Travel style · Darjeeling & Kalimpong
Road trips in Darjeeling & Kalimpong
The high roads, driven at the right speed
The Himalaya has some of the highest motorable roads in the world: Manali to Leh, the Spiti circuit, Sela Pass, the Old Silk Route. We plan them with acclimatisation days, a driver who knows the bends and honest drive times.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsA mountain road is slow. Two hundred kilometres can take eight hours when the road climbs over a pass, crosses snow-melt streams and waits for a landslide to be cleared. We plan drives in daylight, keep long days to one in three, and build a spare day into any route that crosses a pass above 4,000 m.
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
Road trips trips in Darjeeling & Kalimpong
Photo: Auli Raha (অলি রাহা) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Sittong, Takdah and Kalimpong villages
Private car with driver
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, Kalimpong and Lava by shared jeep
Shared jeeps, one short reserved car
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: 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
2 places
Where to go
Experiences
Days that fit the style
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: Benoy · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Morning walk around Sumendu Lake
Walk the 3.5 km road around Mirik's Sumendu Lake at first light, through pine woods and past the Savitri Pushpaudyan ga…
Photo: PrashansaGurung · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Climb to Bokar Monastery above the lake
Walk up from Sumendu Lake to Bokar Monastery, a Kagyu monastery at about 1,768 m, the highest point of Mirik. Sit in on…
Photo: Shubh.ch1994 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Tea garden and orange orchard drive
A half-day drive through the tea estates around Mirik, including Thurbo, Soureni and the high Gopaldhara garden, with s…
Where to sleep
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