[Continued from Trip to Darjeeling - 3] The next day morning we went to the Supermarket Taxi Stand. From there we hopped on to a Singamari bound share taxi and told the driver to drop us at the Happy Valley Tea Estate entrance. The entrance to the estate is situated on the main road but the factory is below and one has to walk to reach the factory. It was about 15 minutes walk but the scenery of the tea garden was beautiful. Happy Valley is the only tea garden in Darjeeling town. There was a guide waiting in front of the factory gate. He showed us how the tea plucked from the garden is processed. We saw the various machines and processes by which tea is made. There was a souvenir shop too where we bought a packet of Happy Valley Tea. Then we walked to the Singamari Taxi Stand. From there we took a share taxi to get back to Supermarket Taxi Stand. That day we took rest in the hotel.
The day after we decided to visit the Tibetan Refugee Self Help Centre. The centre was a long way down the hill but the road is not open to cars and taxis. So the only way to reach it was to walk. From the Mall, we took the road leading to Step Aside, the house of Chittaranjan Das. We walked on the road for a long time. It was quite adventurous and thrilling as there were very few people on the road and almost no tourists. But we had to stop at a point and return back since it was a long way down and road was very steep. It was too steep for us. The ascent back was even more tiring and we heaved a sigh of relief while relaxing our feet as we sat on a bench at the Mall. Our Darjeeling tour was almost over and we were scheduled to leave this hill station the next day.
We booked a car the day after and started our return journey back to New Jalpaiguri. Our car descended from the hills and at last we were back on plain land. At Sukna, our car stopped for a while. We saw a toy train passing by which halted at the Sukna station. Presently the train is not running between Siliguri and Darjeeling since the landslide at Mahananda. But I hope some day the train will traverse its full route once again. We lodged in a hotel at NJP. The next day we boarded Kanchanjunga Express in the morning and reached Sealdah at around 8 o' clock in the evening.
How to Reach :
A number of trains are running from Sealdah, Howrah and Kolkata station to New Jalpaiguri. Auto rickshaws are plying from New Jalpaiguri to Siliguri. There are many travel agency counters scattered around the city of Siliguri which run daily car service to Darjeeling. You can buy tickets from those counters and hop into the car in order to get to Darjeeling.
Where to Stay :
Darjeeling has plenty of hotels for the accommodation of tourists but they are quite scattered around the town. In Darjeeling you cannot expect a road with a line of hotels. It often becomes difficult to find a perfect hotel in one go because there are no taxis or horse carts or other vehicles at the taxi stand and you're on your own feet. Hotel tariffs also vary wildly with season and even within few days. Here are names of some hotels in Darjeeling.
1. Hotel Alice Villa
2. Hotel Bellevue
3. Hotel Dreamland
4. Hotel Sonali
5. Hotel Mount Pleasant
6. Hotel Dikila
7. Hotel Dekeling
Places of Interest :
The main tourist attractions of Darjeeling are the Mall (Chowrasta), Observatory Hill, Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and the Toy Train. Other tourist spots include the Japanese Temple, Peace Pagoda, Dhirdham Temple and Happy Valley Tea Estate. A great attraction for tourists visiting Darjeeling is watching sunrise from Tiger Hill (11 km from the town). The car will also take you to Batasia Loop and Ghum Monastery. Other excursions tours include Mirik, Kalimpong and Kurseong.
For more information, please contact :
GTA Tourism
Deputy Director of Tourism,
Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Silver Fir Building,
The Mall, Darjeeling-734301
INDIA
 |
| Happy Valley Tea Factory |
The day after we decided to visit the Tibetan Refugee Self Help Centre. The centre was a long way down the hill but the road is not open to cars and taxis. So the only way to reach it was to walk. From the Mall, we took the road leading to Step Aside, the house of Chittaranjan Das. We walked on the road for a long time. It was quite adventurous and thrilling as there were very few people on the road and almost no tourists. But we had to stop at a point and return back since it was a long way down and road was very steep. It was too steep for us. The ascent back was even more tiring and we heaved a sigh of relief while relaxing our feet as we sat on a bench at the Mall. Our Darjeeling tour was almost over and we were scheduled to leave this hill station the next day.
 |
| Happy Valley Tea Garden |
How to Reach :
A number of trains are running from Sealdah, Howrah and Kolkata station to New Jalpaiguri. Auto rickshaws are plying from New Jalpaiguri to Siliguri. There are many travel agency counters scattered around the city of Siliguri which run daily car service to Darjeeling. You can buy tickets from those counters and hop into the car in order to get to Darjeeling.
Where to Stay :
Darjeeling has plenty of hotels for the accommodation of tourists but they are quite scattered around the town. In Darjeeling you cannot expect a road with a line of hotels. It often becomes difficult to find a perfect hotel in one go because there are no taxis or horse carts or other vehicles at the taxi stand and you're on your own feet. Hotel tariffs also vary wildly with season and even within few days. Here are names of some hotels in Darjeeling.
1. Hotel Alice Villa
2. Hotel Bellevue
3. Hotel Dreamland
4. Hotel Sonali
5. Hotel Mount Pleasant
6. Hotel Dikila
7. Hotel Dekeling
Places of Interest :
The main tourist attractions of Darjeeling are the Mall (Chowrasta), Observatory Hill, Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and the Toy Train. Other tourist spots include the Japanese Temple, Peace Pagoda, Dhirdham Temple and Happy Valley Tea Estate. A great attraction for tourists visiting Darjeeling is watching sunrise from Tiger Hill (11 km from the town). The car will also take you to Batasia Loop and Ghum Monastery. Other excursions tours include Mirik, Kalimpong and Kurseong.
For more information, please contact :
GTA Tourism
Deputy Director of Tourism,
Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Silver Fir Building,
The Mall, Darjeeling-734301
INDIA
No comments:
Post a Comment