Darjeeling - Hammock Holidays

Darjeeling, a magnificent hill resort in the North Eastern Himalayas, beckons thousands from the bustle of the madding crowd. The traveller - whether a tourist or a trekker, an ornithologist or a photographer, a botanist or an artist - will find Darjeeling an experience which will remain etched in one's memory forever.

Climate
The best periods to visit is between Apr-Jun, the weather being clear and pleasant, and between Sep-Nov, when the mountains are clearly visible . Being a mountain city Darjeeling experiences rains throughout the year, so carry an umbrella always. Often heavy downpours wash away the roads and the place is totally cut off from rest of the country. The maximum temperature in summer is 15 deg. celsius and in winters, the lowest temperature is 1.5 deg. celsius.

Connectivity
Nearest Airport(s): Bagdogra Domestic - approx. 95 kms
Nearest Railway Station(s): New Jalpaiguri - approx. 88 kms in Toy train
Nearest Bus Stop: Darjeeling

This heavenly retreat is bathed in hues of every shade. The flaming red rhododendrons, the sparkling white magnolias, the miles of undulating hillsides covered with emerald green tea bushes, the exotic forests of silver fir - all under the blanket of a brilliant azure sky dappled with specks of clouds, compellingly confounds Darjeeling as the Queen of Hill Stations .

An interesting way to reach Darjeeling is by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway's Toy Train, a famous narrow (2 feet) gauge train. The journey, which takes approximately seven and half hours from New Jalpaiguri, the base of Darjeeling Hill to Darjeeling town at the top, is spectacular.

Shopping for woollen carpets, cotton shoulder bags, table mats, hand knitted pure woollen sweaters and caps in the Tibetian refugee markets and for prominent hill handicrafts, handloom and silk products of West Bengal at the local shops can be a delightful experience.

Places of interest in and around Darjeeling include Tiger Hill, Batasia Loop (this railway loop is a marvelous feat of engineering), Observatory Hill, Himalayan Mountaineering Institute & Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park (training institute with a museum containing unique mountaineering exhibits and a high altitude wild life park, home to the Siberian Tiger, Himalayan Black Bear, Deer, Red Panda, Snow Leopard and birds), The Snow Leopard breeding Centre, Tenzing Rock and Gombu Rock, Natural History Museum, Lloyds Botanical Garden, The Shrubbery, Ava Art Gallery, Happy Valley Tea Estate, Darjeeling Rangeet Valley Passenger Ropeway, Lebong Race Course, Garg World Amusement Park, Barbotey Rock Garden, Senchal Lake and picnic spots near Rangeet river.