Darjeeling Trip

Talking about Darjeeling, the first thing that comes to my mind is the quote of Mark Twain "The one land that all men desire to see, and having seen once-by even a glimpse would not give that glimpse for the shows of the rest of the world combined." Located in West Bengal, India, Darjeeling is a popular hillstation that gives a breathtaking vista of Mt Kanchenjunga clad in snow.Those wishing to find relief from the bustling city life might warm themselves up here in the soothing lap of nature. Known as the "Queen of hills" Darjeeling is also the birth place of Oscar winning actress Vivien Leigh. We made our trip to Darjeeling in 2009 March in order to get away from the sultry heat of Kolkata summer.

The first few things that I remember is my tryst with two puppies whom I fell instantly in love with the moment I had my eyes laid on them. I wanted to take them home but my husband didnot quite approve the idea so I dropped my plan. Anyway, here goes one click with them:

 

Another good thing was the ITC guesthouse we stayed in and the food served to us.Hot steaming rice with mouthwatering chicken curry and freshly baked rotis with a tasty vegetable dish were just awesome to take the tireness of nightlong journey away (O forgot to mention, from Kolkata, it takes about 12 hours via train to reach NJP station and then the remaining journey through cab from NJP to Darjeeling takes some 3-4 hours.) Some snapshots of the guest house are below:

Some of the sights we visited in Darjeeling include tea plantation, monasteries and the zoological park.When we reached the tea plantation, it was all foggy and raining torrentially. After the rain subsided, I tried on the colorful kimono sort of robe that women working at the plantation drape around and clicked some nice snaps. Darjeeling zoo features some endangered species including red pandas, snow leopard, Tibetan wolf and Himalayan Salamander. Besides housing the animals of near extinction, this zoological park also showcases animals like blue sheep, Himalayan blood pheasants and Himalayan monal.Pictures are below:

 

Our tour of Darjeeling-Gangtok was a compact tour of three days. Since we could not take more days off from our busy schedule, we had to stay content with the abridged trip. However, it's recommended that if you plan your itinerary for North Bengal, you should atleast have two weeks in hand.We covered all these sights including the zoo, monasteries and tea plantation in one day.In the next morning one of our fellow trip members went to Tiger Hill.(I was dead asleep and somehow couldnot garner the enthusiasm to wake up in the wee hours of morning to visit Tiger Hill.Debu too was sleeping by my side.) Tiger Hill is the pinnacle of Ghoom, the heighest railway station of India and it's famed for its sunrise view over the Himalayas.Unfortunately, the sky was overcast when we made the trip to Darjeeling. Hence the snaps of sunrise came quite fuzzy. So not posting them here.

 

Next to Darjeeling, we visited Gangtok. On our way to Gangtok, we dropped by Batasia Loop and War memorial. The toy train that leaves from Ghoom station takes a loop round Batasia Loop which gives an awesome panoramic view of the entire Darjeeling town set against the beautiful backdrop of snow-covered Kanchenjunga. Some snapshots below:

Before leaving Darjeeling, one last thing was left to be attempted and that is River-Rafting across Tista river. I was seated at the front row of the boat with two men by my side for rowing and I was told to sit on folded knees and duck my head as and when the boat was passing through a heavy current. I got completely drenched and Debu and Virender seated at the middle row had their hands reached to a breaking point out of oaring continuously for some several minutes. Rowing definitely requires physical strength and the men on the boat who were rowing got thoroughly exhausted. My main concern for myself was that I dont know swimming and if by any means, the boat capsized nothing in the world could save me from drowning. So I was trying my best to keep balance. Anyway, in retrospect, I think river-rafting was one of the most amazing feats I had attempted in my life and it gave me a great deal of pleasure doing that regardless of the risks involved. Some pics below: