DARJEELING – QUEEN OF HILLS & TOY TRAIN PACKAGE ✨🍵🏔️

Pickup from Bagdogra Airport (~55 km, 2.5 hrs via winding mountain road) or NJP Railway Station (~70 km, 3 hrs) 🚂 Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (UNESCO Heritage, optional – catch from Kurseong en route for 45-min toy train ride to Darjeeling; steam locos on Heritage Joy Rides from Darjeeling daily) 🌀 Batasia Loop (4 km from Darjeeling town) – railway engineering marvel; spiral loop on which the toy train makes a 360° circle; war memorial in the centre; superb Darjeeling town & Kanchenjunga views 🛕 Ghoom Monastery (2,550 m, 8 km from Darjeeling) – one of Darjeeling's most important Buddhist monasteries; remarkable Maitreya (Future Buddha) statue; tranquil atmosphere 🏘 Mall Road & Chowrasta (town square) – colonial-era hub; pony rides; tonga rides; Glenary's bakery (since 1935); sunset views over tea gardens

• Pickup from Bagdogra Airport (~55 km, 2.5 hrs via winding mountain road) or NJP Railway Station (~70 km, 3 hrs)
• Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (UNESCO Heritage, optional – catch from Kurseong en route for 45-min toy train ride to Darjeeling; steam locos on Heritage Joy Rides from Darjeeling daily)
• Batasia Loop (4 km from Darjeeling town) – railway engineering marvel; spiral loop on which the toy train makes a 360° circle; war memorial in the centre; superb Darjeeling town & Kanchenjunga views
• Ghoom Monastery (2,550 m, 8 km from Darjeeling) – one of Darjeeling's most important Buddhist monasteries; remarkable Maitreya (Future Buddha) statue; tranquil atmosphere
• Mall Road & Chowrasta (town square) – colonial-era hub; pony rides; tonga rides; Glenary's bakery (since 1935); sunset views over tea gardens
• Check-in & Overnight stay in Darjeeling

Early breakfast (3:30 AM – Tiger Hill sunrise) 🌄 Tiger Hill (11 km from Darjeeling, 2,590 m) – depart at 4 AM; arrive 4:30 AM; sunrise (5:30–6 AM) – Kanchenjunga (8,586 m, world's 3rd highest) turns from grey to gold to blazing orange; on exceptionally clear days Mt Everest (8,848 m) & Makalu visible 88 km away; most dramatic Himalayan sunrise experience in India 🍵 Happy Valley Tea Estate (3 km from town, est. 1854) – guided tour; see tea plucking, withering, rolling, drying, sorting; tasting session; panoramic garden rows on steep slopes 🌿 Mirik Lake (50 km from Darjeeling, optional) – cardamom garden; Mirik Lake boating; bridge; scenic drive through tea estates 🏨 Overnight stay in Darjeeling

• Early breakfast (3:30 AM – Tiger Hill sunrise)
• Tiger Hill (11 km from Darjeeling, 2,590 m) – depart at 4 AM; arrive 4:30 AM; sunrise (5:30–6 AM) – Kanchenjunga (8,586 m, world's 3rd highest) turns from grey to gold to blazing orange; on exceptionally clear days Mt Everest (8,848 m) & Makalu visible 88 km away; most dramatic Himalayan sunrise experience in India
• Happy Valley Tea Estate (3 km from town, est. 1854) – guided tour; see tea plucking, withering, rolling, drying, sorting; tasting session; panoramic garden rows on steep slopes
• Mirik Lake (50 km from Darjeeling, optional) – cardamom garden; Mirik Lake boating; bridge; scenic drive through tea estates
• Overnight stay in Darjeeling

Breakfast at hotel 🏔 Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI, 1954) – founded after Tenzing Norgay's 1953 Everest summit; Tenzing Norgay Museum; summit equipment from the 1953 climb; ice axe; down suit; world-class mountaineering museum; Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park adjacent (snow leopard, red panda, Himalayan black bear, Tibetan wolf) ⛪ Peace Pagoda (Japanese Nipponzan Myohoji pagoda, 28 m) – hilltop; panoramic Darjeeling view; Buddhist relics inside 🌺 Lloyd Botanical Garden (1878) – 40 acres; orchids, magnolias, rhododendrons; Japanese cherry blossom (March); peaceful 🌅 Rock Garden & Ganga Maya Park (11 km) – terraced hillside garden; seasonal waterfalls; kids play area

• Breakfast at hotel
• Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI, 1954) – founded after Tenzing Norgay's 1953 Everest summit; Tenzing Norgay Museum; summit equipment from the 1953 climb; ice axe; down suit; world-class mountaineering museum; Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park adjacent (snow leopard, red panda, Himalayan black bear, Tibetan wolf)
• Peace Pagoda (Japanese Nipponzan Myohoji pagoda, 28 m) – hilltop; panoramic Darjeeling view; Buddhist relics inside
• Lloyd Botanical Garden (1878) – 40 acres; orchids, magnolias, rhododendrons; Japanese cherry blossom (March); peaceful
• Rock Garden & Ganga Maya Park (11 km) – terraced hillside garden; seasonal waterfalls; kids play area
• Overnight stay in Darjeeling

Breakfast & check-out 🏛 Heritage Walk, Darjeeling – colonial Raj Bhavan (Governor's summer residence; architecture); Planters Club (1868); St. Andrew's Church (1843); Chowrasta Mall architecture 🛍 Nehru Road market – Darjeeling tea (buy estate-specific vintage; first flush premium), Tibetan thangkas, pashmina, prayer wheels, yak wool carpets 🚗 Drive to Bagdogra Airport / NJP Railway Station for departure

• Breakfast & check-out
• Heritage Walk, Darjeeling – colonial Raj Bhavan (Governor's summer residence; architecture); Planters Club (1868); St. Andrew's Church (1843); Chowrasta Mall architecture
• Nehru Road market – Darjeeling tea (buy estate-specific vintage; first flush premium), Tibetan thangkas, pashmina, prayer wheels, yak wool carpets
• Drive to Bagdogra Airport / NJP Railway Station for departure