Planning for a trip to Darjeeling? Not sure which hotels are the best? Which sightseeing are worth visiting and which can be skipped? Things to keep in mind before the trip?

Well, look no further! As I’ve visited Darjeeling recently, I’ve collected as much details as possible and hence you can consider this post to be a ‘Complete Darjeeling Tour Guide’ where I’ll try to share all the information and guidance; hope after reading this you can plan your trip properly by yourself without any help from any tour operator.

Before we proceed, don’t forget to check out my earlier post where I’ve shared in details how I experienced Darjeeling in 2023, hope you like it!

Few Details about Darjeeling

How to reach Darjeeling

By Train
Probably the most popular way to reach Darjeeling, but tickets get sold out pretty fast so it’s a bit difficult to get confirmed tickets if not planned and booked much early. New Jalpaiguri (NJP) is the nearest and most popular railway station, and Siliguri Junction (SGUJ) railway station is also near enough but trains stopping here are very less. Below are the few most availed trains in this route;

Train No.	Train Name	Departure from	Arriving at	Classes Available	Running On	Ticket Availability	Ticket Price Range per Person
12343	Darjeeling Mail	Sealdah (SDAH) 10:05pm	New Jalpaiguri (NJP) 08:15am (next day)	II / SL / 3A / 2A / 1A	Everyday	Very rare, must be booked at least 40 days before	Rs.180 – Rs.2300
22301	Vande Bharat	Howrah (HWH) 05:55am	NJP 01:25pm (same day)	CC / EC	All days except Wednesday	Available, must be booked at least 10 days before	Rs.1400 – Rs.2800 (food included)
12041	Shatabdi	HWH 02:25pm	NJP 10:55pm (same day)	CC / EC	All days except Sunday	Available, must be booked at least 5 days before	Rs.1100 – Rs.2300 (food included)
12377	Padatik	SDAH 11:20pm	NJP 09:15am (next day)	II / SL / 3A / 2A / 1A	Everyday	Very rare, must be booked at least 30 days before	Rs.180 – Rs.2300
13149	Kanchankanya	SDAH 08:35pm	NJP 08:00am (next day)	II / SL / 3A / 2A / 1A	Everyday	Very rare, must be booked at least 40 days before	Rs.170 – Rs.2200
13147	Uttarbanga	SDAH 07:40pm	NJP 06:35am (next day)	II / SL / 3A / 2A / 1A	Everyday	Very rare, must be booked at least 40 days before	Rs.170 – Rs.2200
12345	Saraighat	SDAH 05:55pm	NJP 01:20am (next day)	II / SL / 3A / 2A / 1A	Everyday	Very rare, must be booked at least 30 days before	Rs.180 – Rs.2300
13141	Teesta Torsa	SDAH 02:45pm	NJP 02:00am (next day)	II / SL / 3A / 2A	Everyday	Very rare, must be booked at least 30 days before	Rs.170 – Rs.1300

Other trains are also available in similar route, please check the details here if required. All these trains are having dynamic fare so please check the exact fare during the time of booking, seat locations can’t be chosen manually so it’ll be random, also except Vande Bharat and Shatabdi all other trains tend to arrive late, even it can go up to 6 – 8hrs late sometimes so keep yourself prepared always. Make sure to reach the station at least 20 minutes before the trip start time.
For the return trains, please click here to check the details.

By Flight
This is the fastest option to reach, usually available even a day before but of course a bit costly. Bagdogra (IXB) is the nearest airport of Darjeeling and from Kolkata (CCU) airport it hardly takes 50 minutes to reach Bagdogra. Fare varies all the time depending on season, day of the week and how early / late you’re booking. Usual flights are (as on Apr, 2023);

Flight By	Departing CCU at	Arriving IXB at	Fare Range per Person
SpiceJet	11:00am / 02:50pm	12:05pm / 04:00pm	Rs.3700 – Rs.8000
Indigo	10:05am / 12:30pm	11:05am / 01:45pm	Rs.3700 – Rs.16000
Air Asia	08:45am / 09:55am	12:15pm / 01:25pm	Rs.3700 – Rs.15000

It’s recommended to book the flights beforehand and there are many websites like MakeMyTrip, ClearTrip, GoIbibo, Ixigo etc. for online booking, and web check-in 24 hours before the trip is always a better idea to avoid rush at the airport, make sure to reach the airport at least 80 minutes before the trip start time.

