Discover 15 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Darjeeling (India). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Himalayan Zoo, Rock Garden, and Mahakal Temple. Also, be sure to include Peace Pagoda in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Darjeeling (West Bengal).
Table of Contents
Himalayan Zoo
Also known as: पद्मजा नायडू हिमालयन प्राणी उद्यान
Zoological park with endangered species. Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park is a 67.56-acre zoo in the town of Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal. The zoo was opened in 1958, and an average elevation of 7,000 feet, is the largest high altitude zoo in India. It specializes in breeding animals adapted to alpine conditions, and has successful captive breeding programs for the snow leopard, the critically endangered Himalayan wolf and the red panda. The zoo attracts about 300,000 visitors every year. The park is named after Padmaja Naidu, daughter of Sarojini Naidu. The zoo serves as the central hub for Central Zoo Authority of India's red panda program and is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.[1]
Rock Garden
Tourist attraction in Bloomfield Tea Garden, India. The Rock Garden at Chunnu Summer Falls and Ganga Maya Park are recently added tourist attractions in the hilly town of Darjeeling in the state of West Bengal, India. It is a showpiece meant to lure people to Darjeeling after political agitations disrupted tourism in the 1980s. There is another rock garden in Darjeeling known as Sir John Anderson Rock Garden, which is part of Lloyd's Botanical Garden.[2]
Mahakal Temple
The Mahakal Temple or Mahakal Mandir is a sacred Hindu temple located in Darjeeling in the state of West Bengal, India dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, the third god in the Hindu triumvirate. The Temple was built in 1782 by Lama Dorjey Rinzing and is perched atop the Observatory Hill in Darjeeling and is an amalgamation of Hindu and Buddhist religions. It is a unique religious site where both religions coexist harmoniously.[3]
Address: Mahakal Temple Darjeeling, Darjeeling
Peace Pagoda
Buddhist temple in Darjeeling, India. Peace Pagoda, Darjeeling or Darjeeling Peace Pagoda is one of the Peace Pagodas designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds to help unite them in their search for world peace. It is located in the town of Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal. Like most of the other Peace Pagodas, it was built under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fujii, a Buddhist monk from Japan and founder of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji Buddhist Order.
The foundation stone of the pagoda was laid on 3 November 1972 by Nichidatsu Fujii, and was inaugurated on 1 November 1992. The pagoda was designed by M. Ohka, and it took 36 months to construct. It houses the four avatars of Buddha including Maitreya Buddha. The height of the pagoda is 28.5 metres (94 ft) and diameter is 23 metres (75 ft).The Pagoda is situated on the slopes of the Jalapahar hills, in the town of Darjeeling.[4]
Tiger Hill
Tiger Hill is located in Darjeeling, in the Indian State of West Bengal. It has a panoramic view of Mount Everest and Mount Kanchenjunga together.[5]
Address: Tiger Hill, 734101 Darjeeling
Ghum Monastery
Monastery. Old Ghoom Monastery is the popular name of Yiga Choeling. The monastery belongs to the Gelukpa or the Yellow Hat sect and is known for its 15 feet -high statue of the Maitreya Buddha. The external structure of the building was established in 1850 by the Mongolian astrologer and monk Sokpo Sherab Gyatso, who was head of the monastery until 1905.
In 1909, Kyabje Domo Geshe Rinpoche Ngawang Kalsang, popularly called Lama Domo Geshe Rinpoche, succeeded Sherab Gyatso as the head. It was he who commissioned the statue of the Maitreya Buddha, and he remained head until 1952.
During the Chinese occupation of 1959 in Tibet many high ranking abbots fled to India and took refuge in the monastery. In 1961, Dhardo Rimpoche became head of the Yiga Choeling monastery Ghoom, Darjeeling. He died in 1990 and three years later, a boy named Tenzin Legshad Wangdi was recognised as his reincarnation.
On 25 April 1996, he was enthroned at Kalimpong Tibetan ITBCI school. The thirteenth in the line of Tulkus, Tenzin Legshad Wangdi, still goes by the name of Dhardo Tulku. He is studying Tibetan Philosophy at Drepung Loseling University in South India.
Under the supervision of Dhardo Rimpoche, the Managing Committee was set up in order to improve the monastery. Some of the initiatives have been successful, others not.
For the last two decades, the monastery has been going through severe crises in terms of both monks and finance. Till now, the grants-in-aid entitled to the monastery have not been received either from the government nor from any other source. Presently the monastery is meeting its needs through donations and contributions from local devotees.[6]
Lloyd's Botanical Garden
Botanical garden in Darjeeling, India. Lloyd's Botanical Garden, or Darjeeling Botanical Garden, is a botanical garden in Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal.[7]
Bhutia Busty Monastery
Monastery in Darjeeling, India. Bhutia Busty monastery or Karma Dorjee Chyoling monastery is a Buddhist monastery located in Bhutia Busty, Darjeeling district, India. It belongs to the Red Sect of Buddhist Lamas.[8]
Japanese Buddhist Temple
Himalayan Mountaineering Institute
Also known as: हिमालय पर्वतारोहण संस्थान
Mountaineering class in Darjeeling, India. The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute was established in Darjeeling, India on 4 November 1954 to encourage mountaineering as an organized sport in India. The first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953 by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary sparked a keen interest in establishing mountaineering as a well-respected endeavour for people in the region. With the impetus provided by the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, HMI was established in Darjeeling. Narendra Dhar Jayal, the pioneer of Indian Mountaineering, was the founding principal of the institute. Tenzing Norgay was the first director of field training for HMI. The buildings for the Institute were designed by the architect Joseph Allen Stein, then teaching at the Bengal Engineering College near Calcutta. It was the first building in a career in India that lasted half a century.
HMI regularly conducts Adventure, Basic and Advanced Mountaineering courses. These are very comprehensive courses. They are also highly subsidised to encourage mountaineering as a sport.[9]
Address: Jawahar Parvat, Darjeeling, 734101 Darjeeling
Dali Monastery
Temple
Address: Dali Hill Cart Road, Darjeeling
Nightingale Park/Shrubbery Park
Park, Relax in park
Happy Valley Tea Estate
Garden in Darjeeling, India. Happy Valley Tea Estate is a tea garden in Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Established in 1854, it is Darjeeling's second oldest tea estate. Spread over 177 hectares, it is situated at a height of 2,100 metres above sea level, 3 kilometres north of Darjeeling, and employs more than 1500 people.[10]
Address: West Bengal, Happy Valley Tea Garden, Chauk Bazaar, Near邮政编码: 734101, Darjeeling
Batasia Loop
Park, Relax in park
Observatory Hill
Observatory Hill is a hill near Chowrasta square, or The Mall as it is popularly known, in Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. Views of snow-clad peaks, including Mount Kanchenjunga, are visible from the Observatory Hill. The Bhutia Busty monastery was originally located here. Now the hill has the temple of Mahakal. Two important arteries of the town, Nehru Road and Bhanubhakta Sarani, meet at Chowrasta. Another school of thought suggests that the presence of the megalithic core to have been a place of worship of the Rongs, representing a sacred location of the classic Long Chok type.[11]