Darjeeling - The Queen of Hills

Situated at a height of 2134 meters ( About 7000 ft ) , Darjeeling is one of the highest hill stations in India. 

Did you know that the British East India Company ensured Darjeeling was well maintained and made sure all their children went to Darjeeling for their schooling . This was because of the beautiful weather and the cleanliness of the place and most important no mosquitoes. 

Hence some of the fine boarding schools in India are in Darjeeling. The Himalayan Railways were built for the same reason, easy accessibility to Darjeeling.

Driving up through the tea gardens 

From Gangtok, the route is back down to Baghdogra and then drive all the way up to Darjeeling. So you will be coming back and taking a detour. The roads are not very good and extremely winding. So ensure you rent a bigger vehicle like an Innova to drive comfortably. 

Unlike Gangtok, I found Darjeeling more crowded and kind of messy. Every street was crowded and vehicles struggled to move through. Streets were narrow and the same street had people, kids from school, cows and stalls on both sides and vehicles trying to pass through. So coming back from Gangtok, this kind of got to my nerves. 

Anyways, we got some rest before heading off to see the Japanese Peace Pagoda.  

Japanese Peace Pagoda - Darjeeling

I thought the Japanese Peace Pagoda was like any other Pagoda housing Buddha statues for Prayer. But that's not what it is. There are 80 Japanese Peace Pagodas across the world and Darjeeling is one of those. 

Tall Trees near the Pagoda

Peace Pagoda standing tall among the trees

   

This is the vision of a Japanese Monk to promote world peace. The first peace Pagoda was built in 1947 in Japan to honor the people who lost their lives during the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing. Since then 80 Peace Pagodas have been built across the globe to spread world peace. It was beautiful to walk around the place and since it was a foggy morning the overall ambiance was just uplifting. 

After spending some time at the Pagoda, we headed straight to the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park. My expectation was something similar to Mysore Zoo with just one or two endangered animals. I was in for a surprise. 

It took us nearly 3 hours to walk inside the entire Zoological park. You have to walk and see the place, no buggy or any other mode of transport inside. Keep your water bottles with you coz you will need to be hydrated and maybe some biscuits to eat when you take a small break. 

This park is built on a hill so do not expect a straight path anywhere. The 3-hour walk is basically up and down a hill. And such a beautifully maintained Zoological Park. I can very confidently say that I saw most of the animals there for the first time, some I had not even heard of. Various endangered species of deers. Wolves, Snow leopard. And the highlight is the Red Panda. So many colorful birds that I have not even seen in pictures or heard the name of. I was like a kid in a candy store, in fact, all three of us were like kids in there. We were seeing animals for the first time and read names and facts about animals for the first time. Amazing place! must not miss it if you are in Darjeeling...

 Red Panda who seemed to be enjoying the attention 

Our next big agenda in Darjeeling was the Toy Train. This was my first toy train experience as I had missed the Toy train ride in Ooty. So I was totally looking forward to this more than my Daughter. 

Couple of things to keep in mind about the Toy Train ride. My recommendation is to book the tickets well in advance and you can do it on the IRCTC site. 

You have the option to choose between a diesel engine and a steam engine. Go for the steam engine, it is a different experience and not something you will get to do often. 

Steam Engine 

It is about 2 hour round trip. The train goes from Darjeeling to Ghoom and stops for a while to let you see the place and a Train Museum and then back to Darjeeling station.  

Ghum - Last stop of the toy train ride 

British had set up the Himalayan Railway for their kids to travel for studies and also to bring injured soldiers and patients suffering from Malaria for recovery. Apparently, the hills have a lot of medicinal plants and it is a perfect place for recovery of mind and body.

The train ride was awesome and the specialty of it is that this is the only railway line that runs parallel to a regular motorway. So while you are on the train, you will see scooters and cars driving next to you and also shops on the other side. So you are going on a train on the road, there is no separate elevated track. You will know when you experience it. 

Back after the train ride we did some shopping in the main shopping area and were pretty much done for the day. We were finally heading back home in a day. 

We had our flight from Baghdogra so we headed to Siliguri the next day, stayed the night, and then took a cab to the airport. I would recommend you check your flight timings and manage it accordingly because the roads are extremely congested. Hence plan well to ensure you reach the airport on time. 

Finally, we were headed back home after a beautiful stay in 2 states Sikkim and West Bengal. Out of the two Gangtok is hands down my favorite. 

So now I have covered 2 of the 7 sisters - Meghalaya and Sikkim, and 5 more to go. Looking forward to more North-Eastern India trips. It is a very rugged terrain but trust me, you will appreciate how beautiful our country is if you start traveling towards the North-Eastern part of our country. 

Until my next travelog, Stay healthy, get vaccinated and travel safe ... the world is waiting for you ...