By Bus
One can reach Siliguri by direct bus from different locations, plenty of daily buses are available from different districts and cities across states. If someone is travelling from Kolkata it’ll take 12 – 14 hours to reach Siliguri, online bookings are available from RedBus, MakeMyTrip, GoIbibo, AbhiBus etc. Tickets are usually available but always better to book at least 10 days prior to the trip, fare ranges from Rs.600 – Rs.1100 (Non-AC) and Rs.1200 – Rs.3500 (AC). Bus is a good option as those are frequent, easily available, pocket friendly and departs from many places so easy to access if train isn’t available or station is far, but travelling in bus for long hours can be hectic enough, especially if someone is having vomiting tendency or need to access washroom frequently then bus option is not recommended.

By Car
One can also reach Darjeeling directly by car from any location, it can be either by personal vehicle or by rented cab, and it can be the costliest option depending on the trip plan or vehicle type, also just like bus this is also not recommended if someone is having vomiting tendency or need to access washroom frequently. Car option is appropriate for long road trip enthusiasts and car owners who’ll be driving by themselves, and truly it can be a great road trip experience considering the overall road condition and scenic beauties. Few points to note if you’re planning for a road trip by car;

* If someone is travelling from Kolkata to Darjeeling, the shortest route is of 645km which takes around 18 hours including halts and without night stay. It’ll differ for different originating location.

* A round trip from Kolkata to Darjeeling by rented cab will cost around Rs.14000 – Rs.17000 (in hatchback / sedan) and Rs.17000 – Rs.26000 (in SUV) excluding driver’s hotel fare, sightseeing charges and toll taxes. It’ll differ for different originating location. It’ll be approximately Rs.3000 – Rs.4000 lesser in self-driven cars.

* Parking in Darjeeling is pretty difficult and majority of the hotels are not having sufficient parking spaces.

* Driving in hills are quite different from driving in plains. There are hundreds of hairpin turnings, blind spots, narrow and steep roads, few scary roads without guardrails, sudden slopping, cars passing in speed in narrow spiral roads, few bad and bumpy roads make it difficult enough for someone inexperienced in driving such roads. Considering the risk it’s recommended only for experienced drivers.

* One must carry sufficient repairing tool kits for breakdown situations, always pre-verify and service your car before any such long trips which must include tire condition and alignment checking, break and clutch checking and engine health assessment.

How to Reach Darjeeling (from NJP / Siliguri / Bagdogra)

Cons
1) It’s very time consuming as it takes minimum of 8 hours to reach Darjeeling (84km) on an average speed of 12km/h.
2) Sometimes coaches won’t be having washrooms attached, while most of the time it’ll be there.
3) Seats are usually narrow and not very comfortable, can be difficult for such a long journey.

Seats are limited but usually available, ticket prices ranges between Rs.1200/- to Rs.1600/- per person. Sometimes the train gets cancelled so do check before booking.

Train No.	Train Name	Departure from	Arriving at	Classes Available	Running On	Ticket Availability	Ticket Price Range per Person
52541	NJP Darjeeling Passenger Toy Train	New Jalpaiguri (NJP) 10:00am	Darjeeling (DJ) 05:30pm	CC / FC	Everyday	Available, can be booked from NJP station or online from IRCTC / MMT websites	Rs.1200 – Rs.1600
52539	NJP Darjeeling AC Passenger Toy Train	New Jalpaiguri (NJP) 10:00am	Darjeeling (DJ) 06:30pm	EA	Monday, Wednesday, Sunday	Available, can be booked from NJP station or online from IRCTC / MMT websites	Rs.1300 – Rs.1600

take around 3:30 hours to reach, fare might go upto Rs.180/- if the bus takes the route via Mirik and that’ll take around 5 hours to reach. Buses are very frequent and easily available, book the tickets from Siliguri Bus stand NBSTC ticket counters.
From Bagdogra to Darjeeling direct buses by GTA are available but those are not easily available and seats are very limited; from Bagdogra to Siliguri direct car / auto are usually not available as it’s about 16km away, but even if available it’ll cost around Rs.100/- to Rs.200/- per person from Bagdogra to Siliguri. Other way is to take a shared auto from Bagdogra to Bihar more which will take 10 – 15 minutes and will cost around Rs.50/- per person, then from Bihar more to Siliguri buses / shared autos are available which will take another 10 minutes and costs around Rs.30/- per person.
In spite of being the cheapest option, bus journey is not very comfortable due to narrow seats, less storage spaces for luggage, minimum halts, no drinking water or bathroom facility and at times the bus gets very crowded as local residents also avail these buses for daily commutes.

