DARJEELING TRIP

It was October 2010, I was in the 12^th standard. My school organised a tour to Darjeeling. I love travelling so I gave in my name. We took two buses and started our journey from Senapati, Manipur. The journey through the hills and mountains of northern Manipur and Nagaland was mesmerizing and spectacular. The landscape drastically changed when we entered Assam. We were now welcomed by the Brahmaputra plains. With the humid climate, it was sweltering hot all through our journey in Assam. We reached West Bengal and made our way north towards Darjeeling Hills. We passed through spectacular tea gardens on the hillsides covered in mist creating a magical experience. It was raining and getting very cold.

View of Darjeeling

Somewhere along the road the bus that I was in couldn’t climb up the steep road so few of us had to board the other bus to lighten the load. On nearing Darjeeling we stopped along the road and took taxis to get into Darjeeling.

St. Andrew's Church

Finally, I was in Darjeeling. And I felt awesome. And now I was sleeping in the comforts of the bed at the hotel after two nights of sleeping on the uncomfortable bus seats.

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway - A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Lloyd's Botanical Garden

Next day the sightseeing began. The first thing we set out at dawn to watch the sunrise at the famed Tiger Hill, the highest point in Darjeeling.  Unfortunately, the view of the distant Himalayas was hidden by clouds. Next stop was the Japanese Peace Pagoda. We stayed in Darjeeling for two days and three nights.

Road towards Rock Garden

The places we visited are listed below:

·       Tiger Hill

·       Batasia Loop

·       Ghoom Monastery

·       Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park

·       Himalayan Mountaineering Institute & Museum                  

·       Japanese Peace Pagoda

·       Lloyds Botanical Garden

·       Rock Garden

·       Chowrasingha

Rock Garden, Darjeeling

·      On our way back home we crossed the border into Nepal to visit the border town of Pashupatinagar. We did a little shopping around town and made our way back.