TrekModerate
Sandakphu Sleeping Buddha Trek
5 days · 4 nights · from ₹18,500
Walk the Singalila ridge to Sandakphu (3,636 m) for a front-row view of four of the world's five highest peaks.
Plan this tripThree ways to fall in love with these hills.
Every tour is planned around your pace, the season and the weather. Small groups, no coach buses, and guides who actually live in the villages you'll walk through.
Day tourCulinary
Tea Garden & Tasting Trail
1 day · guided · from ₹3,200
A slow morning through Happy Valley estate with a planter — pluck, wither, ferment and taste a flight of first-flush single estates.
Plan this trip
HeritageEasy
Darjeeling Classic — Toy Train, Tiger Hill & Monasteries
3 days · 2 nights · from ₹9,800
Sunrise at Tiger Hill, a heritage toy-train ride to Ghoom, butter-tea with monks and an evening walk along Chowrasta.
Plan this tripDay itineraries
Four hill towns, four full days.
These are the day-trips guests ask for most often — each one a complete loop with a driver-guide, lunch and the stops in the order that makes sense for light and crowds. Mix and match across your stay, or string them together for a four-day grand tour.
Day 01Book this day
Kalimpong
Full day · 8–9 hrs · Start 8:30 AM from the homestay
Kalimpong sits on a long ridge above the Teesta, quieter than Darjeeling and full of old Bhutia and Lepcha character. We loop the town clockwise so the light is right at each viewpoint.
- 1
Delo Park
Kalimpong's highest point (1,704 m) — manicured lawns, paragliding launch and 360° valley views. Best in the morning before the clouds roll in.
- 2
Durpin (Buddha) Monastery
Zang Dhok Palri Phodang — a 1970s Bhutia monastery on Durpin Hill housing 108 volumes of the Kagyur. Beautiful murals, very few visitors.
- 3
Pine View Cactus Nursery
One of Asia's largest private cactus & succulent collections — over 1,500 species under poly-houses. Small entry fee, worth an hour.
- 4
Lovers' Meet Viewpoint
The confluence of the Teesta and Rangeet rivers, seen from a cliff-edge gazebo on the Kalimpong–Darjeeling road. Two distinct water colours meeting.
- 5
Hanuman Tok
A 30-ft Hanuman statue on a quiet ridge with uninterrupted views of Kanchenjunga on clear afternoons. We end here for sunset.
How it runs
A single private SUV with a Kalimpong-based driver-guide. Lunch break at a Newari thali place near Delo. Returns to MountTea by 6 PM.
Day 02Book this day
Takdah
Full day · 7–8 hrs · Start 9:00 AM
Takdah is what Darjeeling looked like a hundred years ago — colonial bungalows, cinchona plantations and forest you can hear. This loop is for travellers who want slow, green and quiet.
- 1
Lamahatta Eco-Park
Terraced pine-forest park at 5,700 ft with a sacred pond at the top. A 20-minute uphill walk through dhupi pines — the air alone is the reason to come.
- 2
Gumba Dara Viewpoint
A roadside spur with a sweeping view of the Teesta winding through the valley and Sikkim's ridges beyond. Tea stalls and very little crowd.
- 3
Tinchuley Forest Walk
A short guided walk through the community-protected forest above Tinchuley village — orchids, cardamom and birdsong. Easy, even for kids.
- 4
Takdah Orchid Centre
A century-old British-era orchid house with over 400 Himalayan species. February–April is peak bloom.
- 5
Durpin Dara Viewpoint
The Takdah-side Durpin (different from Kalimpong's) — a pine-fringed clearing looking straight at Kanchenjunga. Our last stop, perfect for the golden hour.
How it runs
Private vehicle plus a short forest walk at Tinchuley (~45 min, easy gradient). Packed lunch from MountTea's kitchen so we can eat at Lamahatta.
Day 03Book this day
Mirik
Full day · 9–10 hrs · Start 7:30 AM
Mirik is a hill-town built around a long man-made lake, with tea gardens spilling down to the Nepal border. The drive itself — through Kurseong and the Gopaldhara estates — is the trip.
- 1
Lepcha Jagat
A tiny forest hamlet at 6,950 ft on the way out. We stop for chai and the morning Kanchenjunga view through rhododendrons.
- 2
Pashupati Market (Nepal)
A 15-minute open border crossing into Nepal's Pashupati Nagar — cardamom, blankets, Nepali tea. Carry ID; no visa needed for Indians.
- 3
Simana Viewpoint
Literally 'the border' — a ridge-top bazaar straddling India and Nepal, with Kanchenjunga on one side and the Mechi valley on the other.
- 4
Gopaldhara Tea Estate
One of Darjeeling's highest-elevation estates (7,000 ft). A planter walks us through the factory and pours a flight of their muscatel second-flush.
- 5
Mirik Lake (Sumendu)
A 1.25 km lake ringed by pines with a footbridge across the middle. Paddle boats, pony rides for kids, and a quiet wrap to the day.
How it runs
Long driving day (Mirik is ~50 km but ~3 hr each way on hill roads). Private SUV, lunch at a Gopaldhara estate canteen, back at the homestay by 7 PM.
Day 04Book this day
Darjeeling
Full day · starts 3:30 AM · Pre-dawn pickup for Tiger Hill
The classic Darjeeling circuit, done in the right order. We chase the sunrise first, then move down into town as it wakes up — so you're never queuing behind a coach.
- 1
Tiger Hill Sunrise
2,590 m. On a clear morning, the first light hits Kanchenjunga and — 200 km away — Everest. Pre-booked sunrise-zone tickets, blankets and flasks of tea included.
- 2
Batasia Loop
The spiral where the toy train loses 140 ft of altitude in one curve, with a Gorkha war memorial at the centre and Kanchenjunga as the backdrop.
- 3
Ghoom Monastery (Yiga Choeling)
Darjeeling's oldest Tibetan monastery (1850), home to a 15-ft Maitreya Buddha. Quiet, working monastery — we visit between prayer sessions.
- 4
Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park
A high-altitude zoo doing serious conservation work on red pandas, snow leopards and Tibetan wolves. Shares a campus with HMI.
- 5
Himalayan Mountaineering Institute Museum
Tenzing Norgay's home institute — Everest gear, expedition photos and the actual rope used on the 1953 first ascent.
- 6
Tenzing Rock
A natural granite outcrop where Tenzing himself trained climbers. Beginner rock-climbing sessions on request (helmet & harness provided).
- 7
Japanese Peace Pagoda
A white Nipponzan-Myōhōji stupa on Jalapahar hill — four golden Buddhas, ceremonial drumming at sunset. A calm close to a busy day.
How it runs
Early start (3:30 AM pickup for Tiger Hill). Breakfast at a Tibetan bakery in Ghoom. Private vehicle all day; rock-climbing add-on is optional and ₹500/person extra.
Bespoke
Want something different?
Birding in Lava & Neora Valley. A monastic circuit through Sikkim. A photography week chasing first light on Kanchenjunga. Tell us what pulled you to the hills and we'll build the trip around it — usually within 48 hours.
Design my journey