Darjeeling - A town to visit. Review on Darjeeling

Darjeeling?.Brings back many memories.

The first time I went to Darjeeling, was over 20 years back. That time its was snowing. Don?t remember too much of that trip. During my long stay in Kolkata I?ve made many trips to this beautiful Hill station.

The best way to reach there is to catch the train from Sealdah station (Kolkata) to New Jalpaiguri (Siliguri) While there are many trains that go on this route the best ones are Darjeeling Mail or Testa Torsa Express. Both are usually on time and don?t run more than 30 mins to 1 hrs late! :) The other option is to fly from Kolkata to Bagdogra.

From Siliguri one can hire a taxi (Shared or fully hired) for the drive up to Darjeeling. The usual road one takes to go to Darjeeling is the Hill Cart Road. This road goes through the towns like Kurseong and Ghoom. The other route is the Pankhabari road.

It is more scenic and does not pass too many towns. For those not used to hill driving, hold on to your hats! The drivers usually prefer to make 3 trips in a day, so they tend to drive fast. The journey usually takes around 3 hours. There are other routes such as the Mirik road, which goes though the town of Mirik which is a nice getaway place.

In Darjeeling, there are many places to stay. From the budget hotels to the more expensive ones. One cannot leave Darjeeling without having Momos. It is a kind of dumpling stuffed with either meat or vegetables. It can be had steamed or fried. It come with an accompaniment of a soup. The other local specialty is Thukpa, or noodle soup. It is meal on its own! The well known Eateries there are Hasty Tasty and Glennary.

Darjeeling town is a nice place to roam about. The people are friendly and helpful. Try to avoid the tourist season though (Sep-Nov)! The town gets so jammed pack that it is no fun to walk about. Plus the rates gets hiked up during that time.

Avoid the peak summer months too, as water becomes very scarce. According to me, the best time is visit is the winter months! For the past few years, tourism has not slacken during the winter months, traditionally the lean month! There are many winter fests that one can enjoy as well.

From Darjeeling, other towns and sightseeing places are within 4 hrs drive. Kalingpong and Gangtok are about 5 hrs drive away. The common sight seeing places are Tiger Hill (Sunrise point!) and the Rock garden.

All in all, Darjeeling is a wonderful place to visit and I strongly recommend one should visit the place atleast once. Be sure to carry warm clothes and plenty of Sunscreen, as the sun rays are very strong!