Darjeeling, 'Queen of the Hills'

India Holidays - Ghoom Monastery, Darjeeling

An early wake-up call for the visit to Tiger Hill, to view (weather-permitting) a spectacular sunrise over the Himalayan peaks.  Tiger Hill is about 11km from Darjeeling and is the highest spot in the area at 2,590m/8,630ft.  You should hopefully see the snowy peak of Kanchenjunga, third highest mountain in the world (see image below).  On very clear days even Mt. Everest is visible. On the return journey to darjeeling, visit Ghoom Monastery, the best known monastery in the area, which enshrines an image of the Maitreya Buddha (the future Buddha).

After breakfast back at your hotel, enjoy a tour of Darjeeling, beginning with Observatory Hill, a sacred viewpoint for both Hindus and Buddhists.  Also visit the Bhutia Basti (Village) Monastery, originally the branch of the Nygampa sect’s Phodang Monastery in Sikkim, which was transferred to Darjeeling in 1879. There’s an old library of Buddhist texts upstairs in the monastery.

The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (below right) contains collections of historic mountaineering equipment, specimens of Himalayan flora and fauna and a relief model of the Himalayas. The Everest Museum next door traces the history of attempts on the great peak.  Visit the Tibetan Refugee Self Help Centre, established in 1959 to help rehabilitate Tibetan Refugees who fled from Tibet with the Dalai Lama following the Chinese invasion. Religious importance is attached to this place as the 13th Dalai Lama (the present is 14th) stayed here during his visit to India in 1919-22. The centre produces carpets, woollen goods, woodcarvings and leatherwork and has various Tibetan curios for sale (coins, banknotes, jewellery etc).