Tea · Sourenee
Walk the Sourenee estate roads
Leave the main road and walk the estate roads between the tea sections. In the plucking season, watch the leaf being picked and weighed; in winter, see the pruned bushes and the clear view west.
The main road gives you the view; the estate roads give you the garden. Walk down from the highway on a section road with someone from the village, between rows of bushes planted along the contours, past shade trees and small shrines.
In the plucking season, pluckers work along the rows with baskets on their backs. At set points in the day the leaf is weighed and recorded, then sent on to the factory. Ask before photographing, keep to the road and never walk between the bushes.
In winter the bushes are pruned and flat, and the work is mostly maintenance. The view to Nepal is at its clearest then.
Cost: Free · guide ₹500–800
Questions people ask
Good to know
Can I visit Sourenee tea estate?
You can walk public and estate roads and see the gardens from the main road. Factory visits depend on the estate's own rules and are not regular. Ask locally, and do not enter work areas without permission.
When is plucking season at Sourenee?
Roughly March to November, as in the rest of Darjeeling. First flush is in March and April, second flush in May and June, and autumn flush in October and November. The bushes are pruned and rest in winter.
Is Sourenee the same as Soureni?
Yes. The name is spelled Sourenee, Soureni or Saurini depending on the source; the census village is Saurinibasti. All refer to the tea estate and village 7 km before Mirik on the road from Siliguri.