From NJP / Bagdogra / Siliguri to Darjeeling by Shared / Private Cabs
This is the most popular and convenient / comfortable option to reach Darjeeling, from NJP station / Bagdogra airport / Siliguri stand cabs will be easily available. There are pre-paid taxi counters available at NJP station / Bagdogra airport which offer decent cab services at reasonable rates, other drivers usually charge a minimum of Rs.300/- to Rs.500/- extra compared to these pre-paid taxi which the tourists need to bargain, and sometimes the pre-paid taxi won’t be readily available. Usual fare ranges from Rs.2000/- to Rs.2500/- in small hatchbacks / sedans, and Rs.2700/- to Rs.3300/- in SUVs from NJP / Siliguri / Bagdogra to Darjeeling via Kurseong which will take 3 hours to reach; it’ll be Rs.500/- to Rs.1000/- extra if the ‘via Mirik’ route is availed which usually takes 4 hours to 5 hours to reach. Before starting, make sure the driver agrees to drop till hotel (if on road) as by default they drop only till taxi stand, and do carry some drinking water / food. Below are few contacts of some reliable drivers, do contact them beforehand if needed, they can provide good cab services (even sightseeing packages at reasonable rate) at comparatively decent rates;

Moktan (Wagon-R) – 7478049766 / 8388899151	Premba – 6296650942	Bablu Ray (Swift Dezire) – 8927396788
Samdi Puran – 9564552007	Nandu (Innova) – 9733043397	Madan (Sumo) – 9733444225
Rohit – 9749948328	Pappu Sen – 8101328385	S Khan – 8617409404
Niranjan – 6297686569	Indra Subba – 9933837994	Sunil – 9339930149

Hotels in Darjeeling

Just like any other popular tourist places, Darjeeling is also having thousands of hotels and home stays so getting one is not at all difficult, hence even if someone is visiting without pre-booking a hotel it won’t be difficult to find one, but for a perfect stay at your preferred location or hotel pre-booking is must, as these days even in off seasons there will be plenty of tourists there.
Below is a checklist containing the important factors to consider before finalizing you hotel;

• Distance from Darjeeling Mall
• Distance from Taxi Stand / main road
• Distance from the popular food joints / café like Keventer’s, Glenary’s, Kunga, Dekevas, KFC
• Distance from restaurants serving Bengali food / thali like Padma, Mahakal, Chanakya, Sholo Ana Bangali
• Room tariff (recommended to negotiate all the time, even during pre-booking, call the hotel directly for discounts)
• Amount to be paid in advance and refund policy (during pre-booking, amount must not be greater than 50% of the total billing amount)
• Whether parking is available (if travelling by own vehicle)
• Availability of sufficient hot running water (during all seasons)
• Availability of room heater (during winter / spring seasons)
• Availability of hill view rooms (optional, depends on personal choice and budget)
• Availability of lift / elevators (optional, might be required for senior citizen tourists)
• Availability of balcony (optional, might be required for quick cloth drying)
• Complimentary services (example: drinking water, breakfast, room services etc.)

Best Hotels in Darjeeling / Hotels near Darjeeling Mall

Darjeeling Mall is the center of attraction for tourists visiting Darjeeling, as it’s a wide area with clear view of mountains, valley and Mt. Kanchanjangha during clear weathers and plenty of places to seat, along with markets, street foods, horse riding, artificial fountains and many other options to explore. Popular food joints, taxi stands are also nearby to the Mall, hence I personally recommend to choose a hotel near to the mall. This Darjeeling Mall area looks something like below;

Below are the details of few of the popular hotels in Darjeeling, room tariff varies greatly from season to season and based on room category (like standard / executive / suite / hill view etc.) hence do contact the hotel for details before booking.

