10 Things to Do in Darjeeling: Experiences I’ll Always Remember

Planning a trip to Darjeeling and wondering what things to do and see? In this blog, I talk about ten experiences that stayed with me from my first trip to Darjeeling. This includes riding the Darjeeling toy train, dangling in the Darjeeling ropeway hovering above a terraced tea estate, wandering around the Mall Road, enjoying breakfast and dinner at Glenary’s Darjeeling, taking in the sights at Tinchuley sunrise point and more.

Some are classic attraction in Darjeeling, some are little moments that made the trip memorable.

While growing up, every year when Baba brought home the new calendar from office, a set routine was followed.

The calendar used to enter the house before Baba, who stood laughing at the doorway at my enthusiasm. I used to hurriedly unroll the calendar with my cold fingers – the smell of freshly printed oily paper hitting my nostrils, the rush of excitement coursing through my veins, the glee of a to-be discovery shinning in my eyes. Paper cuts were ignored because two very, very important things needed to be checked in the calendar, so important that the fate of my entire tiny but mighty world depended on it.

1. Is my birthday on a weekend?

2. WHEN IS DURGA PUJA?

Durga puja is a lot more than just a festival for Bengalis. The life of a Bengali, no matter where s/he is on the planet, revolves around Durga puja. Sometimes it seems like we spend our year counting days from one Durga puja to the next.

You see, everything else can wait, Durga puja cannot. So, every year, like most Bengalis, I deck up, hop pandals, gorge on street food, indulge in adda sessions and make the most of the holidays. The rest of the Bengalis pack their bags and leave for a family trip to escape the crowds. This year, I chose the latter. And where did we go? To one of the most frequented destination for Bengalis – Darjeeling – the front-row seat to the world’s most majestic mountains.

Tathagata says that Darjeeling is an emotion. True enough, I found myself growing an attachment for this beautiful town in just a couple of days.

So on an autumn evening, as our taxi made its way up the winding mountain road, we tumbled inside the car trying to put on a new layer of clothes every few minutes to cut out the chill until we ran into a mist that made it difficult to say if we were inside a fog or a cloud. And then right there in front of us, shimmering in the glow of the lights from the tiny homes, lay Darjeeling.

I could feel the warmth building up inside me. Even now as I type these words, I can feel the clouds enveloping me in a pine forest so tall that it reaches the sky, smell the coal and the steam of the toy-train in the air and almost touch the thrill of looking down at a tea plantation from the ropeway!

Darjeeling has given me a chain of memories that I want to remember for the rest of my life. So, this blog will document the top 10 of those lovely memories in no order of preference.

10 Things to Do in Darjeeling from My Experience as a First-time Traveller

1. Take the Darjeeling Toy Train Ride

The Toy Train of Darjeeling Himalayan Railways is a UNESCO World heritage, hence one of the rewarding things to do in Darjeeling. Way before we started planning for the trip, my husband had put it in his bucket list. There are two Toy Train services operated by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways.

A. New Jalpaiguri (NJP) station to Ghum:

This is the most scenic ways to travel to Darjeeling but it takes close to eight hours. This is the route:

NJP → Siliguri Town → Siliguri Junction → Sukna → Rangtong → Tindharia → Gayabari → Mahanadi → Kurseong → Tung → Sonada → Ghum → Darjeeling

You can book this through the IRCTC portal. The origin station would be New Jalpaiguri (NJP) and under destination station, put Darjeeling (DJ). Two train options would be shown to you:

NJP DJ AC PASS (52539): This toy train includes a vistadome coach and an AC restaurant car. It has AC chair car and First Class seat options. It operates only on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday and starts at 10 am from New Jalpaiguri (NJP) Railway Station. The AC chair car costs INR 1500 and the First Class seat costs INR 1300.

NJP DJ PASSENGER (52541): This is the regular passenger toy train with both AC chair car and First Class seat options. It operates on all days including Sunday and leaves the NJP Station at 10 am. The AC chair car for the Passenger Toy Train costs INR 1500 and the First Class seat is priced at INR 1400.

The AC Passenger train 52539 is coupled with 52541 till Sukna station, at which point it is de-coupled and runs on its own. Both these trains are pulled by diesel engines.

