Although Darjeeling needs no introduction, yet a little note has never harmed anyone.
Darjeeling is quite the pride of Bengal and with its tea plantations, "Toy Train" and the breathtakingly beautiful Kachenjunga, it's safe to say it's quite a favourite tourist destination for many including international travellers.
One can reach Darjeeling through air, road or rail.
Although there are no direct flights or trains to Darjeeling, one can reach NJP or Bagdogra and then take a cab.
The road trip to Darjeeling is itself very beautiful and indeed a treat to the eyes.
The steep horseshoe bend roads, the slopes with vast stretch of tea plantations, the ever so tall pine trees, a TV Tower in the background (Kurseong), the narrow yet busy streets of Kalimpong (you pass by this small town in one of the routes to Darjeeling), the toy train racing your car(!), adds much to the road trip.
I had been to Darjeeling a couple of times, yet this time I was way more excited than the previous times. The reason being that one has higher chances of seeing the Kachenjunga clearly in the winters than rest of the year. But you can never predict the mood of the mighty Kachenjunga.
And may be I had prayed too hard or had patiently waited for a long time, that little did I know the universe was going to be so kind!
But, will come to that later.
We had reached around late afternoon, and decided to quickly freshen up and then explore some of the eateries before it became dark.
The evenings in the Mall area is a mood altogether.
People casually strolling around contemplating whether to eat or check out some woolens from the street markets, children running around and throwing tantrums for horse ridings, the elderly sitting down on the benches while the younger ones bargaining with the 'chaiwalas', the locals either heading home or enjoying the evening crowd, quite amused with the various tourists all around.
The one thing I personally love about Darjeeling is that inspite of being so popular with travellers all over the world, it is equally warm to all travellers irrespective of caste, creed, gender and bank balance!
A warmth that's so very infectious and so very irreplaceable!
Well, it will be unfair not to declare Day 2 of the trip as not only the best day of the trip but one of the best days of all times.
Our taxi driver was on time and we headed towards our destination, Tiger Hill.
While on our way, I was little worried as it was completely dark and there were hardly anyone on the road but slowly we saw other cars following us and fellow travellers waiting in front of their hotels for their commutes.
Tiger Hill is famous for being one of the best sunrise spots not only in India but worldwide, reason being the snow clad Kanchenjunga bathing with the first beams of sunlight (the trick is to find a spot opposite to the rising sun), a sight worth a million dollar.
The colour changes from light pink to golden to white and it's undoubtedly one of the best visuals in the world.
Right there, right at that moment I knew, this was something I was going to cherish for a lifetime. We then headed back to the hotel to get ready for our next item on our itinerary list.
Your visit in Darjeeling is incomplete if you do not enjoy the steam engine, fondly known as the "Toy Train" crusading through the streets of the town.
And in doing so, it's highly recommended that you visit the railway museum located near Ghum Railway station.
I immensely enjoyed the ride and especially the museum as it was so much informative.
That's the thing about mountains, every season is distinctly different from the other one. Contrary to the popular beliefs and inspite of able to avoid the wrath of the summer heat, I personally enjoy visiting the mountains during the not so popular seasons, especially the winters. It's less crowded and most importantly there are higher chances of having clear skies (winters), the latter being a boon for clear sighting of the snow capped peaks of some mountain ranges in India. So here is one of my favourite winter vacations in recent times, a short but one of the best of all times trips to Darjeeling.
We had been travelling all day and were desperately in need of some food by then. Now, Darjeeling has some interesting eateries and what stands out is that many of these eateries have been around since the British era. Glenary's, Keventer's (only breakfast), Shangri-La are quite the popular ones.
Post our early supper we strolled around and walked down to the taxi stand to book our car for the next day. Taxi stand is centrally located and the tariffs are mostly reasonable (negotiable too). We decided to call it a night as we had to wake up pretty early next morning.
In the evening we headed off to the lesser known Bhutia Busty Monastery on foot.
Only the locals tend to visit this monastery hence it remains eluded from the tourist frenzy.
The experience was so much exhilarating but the uphill climb back was not easy, left the city folks like us, quite breathless.
Day 3 was all about a day trip to Lamahatta and Tinchuley. I always try to check out some offbeat places and there was no way I was going to let go off this road trip.
The road conditions weren't the best yet the destination and view quite made for it.
Unlike Darjeeling, these places are very peaceful and aloof from the crowd, hence there is a different charm all around.
Tinchuley and Lamahatta have become quite the favorite among travellers who prefer to stay away from all the hustle bustle, in the middle of nature and yet not that far away from the main town
So, our trip was almost over and we had a train that night from NJP but this time we had decided to go to NJP via Mirik, another popular tourist spot.
The journey through this route is again very beautiful and scenic, with snow-capped peaks of Kachenjunga making occasional apprerances.
But, before heading towards our last destination, just like the previous days, the mighty Kachenjunga greeted us with open arms, one last time.
To be honest, this has been one of my best winter vacations so far inspite of travelling to many places.
The winter Sun, the chilly nights and the mighty Kachenjunga had much to do with it.