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Photo: Shahnoor Habib Munmun, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Ideal to visit early morning when the first rays of the sun kiss the Kangchenjunga mountain and give it a golden colour. To visit the hill, one needs to get up at 3AM. You can taste some excellent tea on your way to the hill, which will provide much-needed warmth on cold Darjeeling mornings. When getting into a taxi at 3AM, keep in mind that they are shared taxis and your driver might wait around in vain for others to join your taxi, causing you to miss the sunrise! Those travelling alone or as a couple might want to squeeze into an already occupied terrain vehicle to ensure full viewing pleasure. Though it has an executive lounge (₹40 per person) and a special lounge (₹30 per person), nothing beats having a view from an open area, as you can have a full panoramic view from outside, avoiding the crowd in the lounge. The earlier you can reach, the better place you can find to stand inside or outside the observatory tower. If you are late, you may find yourself standing behind many people and a lot of obstructions to feel the sunrise and magical lighting of Kangchenjunga. You may also need to walk a lot to reach there via a steep ascendant road. But, as of 2022, the forest department charges ₹50 per head to enter this region, as it is a place inside a forest.
Tiger Hill is a mountain located in Darjeeling, in the Indian State of West Bengal. It has a panoramic view of Mount Everest and Mount Kanchenjunga together.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Yiga Choeling Monastery
This is one of the oldest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in Darjeeling. It was built in 1850.
Mag-Dhog Yolmowa Monastery
Located in Aloobari on the way from Darjeeling to Jorbunglow, this is the least visited monastery as it is located away from the main road. Established in 1914, the monastery offers some breathtaking views of the Tiger Hill region and houses some old, rare Buddhist manuscripts.
Druk Sangag Choling Monastery
This is the biggest monastery in this region. It was built in 1971. It is the headquarters and residence of Drukchen Rimpoche the XII, the head of the Kargyupa sect of Buddhists.
This 28.5-meter-tall impressive building is part of a grid of around 30 pagodas spanning the whole globe. Constructed by the Japanese Buddhist Nipponzan-Myohoji Order, the one at Charlimont on the outskirts of Darjeeling was consecrated in 1992. It represents a unique fusion of Japanese Buddhist architecture, Indian craftsmanship, and universal peace principles. A small temple just lies alongside. If you're woken up due to the sound of drumming in the streets of Darjeeling between 4AM and 5AM: These are the monks (Theravada) of the Japanese temple having their early morning walk.
Batasey
A place where the legendary toy train makes a loop around the Gorkha War Memorial. Built in 1919, this spiral railway track has solved one of the most challenging heavy transport problems in the mountain railway history of Darjeeling. Today, it stands as more than just a feat of engineering—it’s a living memorial to brave Gorkha soldiers and a window into the cultural heritage of India’s famous hill station.