Places to visit in Darjeeling – Darjeeling also known as the “Queen of Hills”, have gained significance tourist footfall and importance in the last 4 to 5 years. This hill station has been ranked one of the best hill stations to visit for people who long for a quick tour to the mountains with a few days in hand. The majestic view of the Kanchenjunga (3rd highest mountain in the world), the lip smacking food, the amazingly down to earth local people and the mesmerizing beauty of nature are drawing tourists from not only the whole of India on a regular basis but from people all around the world. So if you also want to plan a tour to this hill station, we would like to give you a quick Darjeeling 3 nights 4 days travel itinerary plan which you can follow to have a lifetime experience.
History of Darjeeling
The word Darjeeling came from the Tibetan word “Dorje” or Thunderbolt and “Ling” or land. Darjeeling basically served as a summer capital for the Britishers, mainly a place for relaxation and refreshments. In late 1800 Darjeeling used to be a sanatorium for British soldiers.
The British captured Darjeeling from two states of Sikkim and Bhutan. So prior to its formation it was earlier a part of Sikkim state. When the Britishers captured Darjeeling, the place had nothing except forests and few handful of local people. Slowly the placed gained quite a momentum in terms of development like formation of local bajar, post office, jail, tea estates etc.
With the tea industry blooming rapidly, Darjeeling gained quite a popularity around the world which still exists in the current years as well. It is said that Darjeeling produces the best tea in the world.
After the Indian Independence, the growth of the place was slow but steady until in recent years where it has recorded one of the highest footfalls for tourists for a considerable number of days in a given year.
Few amazing facts about Darjeeling
Before getting to know the different Places to visit in Darjeeling, lets read some amazing facts regarding the place :
- It is known that the weather in Darjeeling during monsoon resembles the weather in Great Britain. Hence it was the perfect holiday destination for the Britishers specially during summer and monsoon season.
- The Darjeeling ropeway is said to be the largest ropeway in Asia.
- Darjeeling was once a sanatorium for the British Soldiers during the 1850’s
- When Dalai Lama came to India, many Tibetan refigees came to India along with him and got settled in Darjeeling
- It is known that Sherlock Homes once took English classes and gave lectures in Darjeeling
How to Reach
By Air : The nearest airport is Bagdogra International airport. Frequent flights operate from the nearest metropolitan city of Kolkata. From the airport a 70 km drive will help you reach the main town.
By railways : The nearest railway stations are New Jalpaiguri and Siliguri railway station. There are a number of trains which operate from Assam and Kolkata on a daily basis. The best way to reach Darjeeling is to take an overnight train from Sealdah or Howrah tor Kolkata station and reach NJP or Siliguri in the morning and take a cab from there to reach the mean down directly. From both the railway stations, you would get cabs which would take more or less around 3 hours to reach Darjeeling and the total distance is around 70 KM.
By Bus : There are frequent overnight buses which operates from the nearest city which is Kolkata to reach NJP/New Jalpaiguri or Siliguri. Once you get down take a cab to reach Darjeeling directly.
Tip : If you are reaching by train would request you to go directly to the prepaid taxi counter rather than talking to touts or individual because the charges will be less. If you want to travel in shared cabs, Siliguri would be the best option to get down. You can easily get shared cabs from Siliguri to Darjeeling which will cost you around 250-400 rupees depending on the season.
In this blog we will give you a detailed Darjeeling 3 nights 4 days travel itinerary and places to visit in Darjeeling, which you can easily follow without opting for any package from any travel agent.
Places to visit in Darjeeling – Day 1
Once you reach NJP or Bagdogra, would suggest you to take a cab directly to Darjeeling. If you are coming by train which is supposed to be the best route or by bus, there are two ways you can reach Darjeeling, one by the Mirik road and other following the Rohini Road. The Mirik road is said to be the most picturesque in terms of the natural beauty around the place. So if you are booking a cab and prior to making the negotiations , talk to the driver and pay a little extra amount and try to opt the Mirik Road either while going up or while coming down from Darjeeling.
There are plenty of accommodations available in and around Darjeeling. You can easily visit any online booking app like MakeMyTrip, Booking.com, Goibibo, Agoda etc and can book online. If you’re not traveling in the peak season would suggest you to to go to the town first and book any hotel directly which might give you a better offer.
If you reaching Darjeeling in the morning, the cab journey including breakfast or lunch would take a minimum of 3 to 3.5 hours, so by the time you reach it would be around 12:00 p.m or 1 pm. your half the day is already gone. Would suggest you to check in to your hotel first, then freshen up, have your lunch and go outside to explore the rest of the evening.
Before you travel to Darjeeling, you need to know that like all other hill stations most of the happening places or shops or bazars gets closed by 9 p.m here. So if you are going out during the afternoon would suggest you to head directly towards the Mall Road and have a relaxing time there.