Hotel Name	Contact Number	Tariff Range (Rs.)	Distance from Mall	Category	Location	Features
Sunflower	03542253358 / 9832061545	2000 – 6500	at Mall	Premium	Beside Tibet Arts, Mall	Nearest to Mall, hill view rooms are very limited, mostly occupied so must be pre-booked
Jolly Inn	8250316599 (WhatsApp)	1500 – 4500	at Mall	Budget	Beside Jolly Arts, Mall	Balcony available in few rooms, no restaurant or room services but outside food is allowed, beautiful hill views
Moon	7011172229 / 9835269343	1200 – 3500	at Mall	Budget	Beside Mall Police Out Post	In house Bengali restaurant, limited hill view rooms
Chalet	03542254027 / 7001441426	1400 – 4000	at Mall	Budget	Mall	Balcony available in few rooms, heritage hotel so modern amenities are missing, hill views available
Bellevue	9800667148 / 8967183095	1800 – 6000	at Mall	Mid-Premium	Beside fountain, Mall	In house restaurant Arra, modern amenities are less, hill views available
Sonali	7439181827 / 9830235381	1000 – 3000	50 meters	Budget	At Dr. Zakir Hussain road	In house Bengali restaurant, limited hill view rooms
Udaan Nirvana	9555033033 / 9933355405	2500 – 6000	65 meters	Premium	Below Mall after Jolly Inn	Pure Veg restaurant and room services, beautiful hotel with great views
Windamere	03542254041 / 03542254042 / 9647383349	9000 – 35000	150 meters	Luxury	Behind the statue of Bhanu Bhakta	Costly, car allowed till hotel entrance, steep inclined entrance of 100 meters, heritage hotel, excellent hill views
Alice Villa	03542254181 / 03542258640 / 7076490715	2800 – 7000	210 meters	Premium	Beside The Elgin	Car allowed till hotel entrance, limited hill views, in house restaurant
The Elgin	03340646300 / 03542257226, 03542257227	8000 – 20000	230 meters	Luxury	At Gandhi road, at the end of New Mall Market	Costly, car allowed till hotel entrance, steep decline entrance of 50 meters, excellent heritage hotel with great hill views
Yashshree Mall Road	8744857070 / 7477796107 / 8373062576	2000 – 6000	350 meters	Premium	Between Central Heritage and The Elgin, on road	Car allowed till hotel entrance, lift and Spa available, limited hill view rooms, 2 restaurants available (Noor Biriyani)
Central Heritage	7947044330	2500 – 7000	400 meters	Premium	After taxi stand towards Yashshree Mall Road	Car allowed till hotel entrance, limited hill view rooms, heritage hotel
Shivam NX / Shivam / Mahakal	03542252099 / 9434811133	2000 – 4500	400 – 450 meters	Mid-Premium	Behind Keventer’s	Car allowed till hotel entrance, balcony available with excellent views (Mahakal / Shivam NX), famous in house Bengali restaurant Mahakal
Chanakya	8159834477 / 8159834462	1800 – 4500	400 meters	Budget	Beside Hotel Mahakal	Car allowed till hotel entrance, in house Bengali restaurant, limited hill view rooms
Lunnar	9749361987	2500 – 6500	400 meters	Mid-Premium	Near Keventer’s and above famous Dekevas restaurant	Car allowed till hotel entrance, hill views available, no lift, limited rooms
Deckling	9679734048	2500 – 6000	400 meters	Budget	Above Hotel Lunnar	Hill views available, no lift so difficult to reach, limited rooms
Charlie	7980679524 / 9836165620	1500 – 5500	450 meters	Budget	At taxi stand	Hill view rooms available, nice in house restaurant
Ramada	03543540000	7000 – 16000	450 meters	Luxury	Beside Clock Tower and taxi stand	Costly, car allowed till hotel entrance, lift Spa and swimming pool available, hill view rooms available
R.J Resorts	03542258411/ 03542259411 / 7001812440	3000 – 6500	500 meters	Premium	Beside Little Tibet resort	Car allowed till hotel entrance, hill view rooms available, a little far from Mall
The Revett	8250324723 / 8101431737	1500 – 6000	500 meters	Premium	Beside Clock Tower, on main road	Car allowed till hotel entrance, limited hill view rooms, new and clean resort, a little far from Mall
Little Tibet	9732670717 / 03542259877 / 03542259878	2500 – 7000	550 meters	Premium	Near Raj Bhavan, on main road	Car allowed till hotel entrance, great hill views available, beautiful resort, a little far from Mall
Hermitage	8250052659 / 03542254049	3000 – 8000	600 meters	Premium	Near Raj Bhavan, adjacent to Café House Darjeeling	Very famous resort, excellent hill views available, attached Café House, quite far from Mall
The Retreat	03542256225 / 8101815935	3000 – 9000	600 meters	Premium	Beside Hermitage resort	Famous resort but services need improvements, excellent hill views available, balcony available in few rooms, quite far from Mall
Dolphin	7679081988 / 9830791064	2500 – 5500	630 meters	Mid-Premium	Beside Hermitage resort	Famous hotel but old, excellent hill views available, quite far from Mall
Viceroy	03335442130 / 03335442131 / 03542256165 / 03542259556	4000 – 13000	650 meters	Luxury	Near clock tower, after Ramada	Costly, car allowed till hotel entrance, lift available, hill view rooms available

