Darjeeling - Himalayan Refuge

We had intended to take the toy train up the mountains from Siliguri after arriving from Varanasi, but it was closed due to land slides so we took a shared jeep instead. It was a pretty crazy journey, 80km of steep roads with 180° corners and sheer drops, but the view was absolutely amazing.

As we climbed higer we started to see the tea plantations some amazing waterfalls and then darjeeling itself.

Darjeeling is built on the side of a mountain, currently above the cloud line on most days. It is just amazing.

The view, but also the people here are so lovely. Indians are actually in the minority here, with most of the population originally from either Nepal or Tibet. Many Tibetan refugees fled here where there is a lot of support for them. We visited the Tibetan refugee centre where they provide food and housing, and the people make traditional handcrafted items to sell which helps to fund the centre. Although most of our time was just spent relaxing at our favourite haunt; Glenary's bakery (amazing cakes pastries and lunches at extremely reasonable prices), taking in the atmosphere of the town, the local markets and some of the temples.

Of course we couldn't visit Darjeeling without sampling some tea. We had a tour of one of the local plantations and saw the full production process followed by some all important tastings. We essentially discovered that 'british' tea bags are made from the rubbish tea dust left over when all the good stuff has been removed.

If there is one thing we have taken from Darjeeling its that we simply must come back and we would love to bring some of you back with us :)