Before you start to explore the rest of the evening, we would suggest you to plan an itinerary for the next day. You can either book a package for a day outing from the hotel or would suggest you to walk up directly towards the main taxi stand in Darjeeling near Keventers, you would get packages based on different tourist spots which can vary from 6 spots to 8 spots to 12 spots depending on the time and your itinerary.
Once you reach the Mall Road you will be able to see a giant screen in the place itself and if you walk Street towards the path to your right from the screen it would lead you to the Mahakal temple.
The Mahakal temple is said to be one of the oldest temple in Darjeeling. It is dedicated to lord Shiva mainly and other deities as well. You need to walk up towards a steep climb to reach to the Mahakal temple. So it is advisable for elderly people, to take rest after every 20 steps while going up.
Spend the rest of the evening at leisure around the Mall Road or the main market area there are plenty of local delicacies you can try during the evening.
Places to visit in Darjeeling – Day 2
On your next day depending on the package that you have booked you need to start early before Sunrise to go to the Tiger Hill observatory are as a first tourist spot to get the majestic view of the Kanchenjunga shining like gold with the first rays of the sun shine.
There are few places which would suggest in this blog which you need to cover during this trip and make sure that your package includes them for sure :
- Tiger Hill
- Darjeeling zoo and Himalayan Mountaineering Institute make sure that there are not two spots mentioning your package because this too places are located in the same area
- Japanese peace Pagoda
- Happy Valley Tea Estate
- Darjeeling Ropeway
- Rock Garden
- Ghum station and Ghum monastery
- Batasia Loop
In this itinerary try to connect with the driver and negotiate so that he can drop you in the middle or at the end at any point either in Ghum station or in Batasia Loop, so that you can and enjoy the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Darjeeling Himalayan toy train during this time.
This tour would take almost the full time available for day 2, so suggest you to enjoy the rest of the evening at leisure. You can plan to go out for an extravagant dinner in the most famous eatery in Darjeeling called Glenarys’s not because of the food but mainly for the experience that you would remember throughout your life. You can enjoy live music played in Glenary’s if you are coming in late evening around 7 o’clock.
If you are in basket we can also go to Joeys pub, one of the oldest pub/bar situated just beside Big Bazar in the main area. For lunch you can try out the famous Tibetan restaurant called Kunga which is famous for its Momo and its noodles.
Places to visit in Darjeeling – Day 3
For your third day we would suggest you to take a day tour to Tinchuley like we did the first time around.
Before you start of journey we will suggest you to have the breakfast in the famous Keventers. Do try out their chocolate shake, sandwiches and the Pork Platter
Try to negotiate a day tour/package with the drivers in the main taxi stand or from your hotel. Although there is not much to see around Tinchuley but the road towards Tinchuley is mesmerizing.
The quaint Hamlet of Tinchuley is a hidden jewel in Darjeeling. The word Tin means three and Chule means oven which when summed up means three oven. The unique name has been given because of the three Hill tops that surrounds the place and which looks like ovens from a distant place
Few places to visit in Tinchuley are :
- Takdah Orchid house
- Sunrise point
- Gumpha Dara rocks
If you have an additional day in hand you can actually stay in Tinchuley as there are plenty of accommodations or homestays available in this area.
We would suggest you to spend the remaining of the day at leisure. Visit the local markets like the Bhutiya market, the Mahakal market etc and don’t forget to buy mementos and winter clothes from the same as prices are quite cheap compared to other parts of India
Places to visit in Darjeeling – Day 4
On your last day we would suggest you to spend the day at leisure and roam around the local market and places/shops etc or if you have not covered Mirik while coming up to Darjeeling, then you can start of early and while going downhill through the Mirik road you can cover few tourist places and reach new Jalpaiguri or Siliguri railway station. if you have to catch the train.
If you have to catch a flight then go directly to to Bagdogra Airport to conclude the journey
Conclusion
We have visited so many hill stations already but we would definitely say that Darjeeling would be ranked one of the best hill stations in India, mainly because of the people around this place who are so humble and generous, for their brilliant food and their natural beauty of the place. If you have very less number of days in your hand then this Darjeeling 3 Nights 4 days travel itinerary would definitely help you to rejuvenated your mind and make sure you have a beautiful holiday with your near and dear ones.
Darjeeling is just one of the hill stations in the north Bengal region of India there are plenty of places to visit in Darjeeling and in North Bengal area, if you want to know more please read our blog regarding the top 10 destinations to visit in North Bengal.
If you want to explore the other parts of Bengal or other parts of India as well for free, you can check out our blogs section.
We have a beautiful gallery section of the different places that we have visited, do check our pictures section.
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I appreciate how you have balanced the popular attractions like Tiger Hill and the Darjeeling ropeway with off-the-beaten-path suggestions like Tinchuley. The practical tips on transportation and accommodation are especially valuable for someone planning their first trip to this beautiful hill station. I find this 3-night, 4-day Darjeeling itinerary incredibly helpful and well-structured.
Thank you so much