Yey! Finally, I had a vacation. Thank you, God, and my dear husband for this memorable trip.
My last vacation was in 2018 December to Shimla. After that, I had a few small trips within the city and a staycations. Also coz of lockdown, some planned trips had to be cancelled.
So I was craving for a vacation for a long time and wanted things to get better like everybody. Thankfully, our prayers got answered and we could now venture out without stressing much.
Every year-end, we plan to visit our hometown and book our tickets. This year we did the same and nothing was planned about vacation. My husband told me once we come back, we will go on a trip. But I didn’t want to wait for so long and was not sure if we can go, because you cannot predict what will happen due to these new variants.
So he surprised me and said “Let’s go to Darjeeling” and I was ecstatic as I always wanted to visit North East. This was an impromptu plan and soon we booked tickets and a hotel. The dates included Christmas Eve which made me exhilarated.
Darjeeling- The Queen of Hills was the summer capital of British India. It is one of the popular tourist attractions in India set in the Himalayan foothills. This quaint hill station is nestled amidst breathtaking tea gardens with the backdrop of majestic Mt. Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world.
The name ‘Darjeeling’ is derived from two Tibetan words ‘Dorje’ meaning thunder and ‘ling’ meaning land. Hence, Darjeeling means ‘the land of thunderbolt’.
Located in West Bengal, this picturesque hill station is a perfect destination for hill retreats and getaways for any type of trip. An idle getaway to rejuvenate oneself and away from the mundane life.
We (My husband & I) had a Darjeeling trip in December 2021 which was my first visit and my husband’s second-time. It is one of the best holiday destinations from Kolkata.
Here is my Darjeeling Trip Itinerary for 3 nights and 4 days:
| DAY 1 | Kolkata-NJP-Darjeeling |
| DAY 2 | Kanchenjunga view point & sight-seeing |
| DAY 3 | Chowrasta Mall/Christmas Market |
| DAY 4 | Back to Kolkata |
Day 1- Kolkata-NJP-Darjeeling(Train and Cab Journey)
We travelled through the New Jalpaiguri Special train which runs only on Wednesday from Howrah station. The train departs at 11:55 pm from Howrah and is supposed to reach at 10 am the next morning at New Jalpaiguri (NJP) station taking approx 10 hours.
But the train was delayed by 3 hours which was frustrating as it kept halting and ran slowly. However, the tea garden views helped to cool down my vexation. Finally, we reached NJP at 1 pm.
From NJP, both shared jeeps and rented cabs are available to reach Darjeeling. You can also find share jeeps from the Siliguri Bus stand.
As soon we step down the station, a few cab drivers started offering the rides to Darjeeling. We were not much convinced and walked outside the station in hope of getting more ride offers.
We saw the tourism office and inquired them, but no cabs were available. A few cab offers came for reservations which we declined as we wanted shared jeep rides. After waiting for a while, we decided to go to Siliguri station in hope of finding many shared jeeps facility.
We went to Siliguri Main Bus stand which took almost 30 mins and found the shared sumos which again took 1 hour to fill all the passengers.
Finally, the cab ride from NJP started around 3:30 pm and we reached Sterling Resort in Ghum around 6:30 pm.
Mistake Lesson learned: Don’t be in a hurry. Wait at NJP station instead of going to Siliguri as it is a wastage of time and energy after train travel.
Cost: 250 Rs/ per person in a shared jeep from NJP to Darjeeling.
They make 4 people sit in the middle and last row of the jeep, so we purchased 3 tickets in the middle row for a better journey. It takes almost 3 hours to reach Darjeeling, so a comfortable seat is very important. Isn’t it?
If 4 people and above are travelling, then I would recommend you to hire a rented vehicle and reach Darjeeling.
Now another important thing is these shared cab drivers will leave you at your nearest point and from there you need to go to your hotel.
If you are staying in Sterling resort like us, either you make a prior deal with the cab driver or call at the resort for the pickup with additional charges. You cannot walk yourself from the Ghum point where the cab driver drops you because there is a narrow road, sloping roofs, curving stairways, and a steep uphill that takes you to the resort.
