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Published: March 18th 2014
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A short flight from Calcutta took us north to Bagdogra where our new guide and driver were waiting to drive us up into the mountains, starting from a height of 500ft and ending at 7000ft in Darjeeling. The road was steep with multiple hairpin bends and some fairly rough potholed stretches.
Darjeeling is situated in a pine-clad valley, with the town clinging to the steep mountainsides, consisting of small houses, shops and taller concrete townhouses linked by numerous small narrow streets, alleys and steps. We walked up the hillside, slightly out of breath, due to a combination of the steepness and also the altitude, to the Mall. The Mall, which sits high up on the mountain should have spectacular views but we were thwarted by low cloud and mist, is a square surrounded by small shops selling tourist fare, an excellent bookshop, teashops and restaurants.
We were awoken by an alarm call at 03.30hrs, the following morning, and along with most other tourists in Darjeeling, we headed, inevitably, uphill to Tiger Hill. We arrived at the observatory, and luckily our guide had secured tickets in the upper lounge, which would hopefully reveal views across the valleys to the Himalayas. We waited in the
pitch dark until the first light in the sky at 05.30 and then sunrise at 05.50 - who has hidden the Himalayas was the cry from the assembled eagerly awaiting crowd - all we could see in the increasing light was a grey mist across the valleys where the mountains should have been - we had to make do with the photograph in the observation lounge - it would have been spectacular!
On our way back to the hotel for breakfast we stopped at a Buddhist Monastery, Yiga Choeling Old Monastery established in 1875 by the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) sect, which was very colourful, with prayer flags and prayer wheels, which were constantly spinning as local Buddhists arrived for their morning prayers.
The Himalayan Mountain Institute, contained a mountaineering museum showing numerous exhibits from the various expeditions to climb the major Himalayan mountains. All very interesting and informative with a super statue of Sherpa Tenzing Norgay.
Tea plantations covered vast areas of mountainside, as you might expect in Darjeeling. We had an interesting tour of the Jay Shree Tea Factory, seeing the labour intensive and largely manual processes of tea production.
Accommodation - The Elgin Hotel Darjeeling Weather - Mainly cloudy and hazy
with occasional sunny intervals. 12-15c
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Cyril Birch
non-member comment
Darjeeling
The roads appear a bit scary, hair-pin bends and very steep. Pity about the sunrise and the Himalayas mist. (feeling good!)