Accommodation in Darjeeling

Posted November 30, 2010 By Sarvesh

The majestic view of diverse flora and fauna with imposing natural beauty highlighted by a mixture of serenity and austerity of nature attract a large chunk of tourists to Darjeeling every year. However, the problem faced by most of the tourists is the perfect accommodation. People who contact with various travel agencies do not face with such unexpected problem but those who prefer visiting without contacting any travel agencies can face such problems, here we are giving you some necessary details about the accommodation in Darjeeling, so that you can book them in advance if you have plans to visit Darjeeling in near future.

Hotels in Darjeeling offer s best opportunities to experience the ravishing charm of the “Queen of hills”. Apart from catering to the many demands of its guests , the hotels offer Guides and cars to visit the town.

Heritage Hotels: If you are looking for a luxurious stay, booking a room at the Heritage Hotels in Darjeeling can be a very good option. They offer superb facilities coupled by the great services and the hospitality to the guests. A hotel of marked affluence, staying here is simply marvelous.

Cottages in the tea estates: Staying in the Tea Estates in Darjeeling is unusual and gives you an exhilarating experience. Overseeing the vast expanse of marvelous tea gardens of the city, you can have the coziest stay in these cottages. Although you will not get, any five star facilities like luxury hotels, yet you can have one of your blissful experience of life in the cottages at tea estates. Bearing a colonial ambience laced with immaculate nature around can make you feel staying in the Heaven. The tea estates form a blissful surrounding unlike the bundles of activities of the city life. Apart from the tea estate cottages, you can also stay in the resorts close to the tea gardens.

Hotel Mayfair
Located opposite the Governor House in the Mall, this hotel was originally the summer palace of the Maharaja of Nazargung. Constructed in the colonial style of the British era, the Resort offers perfect coziness with the warmth of sunlight . Embraced b the immaculate green forest of by fir and pine trees, Mayfair Hill Resort is situated at the Himalayan foothills and overlooks several others. 90 Kms. From Bagdogra Airport, this hotel offers you a great time.

The Elgin Group of Hotels
The Elgin group of Hotels are known as the exclusive heritage hotels. Situated at Ghoom Monastery Road, the Hotel attracts a good number of tourists especially due to its five star facilities. In this hotel, a silken Khada will be draped around your neck as a traditional Himalayan welcome.

Apart from this, you can also access government accommodation in Darjeeling.

Categories: Tourism in Darjeeling

Bengal Natural History Museum – A Significant Tourist Attraction at Darjeeling

Posted November 29, 2010 By Sarvesh

Darjeeling offers interests galore to attract a good number of tourists every year. One such interesting destination in Darjeeling is Bengal Natural History Museum. It is the abode of a varied archaeological sources and also focuses on the natural process of evolution.

The Bengal Natural History Museum in Darjeeling was established in the year 1903. What marks the excellence of the museum is a significant profusion of Himalayan fauna. The museum holds about 4,300 examples of Himalayan fauna. Here you can find a good mixture of numerous faunas, originally belonging to Bengal and Darjeeling, and the Himalayan specimens. A wide assortment of faunas from Jalpaiguri, Sikkim, Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal, are found here.

The museum also exhibits a wide and varied resources of species like fish , insects, birds, bird-eggs, reptiles, butterflies and plenty of herbarium. Apart from this, it harbors a rare kind of crocodiles, known as the estuarine crocodile, which is typical to the hilly areas of Darjeeling. You can find this marvelous sight extremely fascinating and watching these rare species is definitely a treat to your eyes. The resplendent medley colors , highlighted by the radiant and mind-blowing butterflies here, makes Bengal Natural History Museum in Darjeeling a must visit.

Apart from such a wide variety of flora and fauna, the Bengal natural History Museum offers a great variety of stones, marked with their mineral moulds. The Bengal Natural History Museum at Darjeeling remains open throughout the week except Thursday. This Museum of Darjeeling, welcomes visitors from 10.00 Am. to 4.00 PM .

For an avid nature lover, this museum offers interests galore. It offers precious knowledge on the natural world and resources available on the Queen of hills. The museum also offers you a vivid resources of education about the natural environs.

Categories: Tourism in Darjeeling

Religious Shrines in Darjeeling

Posted November 27, 2010 By Sarvesh

Darjeeling is a land of mixed religions and cultures. People of many different religions worship their god here. Therefore, a number of religious shrines are found instituted on the soil of Darjeeling. Most of them are also considered as the interesting tourist destination. Here, you will get a detailed list of those religious shrines, which are not only considered holy but also visited by a large chunk of visitors every year.

