If you want to view the first rays of the sun on the Himalayas, and go river rafting on the same day, then Darjeeling is your cup of tea!. It’ll be a long day mind you, as you need to be at the viewing station on Tiger Hill at about 4am, lest the throngs of tourists rob you of a nice spot to enjoy the spectacular sunrise. Getting to Darjeeling is no easy jaunt either – from Bangalore, it takes a flight to Calcutta, and then a flight to Bagdogra, and finally a 5 hour road trip that gets you there in the shortest possible time. Stay there for a few days and you will be glad you endured the travel blues.

For tea connoiseurs, fresh, world-famous Darjeeling leaf tea of the premium kind might alone be worth the trip. For the rest, spectacular views of the 3^rd highest peak on the planet, stunning green mountain scenery, walks on scenic ledges through the moody clouds that drift in and out, might provide the draw. For the foodies, thukpa – a soup with fresh handmade noodles, and momos – stuffed, steamed dumplings are worth a try. For the Bangalore beer brats, there’s the “ultra super strong” He-Man beer to relish. And, not to forget the Shopaholics, there’s tea, pashmina shawls, sweaters, and Feng Shui trinklets to load up on. For those that want to shop “abroad”, border shopping in Nepal is just a short ride away.

Civil engineering in mountainous towns like Darjeeling is a tough art. Flat areas are hard to come by, and so most of the construction is on fairly steep slopes. Imagine your next door neighbour being 100 – 200 feet above or below you. A walk to school or a store is quite a trek. Rain water gushes down like shooting swords that cuts through anything on its path – rain water drainage is tricky and challenging. Despite frequent bouts of rain, Darjeeling lives under the cloud of a water crisis. A bulk of the traffic through town is that of water tankers which is a good business for those enterprising enough to harvest the rain water. Many people wake up early in the morning to ferry water to their homes from a few scattered taps.

The locals were warm and cheerful, and showed a love for flowers – nearly every house had a row of pots with colourful geraniums, petunias etc. Gardens were refreshing with a variety of flora neatly landscaped. There were some unique varieties of lilies and orchids to the delight of greenthumbs.

Regardless of what you’re going to look for in Darjeeling, one thing’s for sure – you’re closer to the heavens!.

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