Olde Main Bellevue Heritage Hotel

festivals celebrated in darjeeling.

by mantru

AS there are a mix of people living in darjeeling,lots of festivities all year thru...losar is one of the important festivals for the tibetan people.
Tibetan celebrate Losar (Tibetan New Year), this is the most important festival in the Tibetan calendar. They celebrate this for about a week with good food like specially cooked momos, new clothes and dances. This restival is around february around the same time in feb or march we celebrate Saraswati puja or Shri Panchami , Hindus of Darjeeling worship the goddess of knowledge Saraswati and the next day they take the idol singing and dancing to immerse in the nearest stream. This is an important day in the Nepalese calendar as this day is meant for a new beginning like a new account, sowing of seeds, etc.
March-
Around March Muslims of Darjeeling celebrate Id-ul Zuha remembering Allah's prophet Ibrahim. On this day Muslims in Darjeeling like other Indian Muslims eat mutton. In India this festival is also known as Bakr (Goat) Id.

April-Buddha Jayanti, birth anniversary of Lord Buddha, is celebrated with procession from Buddhist monasteries with Lamas (Tibetan Monks) musical troupe followed by Lord Buddha's idol, and the procession usually carries the Buddhist holy books around town.

Darjeeling, wedding ceremony

by sachara

At our walk from the bazaar to the botanical garden, walking at narrow roads between the houses, we heard drumming an saw an old woman strewing rice on leaves. The people told us, that this is part of a wedding ceremony. A few minutes later we saw the bride and the bridegroom, coming from their homes under a umbrella accompanied by family, going to the place of the ceremony.

Take a Ride on the Darjeeling Toy Train

by Donna_in_India

The Darjeeling Toy Train, officially known as the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and even if you take a short trip, it's a must do in Darjeeling.

The engines run on coal and the tiny tracks are only 2 feet wide. The full journey from Darjeeling to New Japaiguri takes about nine hours but you can take the shorter trip (only an hour) to Ghoom, which is what we did. At 7,410 feet Ghoom is one of the highest railway stations in the world.

Our 2 car train chugged along spewing smoke and steam. It travels so slowly that you can jump on and off easily while it's moving (we did that too!). To give you an idea how slow - that 9 hour Darjeeling to New Japaiguri trip covers only 50 miles!

The train makes a 10 minute stop at Batasia Loop where it makes a figure eight. At Batasia Loop you can get out and visit the war memorial and take some photos of of the surrounding garden and Mt. Kanchenjunga.

Check the schedule because timings and frequencies change depending on the season. If it is high tourist season, it's a good idea to buy your tickets in advance as the train fills up quickly. Sit on the right side of the train up to Ghoom for the best views. Your ticket also covers entry into the railway museum at Ghoom.

Darjeeling, walk along the Tenzing Norgay Road

by sachara

From the Mall in the centre we descend a little to the Tenzing Norgay road along the south side of the ridge. The views are fantastic, if it is not too hazy.
At the first part of the road are a lot of small budget hotels.
The houses on this steep slope are built on stilts. During our walk we saw a lot of houses under construction and it was very informative to see the different stages of the building process under these difficult circumstances.
Also the road was under construction, we saw a lot of people breaking stones with the hand.

Darjeeling - Queen of the Himalayas

by MillReef

"Stunning Place!"

Darjeeling is a beautiful town in the Himalayan foothills. It's in the northern end of the state of West Bengal - not in Assam (as VT seems to insist). It's up at 7,000ft and looks across to the most amazing view of Kanchenjunga, the world's 3rd highest mountain at approximately 28,000ft. The people are wonderful as well - comprising a mix of Nepali, Sikkimese, Bhutanese, Indian and Tibetan. If you haven't been...GO!