Darjeeling Toy Train: NJP ⇔ Darjeeling
	From	Departure Time	To	Arrival Time	Operational Days	Vistadome Coach	Restaurant Car	Toilet	Cost
NJP DJ AC PASS (52539)	New Jalpaiguri – NJP	10 am	Darjeeling – DJ	6:26 pm	Monday, Wednesday, Saturday	Yes; 1 coach	Yes	Yes	AC Chair Car: INR 1500 First Class: INR 1300
NJP DJ PASSENGER (52541)	New Jalpaiguri – NJP	10 am	Darjeeling – DJ	5:30 pm	All days (including Saturday and Sunday)	No	No	Yes	AC Chair Car: INR 1500 First Class: INR 1400
DJ NJP AC PASS (52538)	Darjeeling – DJ	9:10 am	New Jalpaiguri – NJP	5:05 pm	Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday	Yes; 1 coach	Yes	Yes	AC Chair Car: INR 1500 First Class: INR 1300
DJ NJP PASSENGER (52540)	Darjeeling – DJ	9 am	New Jalpaiguri – NJP	4:30 p,	All days (including Saturday and Sunday)	No	No	Yes	AC Chair Car: INR 1500 First Class: INR 1400

For your luggage, you can use the rack space above the seats or keep your luggage below your seat. For heavy luggage, you can use the luggage van attached to the train. Talk to station master for the arrangements.

B. Darjeeling station to Ghum: 

This is a shorter route of the Darjeeling Toy Train. It is popularly known as Joyride. The ride takes about two hours. It’s a round-trip that begins and ends at Darjeeling station. This is the route:

Darjeeling → Batasia Loop → Ghum → Darjeeling

You would be surprised to know that Ghum is the highest railway station in India standing at 7,407 feet above sea level.

You can book the Joyride from the IRCTC portal. Under ‘From’, type in Darjeeling – DJ and under ‘To’, type Darjeeling – DJRZ. You will see a steam and a Diesel Joyride option for different times starting from 7:15 am to 3:45 pm. Recently, a Vistadome option has been added for the steam-engine variant of the Darjeeling Toy Train. All trains operate on all days including Sunday. The steam Joyrides are priced at INR 1500 and the diesel Joyride costs INR 1000. The steam Vistadome Joyride is also proced at INR 1500.

Darjeeling Toy Train – Joyride
	From	Departure Times	To	Operational Days	Toilet	Cost
Steam Engine Joyride	Darjeeling – DJ	9:25 am 11:30 am	Darjeeling – DJRZ	All days (including Saturday and Sunday)	No	1500
Vistadome- Steam Engine Joyride	Darjeeling – DJ	1:30 pm 3:35 pm	Darjeeling – DJRZ	All days (including Saturday and Sunday)	No	1500
Diesel Engine Joyride	Darjeeling – DJ	7:15 am 9:35 am 11:40 am 1:40 pm 3:45 pm	Darjeeling – DJRZ	Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday	No	1000

I took the steam Joyride. While the diesel engine pulls the train quicker, steam is where the nostalgia is. So without a shadow of doubt, we opted for the steam engine. It arrived with a majestic blow of the whistle and was then coupled to the tiny carriages in which passengers were sitting, standing with wide-eyed enthusiasm.

The steam engine pulls the coaches at a snail pace letting you absorb the raw beauty of the Himalayas as it takes you through the town overcoming impossible curves and gradients, halting at Batasia Loop and at Ghum station before depositing you back from where you started in about two hours.

The whole time I had my head out of the window, tiny coal scraps making their way into my hair and clothes, taking in the fresh morning breeze, the aroma of the town and the remarkable beauty around me. It’s a joyride you should not miss.

2. Ride the Cable Car on the Darjeeling Ropeway

We all know that the best view is from up top. Sure enough, the Rangeet Valley ropeway opened up an entire different Darjeeling for us, turning it into one of the top things to do in Darjeeling for me.

The Darjeeling ropeway runs between Singamari and Tukvar Tea Estate. It is India’s first passenger cable car system. You board the cable car at Singamari which then descends about 1500 feet over a stretch of 2.3 kilometres as it reaches Tukvar. One-way ride takes about 15 minutes. You can get off at Tukvar, roam around and then board the next cable car back to Singamari. It operates on all days. In peak season, it stays open from 10 am to 2 pm. During off-season (usually monsoon months), it stays open till 4 pm.

Each cable car can accommodate 6 people. So after waiting for our turn for what seemed like an eternity, as we boarded the cable car, I found myself letting go of my fear of height and my inhibitions. I saw them swirling down through the clouds, lightly brushing the dark green leaves of the tea plantation below us that were spread out like a carpet and disappearing into the blur of the evening.

I looked down and around as far as my eyes could see. All I could see was the hand of God – intimidating yet assuring, powerful yet kind. As the cable car made its way through the 5000 metre stretch, there were times when the clouds engulfed us completely and visibility was reduced to almost zero – it felt like we were floating above an oblivion. The thrill of the adventure had gripped me and I looked on, expressionless. Not a single thought crossed my mind, I could only stare in awe at the might of Nature.

