we will not publish numbers we cannot stand behind on the day you read them.
Ranges are indicative for the high season and are not quotations. Your written itinerary carries named properties, exact room types and firm prices.
06 Food & shopping
Local, specific and cheap. We book restaurants on request, but the best meals here are usually the ones you walk into.
First flush in spring, muscatel second flush from late May
Steamed or fried, pork, chicken or vegetable, with dalle chutney
Noodle soup, the thing to eat when the cloud sits on the town
Darjeeling's own potato curry, sold from the roadside
Hard yak-milk cheese, chewed for hours
Ring-shaped rice bread, especially at festivals
The working market — produce, spices, everyday things
Estate-sealed tea; ask for the tasting before you buy
Hand-woven carpets, wool, handicraft, since 1959
Prayer flags, wool, curios; bargaining expected
07 Questions
If yours is not here, the desk answers within a working day.
Tell us roughly when and for how long. You get a written itinerary, a named driver — within one working day.
Desk hours 9 am — 8 pm IST · Siliguri, West Bengal