Darjeeling is the best tourist spotin the whole of West Bengal. Be it adventure, or be it sight seeing, you will find everything in Darjeeling in low budget.
I’ve gone Dajeeling almost 4 times. There are several options to reach there.
By air: Nearest airport of Darjeeling is Bagdogra, Siliguri.
By train: You can take trains to New Jalpaiguri( NJP) station and from the station itself, you’ll get cars to go there. Fare 160/head.
By road: you can take a car from siliguri junction & go there. The road from Siliguri to Darjeeling is beautiful. It takes almost 3.5 hours in good weather. But if the weather is not in favour of you, it almost takes 4-5 hours. Fare 130/head.
It is good to book hotel before as you may be fooled by the drivers later. They will show you something, and you’ll get something else. Some best hotels in Darjeeling are Hotel Mayfare, Pinereech, Belleview, Sinclairs Darjeeling, Everest lodge etc. All the above are 4-5 star hotels and just beside the Mal. There are several small hotels and lodge also. I usually stay in Hotel Dreamland- 1100/-/night. Touring is my first priority, so I usually book small hotels.
Attractions: The main attraction of Darjeeling is Tiger hill. People wait months after months to have a look of the sunrise from Tiger hill. I’ve only seen 1 time. The rest of the 4 times I was not enough lucky.
The very next attraction is Ghoom Monastery. It was founded by Lama Sherab Gyatso in 1875. There is a 15 ft statue of Maitreya Budhdha( Coming Budhdha) in the Monastery. Save it in your must visit spots in Darjeeling. Just beside the Ghoom Monastery, there is another monastery( I cant remember the name this moment) which itself is a school of the Tibetan Students and here you will see the Tibetan cultural history.
Mal: Mal is the 3rd must visit place here. Actually you have no need to find it because 75% hotels and lodges are situated here. The best tea you will get here . Several cultural programmes are held in Mal theoughout the year. The famous Observatory hills is situated here.
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway: here is the best jewel of Darjeeling i.e Toy Train which is also awarded as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. You can have a trip in toy train which usually starts from Ghoom Station( remember the entrace of SRK in Main hoo na) . Travelling in Toy Train is amazing. The best view of darjeeling you get by travelling in toy train.
Himalayan Mountaineering Institute( HMT): it is actually a museum of the mountaineering tools, and the things used by Tenjing Noroge while climbing up to Everest. Also there is the famous Himalayan Zoo.
Batasia loop: it is actually a garden type spot which covers an area of 50000 sq.ft. here you will get a 360 °view of Darjeeling. It can be visited by the Toy Train also.
Singalila National park: it is the actual paradise for the trekkers. It is known for the panaromic view of the lesser Himalayans and amazing peaks. Also it has a great collection of Fauna and birds and rare and endangered species like Red Panda, Black Bear, Leopard, tiger, Clouded Leopard etc.
There are some other famous spots like Japanese Peace Pagoda, Ropeway, Neora Valley National park, Happy Valley Tea Estate, Everest Museum etc.
Here you can also do paragliding for 3500/- per trip.
Dont forget to try Momos and the famous Darjeeling Tea from the tea estates. Tea is free if you have it in the tea estates while visiting Darjeeling. Also Darjeeling is known for the shooting of Main Hoo Na in St.Pauls School.
Beside Darjeeling, there are Kalimpong, Kurseoung, Mirik, & of course Sikkim to visit. The famous haunted places Morgan House Nd Downhill are located in Kalimpong and Kurseoung Respectively.
Here are some pic which I took in my visit to Darjeeling