3. Visit the Tinchuley Sunrise Point

I’d heard a lot about Tinchuley being an emerging off-beat destination. So, we decided to give it a once-over on one of our day trips. Tinchuley is a tiny hamlet, straight out of a fairytale about 30 kms away from Darjeeling. The eco-friendly village is mushroomed by numerous homestays offering you a peaceful vacation detached from the world. The road to Tinchuley is fenced by alpine forests that are home to many wild animals including the leopard.

Our driver, Vivek knew the best place to take us to – the sunrise point. Perched at a height of about 6000 feet, the spot took my breath away. While we did not make it in time for sunrise, it still has been one of the best things to do in Darjeeling.

When we reached, the wind was strong and the view was a panorama of oozing grace with lush green hills growing tea, the winding Teesta river down below which appeared white from the water current, trees swaying in the wind, the mighty sky meeting them all midway and a sprinkle of mist to make it all magical.

We could even spot Sikkim that looked like a cluster of dark, tall trees from where we stood! This place can instantly humble any living being on Earth. Tinchuley Sunrise Point has left a deep impact on me, deeper than I thought. Sometimes when I concentrate hard enough, I can still hear the wind rustling through my ears and feel the calmness of the place descending on me.

4. Have Breakfast at Keventer’s

Keventer’s is an iconic breakfast place of Darjeeling. It was established in 1911 and is popular for its English breakfast. Winning dishes include burger, hot dog and sausage platter. Chocolate shake and coffee are great here too. The upstairs balcony offers a fantastic view of the Kanchenjungha. Open between 8 am and 6 pm.

On two consecutive mornings during our stay, Tathagata and I hurriedly made our way up the Mall road to grab the front row seats with the best views for breakfast. On the first day, we were the first ones in at Keventer’s. Sitting at the table with the town sprawled around us, the famous clock tower right behind me and a piping hot chocolate with a sausage platter spread on the table, I felt on top of the world.

Keventer’s has featured in various Satyajit Ray films, in the film ‘Barfi’ more recently, as well as in various books as well.

The second day, in an attempt to be the first ones in again, we ended up reaching way too early, so early that they had only began cleaning the terrace when we entered. So we went on a stroll and on our way back, the pretty-as-a-picture breakfast balcony at the Glenary’s was calling out to us. And we couldn’t resist.

At Glenary’s

Pull up a chair in any of these two places in the morning when the air is breezy and the sun is just another cloud layer away. You will feel the calmness surrounding you, a child-like happiness washing over you transporting you to the days when your imagination ran wild like a free mare on a lush green field. I can still feel the terrace and the balcony beckoning when I close my eyes.

5. Dinner at Glenary’s Darjeeling

Glenary’s Darjeeling is a British-era cafe and bakery. It is spread across three stories- the ground floor is the cafe and breakfast area, the restaurant is in the first floor (opens for lunch and dinner) and there’s a bar in the basement. There are various kinds of seating at Glenary’s Darjeeling – an open terrace in the breakfast area, a roof-covered terrace with Kanchenjungha view in the restaurant and indoor seating overlooking the Nehru Road. Timings: 

• Bakery: 7:30 am – 8:30 pm
• Restaurant & Bar: 12 pm – 10 pm
• Live music inside the first-floor restaurant starts at 8:30 pm

While Glenary’s serves breakfast with a side of spectacular beauty in the morning, dinner is a completely different affair. The moment I entered the iconic restaurant in the evening, a rush of warmth hit me and spun me around leaving me dizzy. The interior was lit with a soft, warm, orange-ish hue. A man with a guitar and a lovely voice was singing classic English songs from the 80’s. The setting is cozy, inviting and extremely romantic. It feels like a warm embrace to your nostalgic soul in the cold of the night. It feels like home, which immediately made it one of the best things to do in Darjeeling for me. Probably that is why I still feel the pull to be at Glenary’s.

Darjeeling wouldn’t be Darjeeling without Glenary’s and Keventer’s. They are way more than just cafes. They are a cult. They are witnesses of times gone by and the ups and downs that this paradise of a town has been through.

6. Walk along the Chowrasta and Mall Road

Chowrasta (‘chow’ – four, ‘rasta’ – road) is a promenade at the heart of Darjeeling where four major roads converge. It is a public square strictly for walking. No vehicles are allowed here. There are benches for you to sit and watch the Kanchenjungha. The promenade is lined with hotels, restaurants, cafes, curio shops, bookstores and street vendors. Children take pony rides in this stretch of the road. A fountain with Victorian decorations sits at the middle. There’s also a public stage on one side.

