Trip to Darjeeling - 3

[Continued from Trip to Darjeeling - 2] The day after we woke up late in the morning. After breakfast we had a stroll in the Mall and inquired about how to go to Mirik at the Supermarket Taxi Stand. We booked a car which would take us to Mirik tour, the next day  We were told to get ready by 8 o' clock in the morning.

View from Simana

The next day we got ready quickly and reached the place where our car was to wait for us. The car came and we started our journey towards Mirik. On the way we stopped at Simana. The view of the distant hills of Nepal from Simana is awesome. Next we reached Mirik. In front of us we saw the Sumendu Lake, the prime attraction of the place. The lake has an arched footbridge over it linking the two sides of the lake. Firstly we had our breakfast with Momos. This traditional delicacy is much tastier and cheaper in these hilly places than in the cities.

Trip to Darjeeling - 2

[Continued from Trip to Darjeeling] The Darjeeling railway station was a long walk from the Chowrasta. From the Passenger Reservation Counter of the station, we bought tickets for a one way ride from Darjeeling to Ghum. After that we were lucky to witness a joy ride train starting from the station so that we could get the shots. Dhirdham Temple, one of the attractions of Darjeeling is visible from the station. On the way back we booked car for the Tiger Hill tour from a travel agency. The tour consisted of Tiger Hill, Batasia Loop and Ghum Monastery. Then we went to the Bengal Natural History Museum. It is located close to the Mall. The museum hosts an impressive stuffed collection of butterflies, moths, insects and other animals and birds. Various stuffed fishes and reptiles are also kept in this museum. In another room the varied ecosystems of West Bengal has been depicted. After that we came back to our hotel.

Toy Train at Darjeeling Station

The next day we woke up at 3 am and got ready. The car picked us up from the Mall at about 3:45 am. We reached Tiger Hill at about 4:30 am. Although the sky was lighting up but the actual sunrise had not started yet. After a while we saw a small portion of the sun becoming visible. Gradually the whole of it became visible to us. After watching sunrise we got back to our car and then went to Batasia Loop. At this place the toy train traverses a loop. There is a Gorkha War Memorial along with flower gardens. The beauty of the loop has now been damaged by the people sitting on the rail tracks selling various items to the tourists. Our next destination was Ghum Monastery. The scenic view of the distant hills and houses from the monastery is amazing. After that we came back to Darjeeling.