Tea · Jorepokhri
Walk the Mim tea garden road
A morning walk from Jorepokhri along the road through the Mim tea garden, with tea rows falling away below, pluckers at work in season and wide views over the ridges. Easy walking, no ticket and none of the crowds of the gardens near town.
Mim is one of the Darjeeling tea gardens on the ridge around Sukhia Pokhari and Jorepokhri, a part of the district far fewer visitors see than the gardens of Kurseong or Darjeeling town. The road through it winds across steep slopes of tea bushes, shade trees and small workers' settlements. In the plucking season, from March to November, the bushes are worked in the morning by teams of women who pick two leaves and a bud by hand and carry them in baskets on their backs.
Start from Jorepokhri after breakfast and walk down the garden road, or ask your driver to drop you a few kilometres in and collect you lower down. Keep to the road and main paths, which the garden's own people use, and do not step into the rows. If you want to photograph pluckers up close, ask first and accept a no. A factory visit is not something to count on; if you are keen, ask at the garden office, and remember that work comes first in the busy flush seasons.
First flush, in March and April, gives the light, flowery Darjeeling teas that fetch the highest prices; second flush, in May and June, is fuller and more muscatel; the monsoon months bring the most leaf and the greenest slopes. Each looks different on the bushes. Carry water and a rain jacket, and wear shoes with grip, because the road is steep in parts. If you want to buy the garden's tea, Darjeeling's tea shops are the surest place to find a labelled packet.
Cost: Free
Questions people ask
Good to know
Can we visit the Mim tea factory?
Possibly, but it is not a tourist factory with fixed tours. Ask at the garden office, ideally through your driver or lodge, and be flexible. Permission depends on the manager and the day's work, and the busy flush seasons in spring are the hardest time. Walking the garden road needs no permission.
What is the best season to see tea plucking?
March to November. First flush, in March and April, is when the most prized tea is made; May and June bring the second flush; the monsoon from June to September has the heaviest plucking. From December to February the bushes are pruned and resting, so there is little activity in the rows.
Is the tea road walk suitable for children?
Yes, if they are used to walking. The garden road is fairly wide and has little traffic, but parts are steep and the walk back up takes effort. Plan a one-way walk downhill with a car to collect you, and keep children on the road and away from the drop at the edges.
Also in Jorepokhri