Treks and walks · Tonglu
Walk Hooker's rhododendron slopes
Retrace part of the 1848 walk of botanist Joseph Hooker through the forests below Tonglu, where red tree rhododendrons, pink and white shrubs and magnolias still flower in spring. Go slowly, look up and down, and let your guide name what he knows.
Hooker reached Darjeeling in April 1848 and soon walked up to Tonglu, the nearest high summit. He wrote of forests of oak, magnolia and rhododendron hung with moss and ferns, and of cold, wet nights on the ridge. His collections from Sikkim and these hills introduced many rhododendron species to British gardens, where they became a Victorian fashion.
The forest you walk through between Meghma and Tonglu, or up from Dhotrey, is the same kind of forest. In late March and April the tall red Rhododendron arboreum flowers first, lower down; higher up come pinks and whites on smaller trees and shrubs. In some years magnolias show white high in the canopy. Primulas and other small flowers grow in the open grass on top.
Walk with your guide at flower pace, not trek pace. Two hours is enough to see a good range. Do not pick flowers or break branches; this is a national park and rhododendrons recover slowly at altitude.
Cost: Included in your guide fee
Questions people ask
Good to know
When do rhododendrons bloom near Tonglu?
Usually from mid-March to late April, with red tree rhododendrons first and higher species later. Timing shifts by a couple of weeks with the winter. Bloom moves uphill toward Sandakphu and Phalut into May.
Did Joseph Hooker really climb Tonglu?
Yes. Hooker's Himalayan Journals describe an excursion from Darjeeling to 'Tonglo' on the Singalila Ridge soon after he arrived in 1848. He later travelled widely in Sikkim and eastern Nepal, collecting rhododendrons that changed British gardening.
Can I see magnolias on the Singalila trek?
Sometimes. Magnolia campbellii and other magnolias grow in the forests of the Darjeeling hills, flowering white or pink in early spring before their leaves. Look for them in late February to March, lower on the ridge, though sightings are not guaranteed.
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