Sep 27, 2009 05:20 PM
11361 Views
We had been on a trip to Gangtok and Darjeeling from September 19-25, 2009, through Hammock Holidays, Bangalore. We were two families, including 2 senior citizens, a 4-year old and one 2-year old.
We took the Transfer to Darjeeling(7380 Ft / 2250 Mts, 115 Kms / 05 Hrs) from gangtok. Beautiful route. The Triveni Sangam is on the way. We overtook the Toy train on the way. We stayed at Hotel Cedar Inn, which is reviewed separately. That evening we walked on the Mall road, had lunch at hotel Hasty-Tasty and bought Tea at Nathmulls.
Sep. 23, 2009 :
Early morning tour to Tiger Hills(8364 Ft / 2550 Mts at around 4 AM) to view sunrise over Kanchendzonga Peak. This view is wonderful and is worth seeing. The mountains just glow like gold in the suns rays. We went by 430am to tiger hills and still there were about 200 people ahead of us. There is a viewing gallery(Rs. 40, 30 and 20) with plastic chairs. It takes about 40 minutes to get there. We were lucky to have clear skies that day. We were able to see the peak of Mt. Everest also. Very crowded place. You have to get there early and also leave early.
On the way back we went to Ghoom Monastery. Lovely paintings. We bought hand-made agarbatthies here. Outside the shopping area should not be missed. Locals sell shawls for Rs. 100 and caps for Rs. 20. Good sweaters too. It is not as cheap anywhere else.
After breakfast we went to see the JapaneseTemple. We went for a prayer session and beating drums there was a unique experience. Just above, ThePeace pagoda is a symbol of peace between Japan and India and has been constructed in every country in the world. Nice place. It has carvings of Buddhas life.
The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park(https://pnhzp.gov.in/) is the best zoo I have seen in recent times. So natural and so planned. The Red Pandas are a sight to see, and the clouded leopard is awesome. All the species here are rare, and they have constructed the enclosures with the animal’s habitat in mind. Do not miss this place. But it is quite a walk up and down.
Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, HMI(near the zoo) is an excellent place to see the history of the Himalayan mountains and the people who climbed it. You can see about the tallest peaks, and its chief climbers. You can also try some of the techniques. Worth a visit.
You can visit the Tenzing rock & Gombu Rock(maintained by HMI), if you want to try rock-climbing. We just took a photo of it and came back.
The Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Center is a place where you can see weavers making Tibetan carpets(then you will know why it is so expensive). You can buy items from the gift shop to help refugees. It is said that the American govt. set up this place at India in 1959.
We missed seeing the tea-estate and how tea is manufactured. We had all seen it before at other places. We also missed the Rock Garden & GangaMayaLake, as there was no time.
Sep. 24, 2009 :
The famous toy train(DarjeelingHimalayan Railway): For details see:(https://dhr.in/). We had booked tickets to Darjeeling-ghoom and back by the toy train. Unfortunately, that day the train was cancelled due to problems with the coal labourers. So we just sat inside the train and took photos. We got full refund for the tickets from the booking office.
We proceeded towards of Pashupati Nagar(Indo-Nepal border) for shopping. You get woollen wear, cosmetics and electronics very cheap here. We bought memory sticks(Transcend 64 GB for Rs. 350 and a 32 GB Kingston for Rs 250) and the 64GB stick did not work finally. So beware of this. Bargaining works a little. Cosmetics are very cheap. All are smuggled goods. You have to make an entry at the border police post, and take a jeep(1 km) to the shopping area. You can walk also.
Mirik is around 10 kms from Pashupathi nagar. We had lunch at a hotel called Hotel Jagjeet, the food here was excellent Punjabi. Mirik has a lake with boating facilities, but it was raining so we missed it.
Sep. 25, 2009: We visited Batasia loop. It is a memorial for soldiers who died at war, and also where the DHR takes a big circle showing the entire valley view. Very beautiful view and lovely flowers. Great photo op. The journey from Darjeeling to Bagdogra was tedious as the route is very narrow and roads are bad.
Bagdogra airport is very crowded, and check-in takes a long time. We returned to Bangalore via Kolkata, a 16 hour journey to home.
Our tour conductor Mr. Dinesh was excellent company and gave very useful information. Our local contact Mr. Aditya(of Heat Connections) was very helpful. He called us every day to check on our schedule and was very helpful.