Cost from Ghum point to Sterling resort: 200 Rs charge by the cab driver, 300 Rs charge by the resort.
No taxis or accommodations are available at Ghoom, so the only option is paying the cab driver or resort.
Once we reached the resort and got refreshed, all the tiredness swept away due to the hill vibes. Later we had our dinner at Sterling’s multi-cuisine restaurant, Delicaci, and slept to wake up early to see the spectacular view of Kanchenjunga.
Day 2- Kanchenjunga viewpoint and Sight-Seeing
Sterling Darjeeling offers a spectacular view of the Kanchenjunga range. We woke up at 5 am to view the sunrise over the mountain. We went outside at 6:05 am and the golden color of the snow-clad mountain appeared at 6:23 am which was awe-inspiring.
Before coming to Darjeeling, I thought why so much hype for the view, but man! How wrong was I? The view is incredible and I couldn’t stop glorifying God for his creation and am thankful to give us the eyes through which we can enjoy nature’s beauty because no camera can capture its real beauty what our eyes have seen.
It is said that the best viewpoint of sunrise on Kanchenjunga is from Tiger hills, but the view from Sterling also is wonderful. Also, until the sunshine, we could sit in the lobby and protect ourselves from the cold air.
Suggestion: If you are staying at Sterling and don’t want to go to Tiger hills to see the view and wish to see from the resort, then you can save time and sleep by checking the sunrise time online before you sleep that night and accordingly can plan to wake up.
After the illumination view of the mountain, we went back to our room, got refreshed, and had our breakfast.
We had booked a cab online from darjeelingtaxi.com for the sightseeing and according to the places we selected to visit, the price was charged. I would not recommend them to anyone due to a bad experience.
If you are staying near Mall road, then you can get a reserved car at Club stand or Chowk bazaar.
Places I visited in Darjeeling:
- Old Ghoom Monastery
- Batasia Loop and War Memorial
- Darjeeling Ropeway
- Happy Valley Tea Estate
- Japanese temple and Peace Pagoda
Cost: 2200 Rs
Mistake Lesson learned: Don’t be prejudiced. We didn’t bother to ask Sterling staff for the sight-seeing tour cost as we thought it must be high. But later we came to know that the charges were the same or even less than the online tour packages.
Day 3- Chowrasta Mall/ Christmas market
This day we shifted to a new hotel in Mall road and dedicated a full day at Chowrasta Mall and enjoyed it to the fullest.
I will write about it in detail why we shifted to a new hotel when I post about Hotel reviews and the experience at the Christmas market in my next post- Places to visit in Darjeeling (stay tuned)
Day 4- Back to Kolkata
The share cab is available at Mall road, Club stand. So before departing, we decided to have our breakfast at Keventer’s or Glenary’s, but there was a long queue and it was not open for the breakfast. Also, other shops were not open. Hence we picked puffs from Glenary’s bakery shop and ate.
Usually, the breakfast in Darjeeling, be it in your hotel or outside starts after 8:30 am.
Later we got the shared cab and aforementioned purchased three seats in the middle row. We boarded our flight from Bagdogra airport to Kolkata.
Cost: We had enquired a day before, they said it will cost 250 Rs, but when we arrived they increased the price to 400 Rs blaming fewer vehicles and peak season.
Darjeeling trip has etched the memories for a lifetime. Although it was a peak season and few things we were not able to do, also the charges were comparatively high. Still, it was one of the best vacations.
This was my Darjeeling trip Itinerary for 3 nights and 4 days during Winter (Chapter 1). I have many things to share like:
- Places to see in Darjeeling trip/ Places I visited
- Darjeeling Hotel Reviews- My experience
- Darjeeling trip: Shopping and Food in Darjeeling
- Darjeeling trip by Train and Flight: Experience
- Darjeeling Trip cost from Kolkata/ Darjeeling trip cost for couple
So stay tuned for the upcoming chapters. I will be sharing everything soon in the coming posts.
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Looks like you really had a great time there. Lovely pictures and vacation is indeed rejuvenating after a a long break
Yes dear. Much needed vacation.