One of the best things to do in Darjeeling is stroll the Mall Road, sit a while on the benches and watch people, sample local food from the street vendors and just being present in the moment as the clouds engulf you.

Have you ever strolled around the Mall road on a cold evening with layers of warm clothes piled on you and throngs of people chattering about you? The lovely looking souvenir shops call out to you as the mist surrounds you. The cute benches near the fountain invite you to catch a breath from all the running around. I felt like hugging the place and never leave.

The Darjeeling Mall road is a real treat. I want to remember the aroma and the sound and the vibe of the place for as long as I can. I want to remember how I could see my breath every time I talked, how lovely the raspberry mousse tasted at Cafe Coffee Day, how easy it was to get lost in your thoughts in a busy plaza, how surprising the variety of the gift shop items were and how warm I felt in the chilling cold.

Mall market

7. Visit Batasia Loop

Batasia Loop is located about 4 kilometres from Darjeeling town. Batasia Loop is one of the stops of the Darjeeling Toy Train. It is an engineering marvel built in 1919. The hill that this loop sits on has a height of 140 ft. which is impossible for a train to climb without falling off the rails. So, the engineers designed a circular track that loops around the hill, allowing the train to gain height gradually.

The train enters the loop through a tunnel. It then circles around the loop while negotiating the steep incline and crosses over the tunnel to journey to Ghum. Isn’t that clever? It’s fascinating to watch how this happens. This is best enjoyed while taking the Darjeeling Toy Train ride. This makes Batasia Loop one of the must-do things in Darjeeling.

8. Take Road Trips While Listening to Old Hindi Songs

When you add Hindi songs from the 80s to the winding, fog-coevered roads of Darjeeling, some kind of a magic happens. Most of your day trips from Darjeeling will take you through these roads for hours. Book a car with Bluetooth connectivity. Put this Spotify playlist on. You would create a core memory, trust me.

On our day trips, our driver used to play old Hindi songs all through the way, right from our AirBnB and back. As our car made its way through the winding road shrouded with mist and lined with alpine forests, “Bade achche lagte hain” and “Neele neele ambar par” made even more sense than any other time. We couldn’t stop humming along.

Now every time I listen to those songs, I get a fierce longing for Darjeeling and its mysterious, cloud-covered, deserted, serpentine roads.

9. Make Your Way to the Rock Garden

Visiting the Rock Garden is one of the things you have to do if it is your first time in Darjeeling. It is a multi-tier garden built around the natural flow of the Chunnu Summer Falls. The Rock Garden is beautifully landscaped with stone pathways, bridges over natural streams from the waterfall, flower beds and ample seating areas. It covers a huge area and would take you at least one hour and a moderate level of physical fitness to walk around. Visit between 10 am and 4 pm to have enough time to walk around in daylight and enjoy the sights.

What I loved best was the way to the Rock Garden. As the car made its way to the Rock Garden negotiating hairpin bends, the clouds looked like they were floating somewhere down in the gorge but as we drove closer to the Rock Garden, the clouds started rising above us. This happens because you are moving from a much higher up the mountain slopes. You will also be able to see the Chunnu waterfall from far away like a thin thread against the massive mountain as you drive towards the Rock Garden.

10. Make Time for the Famous Darjeeling Zoo

Did you know that the Darjeeling Zoo is the largest high-altitude zoo in India? And that is not the only thing it is famous for. Darjeeling Zoo is home and breeding ground of the endangered red panda. The breeding program has witnessed tremendous success. Between 2022 and 2024, nine red pandas bred in the zoo were released into the wild. The program had been shortlisted for a prestigious award as well.

When you are at the zoo, look up at the tree branches. If you are lucky, you will spot one running out of sight. 

Another great thing about the zoo is that there is no usage of cages. Because it is built on a steeo mountainside, the natural sloping terrain enabled to build the zoo as an open-air habitat. Only mesh and moats separate the animals from the visitors. Timing:

• Summer months: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
• Winter months: 8:30 am to 4 pm
• Closed on Thursday

Some Other Things I Liked & Did in Darjeeling

The Fearless Hairy-Tailed Dogs

One of the things that stayed with me about Darjeeling is the look of fearlessness in the eyes of the street dogs. None of the dogs I met on the streets looked scared. Their eyes looked like those of retired people at complete peace with their state of being bearing no regrets. They looked so calm – not overly excited, not hungry, not sad, not too happy – just calm. What made me happy is that they looked well fed and cared for. Little things like this restores my faith in humanity and give me reasons to believe that there are good people on Earth.

