Darjeeling Travel Guide – Things You Need To Know Darjeeling Travel Guide – Things You Need To Know

Located in the northeastern section of India, which is very close to Nepal and Tibet (and neighboring Indian state of Sikkim), Darjeeling is in the rolling hills of the Himalayas. It was originally just a small village, but because it’s such a lovely place it became a popular hill-station and it has now grown into a town.

Darjeeling is peaceful, located in a beautiful area, and a breath of fresh air from other dusty and hectic parts of North India. Along with Sri Lanka, Darjeeling is particularly famous throughout the world for its production of tea.

Below you’ll find my Darjeeling travel guide, packed with lots of useful tips from my 5 day visit. Here’s what is included:

1. Arriving and Leaving
2. Where to Stay
3. How to Get Around
4. Things To Do
5. Food and Restaurants

1. Arriving and Leaving

Train to New Jalpaiguri Railroad Station – The closest railroad station to Darjeeling is New Jalpaiguri, known better as just NJP. There’s not much to do in the town, but just outside the station, you’ll find jeeps going straight to Darjeeling, Gangtok, or a number of other towns in the mountains.

Note: I took the train to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) and because my train arrived late at night I decided to spend the night there before taking a jeep to Darjeeling the next morning (this is a wise idea as it’s not safe to take the drive at night due to the dangerous mountain roads, if there even is a service).

If you need to spend the night, we spent one night at Hotel Holydon (600 INR per night) – just a 30 Rupee bicycle rickshaw ride away from the station – in the daytime it’s just a 10 – 15 minute walk from the railway station. Not the nicest hotel, but it works for a quick night sleep before heading on to Darjeeling.

If you’re coming from New Delhi, you can also get a train easily to NJP.

Jeep (called a Tata Sumo) is the way to get from NJP railroad station to Darjeeling. A seat in a shared jeep cost me 200 INR per person – but price may slightly alter depending on season and time. Just make sure you pay the same amount as the other passengers in your vehicle. It takes about 4 hours by jeep to reach Darjeeling, and luckily the driver stops a few times to stretch and use the bathroom.

2. Where to Stay in Darjeeling

Hotel Capital – During my entire 5 day visit to Darjeeling I stayed at Hotel Capital. Our double room was 800 INR per night and we had a nice spacious room, very warm blankets, and hot water most of the time. It’s in a perfect location and I thought it was a good place to stay, but they do charge 10% service charge at the end… to my surprise.

3. How to Get Around

Walk – For the most part, it’s pretty easy to walk around the central areas of Darjeeling. If you decide to visit the Himalayan Zoo, you can take a taxi, or it’s about a 45 minute walk to get there. Getting from the bottom of Darjeeling town to the Chowrasta area is all easily accessible on foot.

Tata Sumo Jeep – To get to places like Ghum or to Tiger Hill for the Himalayan mountain sunrise you can either take a shared jeep or a taxi.