Sightseeing in Darjeeling

The beautiful ‘Queen of Hills’ looks amazing from every corner, so just visiting the mall, having some fun moments with friends or family or solo, tasting some nice dishes and street food, random shopping and exploring nearby can be sufficient for a quick vacation. Nevertheless there are plenty of sightseeing spots in Darjeeling and nearby, but choose wisely which spots to visit and which can be skipped as sightseeing can be costly based on the plan chosen. I’m sharing a comprehensive guide below which can help you making your choices…

4) Darjeeling Zoo and Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) – Depends on personal choice, charges Rs.60 / person, takes lots of time to cover the entire zoo up to 2.5 – 3 hours but Red Panda is worth watching, HMI is good if someone is interested to explore some activities like zipline, rope walking etc., charges Rs.80 – Rs.210 / person.

Sightseeing Spots (Non-Local, Far from the Main City)
1) Lepchajagat – This beautiful sightseeing spot is 15km away from Darjeeling Mall which takes about 40mins to reach by car, costs around Rs.2000 – Rs.3000/car. This is full of pine forests, comparatively silent and remote with couple of nice viewpoints.
2) Tinchuley-Tukdah-Lamhutta – Another beautiful sightseeing spots which come under a single tour package, around 28km away from Darjeeling Mall which takes around 1 hour and 40 minutes to reach & about 5- 6hours to cover all 3 points and nearby spots, costs around Rs.3000 – Rs.4000/car. Great landscapes, forests, eco parks, lakes and amazing mountain peaks are the main attractions of this package.
3) Chatakpur – A spectacular sightseeing spot which is around 25km away from Darjeeling Mall, takes around 1 hour and 40 minutes to reach, costs around Rs.3500 – Rs.4500/car and only bigger cars and SUVs are allowed here, no small cars. Dense forest, villages in the mountain, mesmerizing landscapes, black water ponds called ‘Kalipokhri’, several viewpoints including clear views of Sandakphu, natural water falls, watch towers and Senchal Wildlife Sanctuary (pre-permission required) are the points of attractions here. It’s recommended to spend at least a night or two here to cover or experience this location fully, a day trip can be hectic and insufficient.

Sightseeing Spots (Far / Offbeat, Night Stay Recommended)
1) Kurseong – Not particularly a ‘sightseeing spot’ from Darjeeling, but many tourists like to spend a day or two in Kurseong as part of the Darjeeling trip. At about 31km from Darjeeling Mall which takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach for Rs.2000 – Rs.2500/car, Kurseong is an amazing tourist location with lots of sightseeing points around including Margaret’s Deck café, Toy Train, Victoria school, haunted forest and Church, Hanuman Tak view point, Chimney village, Netaji Museum and many more.
2) Kalimpong – 52km from Darjeeling Mall, takes 2 hours & 30 minutes to reach, costs around Rs.3000 – Rs.4000/car, one way.
3) Sittong – 54km from Darjeeling Mall, takes 2 hours & 50 minutes to reach, costs around Rs.3500 – Rs.4500/car, one way.
4) Bijanbari – 24km from Darjeeling Mall, takes 1 hours & 30 minutes to reach, costs around Rs.2500 – Rs.3000/car, one way (or round trip for day trip).
4) Mirik – 40km from Darjeeling Mall, famous for the ‘Mirik Lake’ and tea gardens, takes 2 hours & 30 minutes to reach, costs around Rs.2500 – Rs.3500/car, one way. Many tourists prefer to visit here while returning to NJP or coming from NJP, that way Mirik Lake and tea garden get covered, but for other spots nearby or someone wishing to spend nights here are also good plan to explore Mirik.

That’s the end of this tour guide! I know it’s massive, but it covers each and every details you need to know, like a one-stop-shop; hope this post will help you to make a great tour plan! Please share this post with others, and feel free to drop your suggestions, thoughts, appreciations or feedback in the below comment section.