Pretty Little Windows

Darjeeling windows are a sight to look at. Tiny square glass panes, each framed in wood gives way to the beauty of the sky and the town outside. While all windows are similar to look at, they are different somehow. Some are coloured white, some dark brown, some are decorated with flowery pots, some exuding the elegance without the flowers – but each looking pretty as a picture.

Kanchenjunga

As we neared the end of my first ever date with the Himalayas, I could feel the slight pang of an unfinished job nesting in a tiny corner of my mind. A glimpse of the mighty Kanchenjunga. The AirBnB we had chosen to stay in boasted an amazing view of the Kanchenjunga but unfortunately, the extended monsoon with its overcast sky hadn’t permitted it so far.

On our final day, way early in the morning, Tathagata gathered all of us to the open window in our pyjamas. The clouds had cleared just enough, the mountain God had smiled down on us and lo and behold – the majestic Kanchenjunga had finally come to light!

I remembered the saying, “You don’t choose to view the Kanchenjunga, she lets you see her.”

Now back at my desk, while typing this out, I realize that I have managed to forge a lasting liaison with Darjeeling in just a couple of days. I know I have to go back even if it is just to sit at Glenary’s and absorb its warmth or standing quietly for hours at the Tinchuley sunrise point or sitting on the Mall bench and taking in the vibe of chaos or even just stare at the pretty little windows.

Darjeeling is both a real and an imagined place. With its engulfing mist, shy sunshine, smiling people and stretches of sudden mysterious forests – Darjeeling is just how you interpret it. I have realized that you can spend a lifetime here but never begin to grasp it.

I went to Darjeeling again two years after writing this blog to fall in love once again. I wrote about it here.

FAQs About Things to Do in Darjeeling

1. How many days are enough in Darjeeling?

5 days is a good duration for a first-time visitor in Darjeeling. That would give you enough time to ride the Darjeeling Toy Train, visit the Darjeeling Zoo and Rock Garden, laze around at the Mall road and shop, take the ropeway and catch a sunrise at either Tinchuley sunrise view point or Tiger Hill. You will also have time to cover a few other attractions in Darjeeling like the Peace Pagoda, Mahakal temple, a few monasteries and some tea gardens without feeling rushed.

2. What are the top 5 places to visit in Darjeeling?

The best 5 places to see in Darjeeling would be:

• Darjeeling Zoo because it is a world famous conservation centre for the Himalayan Red Panda
• Sunrise at Tiger Hill because you can see the sun light up the Everest along with Kanchenjungha
• Batasia Loop because it is an engineering marvel for the Darjeeling Toy Train
• Mahakal Temple because it is a confluence of Hinduism and Buddhism
• Any tea estate because a trip to Darjeeling would not be complete without it (We went to Gopaldhara tea estate on our second visit to Darjeeling)

An additional thing to do when you are in Darjeeling would be to take a road trip to the Triveni water confluence. It takes about a 2-hour car ride. You go from the mountains straight to the river banks at the confluence point of Teesta and Rangeet rivers. You can spend the entire day here – do the river rafting activity and then have a picnic by the river.

3. What can I see and do in Darjeeling in a day?

If you have only one day in Darjeeling, do these:

• Take the Darjeeling Toy Train ride (Joyride)
• Have lunch at Glenary’s Darjeeling and pack some bakery goods for the journey back
• Visit the Darjeeling Zoo to see some rare mountain animals like the Red Panda, Snow Leopard, Siberian Tiger (one of the few zoos in India house them), colourful pheasants, macaw and the Himalayan Monal (the national bird of Bhutan).
• Do some shopping from the shops around the Mall Road

4. Which are the 7 points in Darjeeling?

At Darjeeling, if you approach any cab driver to hire for a tour of neaby spots, they would talk about a 7-point or a 5-point sightseeing tour. These are popular must-visit destinations that most tourists, especially first-time visitors want to cover when they visit Darjeeling. The 7-point tour includes:

• Tiger Hill – Watching the first rays of the sun light up Everest and then Kanchenjungha
• Ghoom monastery – this is located on the way down from Tiger Hill
• Batasia Loop – an engineering marvel for the Darjeeling Toy Train
• Japanese Peace Pagoda – The tallest structure in Darjeeling town
• Himalayan Mountaineering Institute – one of the world’s premier mountaineering training centres
• Tenzing Rock – A massive natural rock formation that serves as a hands-on adventure spot for tourists
• Darjeeling ropeway – India’s first passenger cable car system
• Tibetan Refuge Centre – This complex is located on a hill. Here, Tibetan refugees create and sell handicrafts like wood carvings, carpets, etc.

Be prepared, this is going to be a very hectic tour.