What to See in Darjeeling

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Being one of the ideal and cool summer destinations, Darjeeling registers a good number of tourists round the year. Tourists love the snow as much as they love the mountain breeze, the Mall, the sunrise from the Tiger Hill, the dew drops on the tea leaves and the cloud hanging low as to shower rain on your palms. Apart from the colorful and breathtaking landscape, tourists visiting Darjeeling will come across a number of sight seeing opportunities. For the tourists to complete a successful trip of all the attractions, it is best to visit Darjeeling during the months of April to June.

The Tiger Hills and The Observatory Hill are the best places to enjoy the miracles of nature. Catch the spectacular sunrise from the Tiger Hills. The extraordinary sight of the first rays of the sun falling on the twin peaks of the Kanchenjunga and bathing it with a beautiful shade of orange is something which is real treat for the mortal eyes. Nearby the Tiger Hill is the Senchal Lake which is instrumental in providing water to this hill station. The Observatory Hill on the other hand offers the tourists awesome scenes of the Kanchenjunga peak. The Kali Mata Temple is also located here.

The colonial touches are still found in the architecture of the buildings in Darjeeling. Some of the finest Tudor residencies, Governor's House or the Raj Bhawan, Planter's Club and the Gothic Churches form the best examples.

The monasteries in Darjeeling, like the Ghum Monastery, the Mag-Dhog- Yolmowa and the Bhutia Busty Monastery showcase pagoda style architecture. The Ghum Monastery is the most renowned monastery in Darjeeling. Also known as Sampten Choling Monastery, this monastery is famous for the statue of "Coming Buddha" or the Maitreya Buddha. Constructed in 1875 by Lama Sherab Gyatso, this monastery also houses the statues of Buddha's disciples, Chongapa and Chenrezi. Equally famous, the Bhutia Busty Monastery has the precious Tibetan Book of Dead.

A trekker's paradise, the natural trails turn out to be quite a challenge for the professionals. However the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute located on the West Jawahar Road caters to all the problems of the mountaineers. The Tea plantations are easily navigable on foot and the trip is really charming. A quick visit to the Happy Valley Estate will be highly rewarding if you want to have knowledge of the processing of tea leaves.

The natural balance and preservation of the flora and fauna of Darjeeling is undertaken by the Lloyd's Botanical Garden and Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park. There is also a Natural History Museum, the prime attractions of which are the mineral forms of the stones and the collection of butterflies.