Travel style · Darjeeling & Kalimpong
Photography in Darjeeling & Kalimpong
Light, height and the right hour
Trips built around light: first sun on Khangchendzonga from Pelling, star skies over Chandratal and Hanle, prayer halls at dawn, apricot blossom in April. With notes on where photography is not allowed.
Photo: Arne Hückelheim 2010-09-21 12:41:53 This is a … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsMountain light changes fast. The best of it is the first and last hour, which means early starts and evenings without a long drive.
Darjeeling and Kalimpong are the West Bengal hills between Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan, 1,200 to 3,636 m high. Go March to May or October to November for clear views of Kangchenjunga. Plan 5 to 7 nights: Darjeeling for tea and the toy train, Kalimpong for nurseries and monasteries, Sandakphu for the high ridge.
Trips
Photography trips in Darjeeling & Kalimpong
Photo: Mayukh Ghose · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Tea and toy train: Kurseong and Darjeeling
Private car with driver
Photo: Arne Hückelheim 2010-09-21 12:41:53 This is a … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Darjeeling long weekend from Kolkata
Overnight train, shared jeeps, toy train joy ride
Photo: Mayukh Ghose · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Signature
Taj Chia Kutir, Windamere and Glenburn
Private SUV with driver
Photo: Arne Hückelheim 2010-09-21 12:41:53 This is a … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Signature
Windamere, Sandakphu and Taj Chia Kutir
Private SUV with driver; reserved Land Rover on the Singalila Ridge
8 places
Where to go
Photo: Arne Hückelheim 2010-09-21 12:41:53 This is a … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Darjeeling
The thunderbolt ridge, its tea and its two-foot railway
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Kalimpong
Old wool-trade town of nurseries, monasteries and schools
Photo: Mayukh Ghose · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Kurseong
The toy train's home town, ringed by old tea gardens
Photo: SubrataEmfluence · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Lepchajagat
A forest hamlet on the Ghum–Mirik road
Photo: Pinakpani · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Rishyap
Sunrise village facing the Kangchenjunga range
Photo: solarshakti · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Sandakphu and Singalila
West Bengal's highest point, with Everest on the skyline
Photo: Auli Raha (অলি রাহা) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Sittong
Orange orchards and homestays in the Riyang valley
Photo: Amitabha Gupta · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Takdah and Tinchuley
An old British cantonment in mist and cedar forest
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Souviksen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Toy train joy ride to Ghum and Batasia Loop
A 2-hour round trip on the 2 ft gauge Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, climbing from Darjeeling to Ghum station at about 2…
Photo: Shahnoor Habib Munmun · CC BY 3.0 · Commons
Sunrise on Kangchenjunga from Tiger Hill
Drive before dawn to Tiger Hill, 2,590 m and about 11 km from Darjeeling, to watch first light hit Kangchenjunga. On cl…
Photo: Matt Stabile · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Happy Valley tea garden walk and tasting
Walk down to Happy Valley Tea Estate, 3 km from Chowrasta, the closest garden to Darjeeling town. Founded in 1854, it i…
Photo: Sumit Surai · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Kalimpong cactus and orchid nursery visit
Tour two or three of Kalimpong's family-run nurseries, which grow cacti, succulents, orchids, gladioli and bulbs for bu…
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Durpin Monastery and Deolo Hill viewpoints
Visit Zang Dhok Palri Phodang, the Nyingma monastery on Durpin Hill consecrated by the Dalai Lama in 1976, then cross t…
Photo: Subhrajyoti07 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Dr Graham's Homes and old Kalimpong walk
Trace Kalimpong's mission and trading history: the campus of Dr Graham's Homes, founded in 1900 below Deolo, the Kather…
Photo: Pinakpani · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Kurseong station, DHR museum and bazaar walk
Walk the heart of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in its headquarters town: the dead-end station with its one-room mus…
Photo: Ravi Dwivedi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Netaji's house at Giddapahar and Eagle's Crag
Visit the Bose family house at Giddapahar, 4 km from Kurseong, where Subhas Chandra Bose spent seven months under house…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: Subhrajyoti07 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Budget
Meghbalika Tourism Property (WBTDC)
The West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation's lodge in Darjeeling town, formerly the Darjeeling Tourist Lodge.…
Photo: Mayukh Ghose · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Budget
Roudra Chhaya Tourism Property (WBTDC)
WBTDC's lodge in Kurseong, formerly the Kurseong Tourist Lodge, with standard and larger double rooms, a restauran…
Photo: Subhrajyoti07 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
Morgan House, Kalimpong (WBTDC)
A 1930s stone mansion built by the jute businessman George Morgan on Durpin Hill, now a WBTDC heritage lodge with …
Photo: Rangan Datta Wiki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
Cochrane Place
A restored colonial house above Kurseong, once the home of a British magistrate, run as a small boutique hotel wit…
Photo: Arne Hückelheim 2010-09-21 12:41:53 This is a … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
Dekeling Hotel
A long-running family hotel run by a Tibetan family on Gandhi Road, a few minutes below Chowrasta, with simple, wa…
Photo: Arne Hückelheim 2010-09-21 12:41:53 This is a … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
Windamere Hotel
A colonial hotel on Observatory Hill above Chowrasta, built in 1841 as Ada Villa, later a boarding house for tea p…
Photography elsewhere