Ways to travel
Choose how, not just where
Tea gardens, the toy train, treks, homestays, monasteries, snow, festivals and the cheap green months of the monsoon.
Darjeeling's tea grows on about 87 gardens on slopes from roughly 600 to 2,000 m. Stay in a garden homestay, walk the plucking paths at 7 am, watch …
Way to travelToy trainThe Darjeeling Himalayan Railway climbs from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling on track 610 mm wide, with loops and zig-zag reverses instead of tunnels. Ride the full line, the …
Way to travelTreks and walksThe Singalila Ridge to Sandakphu and Phalut, the Goecha La trail from Yuksom, village walks around Lava and Rishyap, and garden paths from Kurseong. Graded by hours and …
Way to travelHomestaysVillage homestays in Sillery Gaon, Lepchajagat, Dzongu, Uttarey and the tea gardens, usually with dinner and breakfast included. Cheaper than hotels, warmer in winter and the best way …
Way to travelMonasteriesGhoom's Yiga Choeling, Rumtek, Pemayangtse, Tashiding, Lava's Kagyu monastery and Kalimpong's Zang Dhok Palri on Durpin. Visit at prayer time, dress modestly, walk clockwise.
Way to travelKanchenjunga viewsKanchenjunga, 8,586 m, is visible from Tiger Hill, Sandakphu, Pelling, Rinchenpong, Deolo, Lava and dozens of village ridges. Clear mornings come mostly from October to early December and …
Way to travelWildlife and birdsOne-horned rhinos and elephants in Jaldapara and Gorumara, gaur in Chapramari, red pandas in Singalila and Neora Valley, hornbills at Latpanchar. Parks close in the monsoon, roughly mid-June …
Way to travelFamily tripsRoutes with drives under four hours, homestays with family rooms, the toy train, the zoo and the ropeway in Darjeeling, boating at Mirik and jeep safaris in the …
Way to travelHoneymoons on a budgetA cottage in Lamahatta, a room facing Kanchenjunga in Pelling, two nights in Lachung's apple orchards and a lake morning in Mirik, for less than a beach week.
Way to travelSolo and backpackingShared jeeps from Siliguri, hostels and lodges in Darjeeling and Gangtok, the Singalila trek with a guide, and village buses. Possible on about ₹1,500 to ₹2,500 a day …
Way to travelSnow and high passesTsomgo Lake, Nathu La, Zuluk, Yumthang, Zero Point and Gurudongmar. Snow from about December to April, permits always, and altitude to plan for.
Way to travelFood trailsTibetan, Nepali, Lepcha and Bengali cooking meet in these hills. Eat momos in Darjeeling's lanes, thukpa in Gangtok, sel roti at Tihar, gundruk soup in a village kitchen …
Way to travelFestivalsTibetan New Year at Ghoom and Rumtek, Dashain and Tihar across the Nepali-speaking hills, Bumchu at Tashiding and Pang Lhabsol in Sikkim. Most follow lunar calendars, so the …
Way to travelPhotographyKanchenjunga at first light, the toy train at Batasia Loop, prayer flags on the Singalila Ridge, mist moving through tea rows and the Zuluk hairpins from Thambi View …
Way to travelLong weekendsShort trips that start and end at NJP or Bagdogra: Darjeeling and Ghoom, Kalimpong and Lava, Mirik and the tea gardens, Gangtok and Tsomgo, or a Dooars forest …
Way to travelOff-season and monsoonFrom June to September prices drop, the tea gardens are greenest and the crowds go home. Expect rain most afternoons, landslides on some roads and closed national parks.