The Darjeeling Diary

 You know which plans work the best? The ones which you don’t plan at all!

A yearlong of lockdowns, work from homes (ranging from 10-16 working hours per day), social distancing and yes, a big NO-NO to travelling could do quite a number to a travel enthusiast. The sudden realization of that made me plan the most spontaneous trips I have ever gone to. Fortunately, I found a fellow traveler who is as spontaneous as me and accompanied me on this journey.

After an entire day of quick instant bookings, we found ourselves cruising through the tea estates of North Bengal in our rented White Maruti WagonR. As we continued going higher in the altitude, the lush greens of the tea gardens across the foothills of the HIMALAYAS was a sight to behold. We stopped at a local café for some tea and breakfast. The experience of sipping in some piping hot Indian Chai along with the very popular local cuisine called WAI WAI, while basking in the fresh morning sunlight and enjoying the glory of the greenery all around us is spectacular.

Our first “tourist” stop was the MIRIK LAKE. Situated in the middle of the town, this vast body of water looked mesmerizing with dense large trees on its one side and a row of colorful houses, hotels and markets on the other. The park by the lake welcomed us with a diversity of flora and fauna, the flowers blooming to their complete might in the Spring daylight. As you cross the lake, you’ll find a bunch of horse keepers offering their horse riding services to take you around the lake. Not to trigger my Equinophobia, we decided to do a little trekking instead. We walked along the trail paved for us, catching sights of a variety of birds and trees and sculptures, taking photographs until we ended up on the other side of the forest and out in the town.

After covering a few more local spots including some tea estates and the Nepal Border, we reached DARJEELING. The winding roads leading to the Queen of the Hills and the slowly emerging view of the snowcapped mountains across, is a sight to sore eyes. Just as we entered Darjeeling, we could hear the clickety-clack of the wheels and it wasn’t long before we saw the dense smoke coming out of the Oh-So popular Darjeeling’s toy train running along the edge of the hill station. We spent the evening strolling on the streets of MALL ROAD, which is the central hub of Darjeeling, enjoying the local arts and trying local bars and cuisines.

Day 2 started with a fancy English breakfast at GLENARY’S, overlooking the entire city and Mt KANCHENJUNGA. The café turned restaurant turned pub is the heart of the Mall Road. After a tummy full of sausages, eggs and bacon and lots gluten, we headed towards the LAMAHATTA PARK.  With a pocket pinch of Rs.20 per head for the entry ticket, this village garden on a hill slope houses an ample variety of angiosperms, perfect for your Instagram worthy photoshoots. We hiked through the pine forest up to the top to reach the “sacred pool of water”. Although, the lake is not aesthetically pleasing as one might expect, the view of the canopy of the large tress covering the skies, only letting a few rays of sunshine pass through and the view of the city from up top is definitely worth the hike. A couple of hours in this eco-tourism spot and we were out to our next destination at TRIVENI RIVERSIDE, covering a few viewpoints on our way down.

At the bank of the Teesta River, situated amidst the hills, Triveni Riverside is basically a campground. One might find pre-organized tents, barbeque facilities, river rafting, fishing and other similar activities which you can either book at the venue or through their website. Even if you don’t do anything, it’s a perfect spot to spend some quiet time and enjoy the serenity of nature. 

And here we come to the last day of our trip. The day started quite early when we climbed up to the TIGER HILL at 4:30 in the morning to catch the sunrise. Shivering in cold even through the various layers that were donned upon me and being on a big-time caffeine deprivation, I clearly was the least excited person for this itinerary. However, not to miss the “must do activity”, I gulped down my own shenanigans and waited for the sun to rise with a camera in my hand. Could I be more “Touristy”? As the sun started to peak from behind the mountains, the red hue spread across the sky and illuminated the peaks of Mount Kanchenjunga. Soon after the sun was out all bright and strong, we headed towards the BATASIA LOOP. It’s a garden with yet another beautiful views of the mountains. On our way back, we had a quick stop at ALOOBARI GOMPA which is a charming little monastery. Alas! We couldn’t go to Ghoom Monastery as it was closed on account of Covid.

The last spot in our itinerary was the ROCK GARDENS. It’s exactly what it sounds like, it got rocks and it’s a garden and in addition, it’s got a beautiful trail of waterfalls. A good rundown of the place will approximately take an hour or so. Do not forget to take loads of pictures!

We ended our trip with a 1.5 hour waiting in the queue for lunch in KUNGA RESTAURANT. Known for its delish Tibetan food, this place can give any 5-star restaurants a run for their money. I have no complaints; the food was worth the wait.

There it was the end of a lovely trip. I came back with lots of lovely memories and loads of DARJEELING TEA.