Tea in Darjeeling

The tea plantations are just one of the attractions around Darjeeling.

There are several wonderful Buddhist monasteries, one of which, Goom, can be reached by the 'toy train,' which is a narrow gauge steam train. As the train runs only once a day, be sure to make arrangements to take a bus or taxi back to Darjeeling as the train is headed down the mountain.

Darjeeling has a wonderful zoo with Siberian tigers, snow leopards, Himalayan bears, rare deer, rare birds. Also, adjoining the zoo is the Mountaineering Institute which has a museum that includes all the route maps, equipment, photos, journals, etc., of all the expeditions that have climbed in the Himalaya, most especially Everest.

Our hotel, the Mayfair, was lovely, perched on the mountainside just a short walk from 'the Mall,' the town center of Darjeeling, and directly across the road from the governor's residence. You can sip tea in the lovely gardens, watch the sunrise from any of the several balconies, and have a freshly laid fire in the hearth in your room every night. Then if you are really into sunrises you can join the hundreds of others who journey to Tiger Hill to watch the sunrise over the Himalayan peaks--- that is, if they are visible as you are at an altitude where you are literally in the clouds.

Quick Tips:

Best time to visit Darjeeling is in October or April, May. It is always cool, but can get too cold beyond mid-November. Take a light jacket, but it is shirt sleeve weather in the daytime. Be sure to book everything ahead and check your reservations just before leaving home and again from Delhi. Best to have a hotel in Delhi for a day or two before going on to Darjeeling to rid yourself of jetlag! But Delhi is a great place, so that couple of days is not a hardship!!! The Taj Hotel or the Oberoi (we have stayed at both) are really first rate. Be sure to take a good pair of walking shoes, and maybe hiking boots...I took both. Jeans and long or short sleeved shirts...no shorts or tank tops. The Indians are a modest people and can be offended by skimpy clothing.

Best Way To Get Around:

Try to arrange a jeep and driver if possible to drive from the airport at Bagdogra and to take you to the sites. Most travel agencies can advise you of such agencies that have drivers and jeep or car availability.

The Mayfair was built in the 1930's and is a somewhat rustic, but charming English style boarding house hotel. It's location is just a short walk from the center of Darjeeling which is a plaza on the street known as the Mall. The Hotel is terraced down the hillside from the street with charming gardens along its terraces. The rooms all have fireplaces and coal is brought every evening and a fire lit if requested. The rooms are large and well appointed with English style furniture. Most have a lovely view of the Darjeeling valley, plus outside balconeys on each floor and sitting areas on the terraces. There is a library and parlor as well for visiting or games. The hotel has a most definite English ambiance. Accommodations are usually B&B, call for pricing as it depends on time of year.

We were in a group of 12 but all meals were served buffet style. Breakfast was a choice or even a mixture of Indian and English, very interesting. Lunch and Dinner were mostly Indian although the chef did Continental with an Indian twist, very unusual and delicious. If you like Indian food this was a good place in Darjeeling to have good Indian food in buffet style, so what you were choosing was explained by one of the waiters who served so you would know what you were eating and how spicy it might be. With Indian food that is particularly important to many Western travelers.

All was very freshly prepared and appetizing usually with a soup course served at table before going to the buffet table. The dining room is small so never crowded or noisy; most of the other diners or hotel guests visited with us as though we were old friends and we would see many of the other guests at the local sites and then be able to converse at meals. It definitely had a boarding house atmosphere, very friendly with every attention given to the comfort of the guest both in the hotel and the hotel dining room. It was a lovely spot to stay and dine. Very memorable.

One of the afternoons we were in Darjeeling we walked from our hotel, the Mayfair, just a block or two along the Mall to the Windermere, which sets on a hill, quite a climb from the street up the hill side known as Observatory Hill. The Windermere is an old hotel built by a Maharaja in the 1930's in Colonial style and furnished with English furniture reminiscent of a slightly shabby but charming resort hotel along the English coast somewhere. The front of the hotel has a veranda with rockers; the back has a patio with tables and umbrellas overlooking the valley opposite Darjeeling. Lovely views. We had tea and sat in the parlor while part of our group of 12 occupied the patio outside.

The wind was up so 6 of us chose to be indoors. A fire had been laid and was gently blazing in the parlor fireplace, tea, Darjeeling, of course, was served by the butler and maids complete with tea sandwiches, scones and shortbread cake with raspberry jam filling. It was lovely to have an English tea so far from home in the remnants of an English 'watering hole' built in the days of Empire in a hotel that seemed as if it must have been there in those glory days and was for at least the last 15 years or so before Indian Independence. It was like stepping into a bygone era to enjoy afternoon tea at the lovely old Windermere.