Ghoom Monastery: Built in 1875 by Lama Sherab Gyatso founded the Ghoom Monastery. Revered as the holiest monasteries, it was personally bestowed by the renowned Tomo Geshe Rimpoche of Tibet. In this monastery you will get huge collection of rare books on Buddhism . The monastery houses a grand statue of the ‘Coming Buddha’ known as Maitreye Buddha.

The Mag – Dhog Yolmowa Buddhist Monastery (Aloobari Monastery): Established by its main priest Ven, the foundation of the monastery has coincidence with the beginning of the First World War in 1914. Following the incident, the shrine was named Mag-Dhog, which means “warding off the war and dedicated to the cause of world peace.”

It is an interesting tourist destination in Darjeeling. The statues of Lord Buddha displaying different forms of humanity and Buddha’s existence, are far from just describing it with merely human words. The statue of Lord Buddha and Padma Sambhava installed here has carved their own place in history of Indian architecture. The paintings on the wall are made by using herbs and grass, which represents an amazing work of art. The embossed images on the paintings can leave you spell bound. The Holy Scriptures inscribed on the monastery defines the historical facts related to that monastery.

Druk Thupten Sangag Choling Monastery (Dali Monastery): Situated at Dali, this monastery is 4kms away from the Darjeeling town. This is one of the famous monasteries belonging to the Kargyupa sect. The pioneer of this monastery was Thuksay Rimpoche, who died in 1983. It was believed that he had his reincarnation, born in 1986 at Ladakh.
Sangchhen Thong, Delling Gompa (GYING):
According to the inscribed scripture in the forecourt of the monastery, the monastery was established in 1818. It is the oldest monastery in Darjeeling; however, the town of Darjeeling had not any existence at that time. This area was then an important part of the kingdom of Sikkim. However, the available data with the Ecclesiastical Department of Sikkim tells a different story.

All these monastery and religious shrines have diverse interesting things for which they are coveted by tourists worldwide. So if you are planning to visit Darjeeling in near future, do not miss visiting these religious shrines.

Categories: Culture of Darjeeling

Salamanders in Darjeeling- The Rarest Taxonomic species on the world

Posted November 26, 2010 By Sarvesh

Darjeeling is the peaceful abode of a lot of endangered species on this earth. The same is true when it comes to salamanders, the rarest and the oldest specie of amphibian found on this earth. These oldest creatures are found extensively in the hills of Darjeeling. Scientifically known as Tylotrotriton verracocsus, nowadays it’s on the verge of total extinction from the face of the earth.  However, since 1964 at Jorepokhri, 19 km from Darjeeling, these creatures are living, although their population density is very low. This Himalayan Salamander is primitive and highly endangered species.

Salamanders found in the Himalayan region have rough skin, with a total measurement of 160 mm to 170mm in its adulthood. Restricted to the Eastern Himalayas mainly, these species thrive well in an elevation of 4000ft to 8000ft in the mountainous region.

Featured with a plethora of natural ponds and muddy marshlands Darjeeling is the ideal place for mating and breeding of Salamander. They lay eggs in the marshy land or ponds, which gradually develops into tadpoles. Initially they breathe through their gills like fishes and stay in the water till the lungs are not fully developed and functional. After the lungs developed fully, salamanders can have extensive area for food availability. To avoid cold weather in the Darjeeling Hills, they take shelter in the warmer places like crevices, tree roots, big boulders, during the months of late September to May. After the long hibernation in the winters, it starts coming out at the beginning of the monsoon season. During this season, they congregate in ponds for mating and breeding purpose. Aquatic vegetations, insects, smaller earthworms etc are their favorite foods.

In their adulthood, it loses its aquatic character like the gills, dorsal fins and continues breathing with lungs, strong legs, rough skin etc. The wart appears on their body surface are granular glands, which helps in producing an acrid fluid on stimulation. It acts as a deterrent to predators.

However, their natural habitat is on the way of extinction due to the clearing of forest and building up agricultural land and factories. However, some necessary measures have been adopted by the government to provide alternative habitat to the salamanders. Without natural habitat, the species will succumb totally and that will definite affect the balance of our ecosystem.

Categories: Agriculture in Darjeeling

Transport in Darjeeling

Posted November 25, 2010 By Sarvesh

‘Transport in Darjeeling mainly involves intra-city transport, which helps  in communicating between the main town of Darjeeling and other locations in Darjeeling district. The intra city communication of Darjeeling town mainly consists of  Railways, roadways and airways as well. Let’s have a look to the transport system of  Darjeeling.

Darjeeling Himalayan railway

80 km long railway track of Darjeeling Himalayan is widely known for exciting journey in Darjeeling. It is a 60 cm (2 foot) narrow-gauge railway run by the Indian Railways. Established in 1881, this is revered by UNESCO as the World Heritage Site 1999. The toy train leaves from Siliguri, a few kilometres away  from New Jalpaiguri and by 8 hours it can reach you Darjeeling traversing the meandering mountain railway line. Starts at an elevation of 100 m in Siliguri,  it extends to 2200 m in Darjeeling and is powered by a steam engine till date. However, a modern diesel engine is used for Darjeeling’s mail.  Toy train has been the heritage of Darjeeeling and an  important tourist attraction.  Theerefore, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society takes special interest in preserving and retaining its status . The nearest railway station is new Jalpaiguri, which is connected to major Indian cities including Kolkata.

Road transport

The main road of the  Darjeeling town is the Hillcart road , which is also known as National Highway 55. It is the heart of the small town of Darjeeling. There is also another road, which also connects Darjeeling and Siliguri via Mirik. If you are going by cat, you can take the short cut route off the Hill Cart road that goes through Pankhabari. Four-wheel drives are the most popular as a mode of transport. They help in navigating the steep slopes in the region. Also  some vintage Land Rovers access this route. However landslides in the monsoon impede both railway and roadway.

Airway

Darjeeling does not have an airstrip in the main town itself. The nearest airport is Bagdogra (IXB), near Siliguri, which is a three hour (approx. 90 km) drive from Darjeeling. The major carriers that fly to Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati are Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and Air Deccan

Intra-city transport

Intra-town transport if Darjeeling town involves mainly taxis. However, walking is the most coveted mode of transport in Darjeeling. The residents also popularly use two-wheelers.

Ropeway

More than a mode of transport, ropeway is the adventurous ride for the tourists. The 8 km (5 mi) long Darjeeling Ropeway connecting Darjeeling’s North Point with Singla Bazar, however which was closed  after an accident in 2003

Categories: Train in Darjeeling

Wildlife Sanctuaries and National parks in Darjeeling

Posted November 24, 2010 By Sarvesh

Darjeeling is rich in diverse wildlife. Varieties of animals, birds and many rare species of wild life are seen in this hilly region. Ranging from Himalayan salamanders to a variety of unlike frogs, etc is the part of the small town of Darjeeling. Therefore, a lot of wild life sanctuaries and the national parks have been constructed here to preserve these rarest species. These sanctuaries and parks also form a great tourist destination. If you are planning to visit Darjeeling soon, then include these sports visiting in your tour planning. Let’s check out some wild life sanctuaries and national parks here, which one should not miss.

Himalayan Zoological Park and Snow Leopard Breeding Centre
It’s a new address of the Siberian Tiger, Himalayan Black Bear, Barking Deer etc at an high altitude.

Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park
Encompassing an area of about 44 hectares, Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park has gained great fame for its successful captive breeding of several critical endangered species, like Snow Leopard and Red Panda. It is situated at an altitude of 2133.5 m, on the Birch Hill.

Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary
13 kms from Siliguri, the park was declared as a sanctuary in the year 1959. It is mainly into protecting the highly endangered species of Royal Bengal Tiger and the Indian Bison. A great hideaway from the bustle of city life, there are various hides, glades and watchtowers in and around the sanctuary. The height of the sanctuary is widely variable but the highest point in the sanctuary is at Latpanchar. It is at a height of 4000 ft above the sea level. Various species of animals like Royal Bengal Tiger, sturdy Indian bison, gigantic elephants, lesser cat, leopard, clouded leopard, Himalayan black bear, barking deer etc are the part of this sanctuary.
Jaldapara Wildlife sanctuary
It is the most famous wild life sanctuary of Darjeeling. Interconnected by National Highways and State Highway, Railways it is 121 kms away from Siliguri. It covers and area of over 200 square kilometers, this sanctuary is the address of one-horned rhinoceros, the species that are on the verge of extinction. A large number of other animals makes Jaldapara Wild Life sanctuary a must visit.

Chapramari Wildlife sanctuary

The Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary ‘s characteristic feature us dense greenery which provides a natural habitat to a number of animals and birds living here. Filled with towering trees and thick bower of bushes, Chapramari is a cosy abode of diverse wildlife. Nowadays, the gorgeous Royal Bengal Tiger can also be spotted here. Apart from these, the bison locally called the Gaur, reptiles and water birds are also found here.

So get ready for a tour and experience diverse wildlife on the lap of nature.

Categories: Wildlife in Darjeeling