Darjeeling Transportation

We took a taxi from New Jalpaiguri to Siliguri. We were also offered a shared jeep, all the way to Darjeeling, for 90 R per person, and 800 Rs for a jeep-taxi to ourselves. But we chose the bus. The train would take approx. 9 hours and the bus 3-5 hours.

The road up was dramatically beautiful. We saw traces of landslides, which probably had occurred during the monsoon. We drove past the train, it ran very slowly. Train tracks criss-crossing the road, and there were signs of "stop, look, run ..."

There were also many signs like this along the road that would remind people to drive carefully:

"Hurry Burry spoils the Curry"

"Good gave you your life, save it!"

"Give your blood to the blood bank, and not to this road"

"Do not mix drive and drink"

You can reach Darjeeling from Delhi, Bombay, Kolkata or Gauhati by air or train first to New Jalpaiguri or at airport Bagdogra. From there you can take shared taxi ( Commander Jeeps or Scorpio) to Darjeeling in less than four hours. Some cars take about two and half hours if they take Pankhabari route but that route is not suggested as it has very sharp bends and very steep climbing. Since, last 20 years or so due to Gorkhaland agitation rods are not properly maintained. Please try to take Hill Cart road or the main road to Darjeeling!

Fare would be around Rs.150/- to Rs.200/- or US$ 4-5 in shared jeep. But you can pay for two for the front seat or for four for the back seat.

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The best and the coolest option to travel to Darjeeling is by Himalayan Mountain Railway's Toy Train from New Jalpaiguri. Now driven 6 time by Diesel Engine, it is faster and takes about 6 to 7 hours to reach Darjeeling from Jalpaiguri. On way, you shall cross many beautiful locations and stations like Teen Dharia, Kurseoung, Sonada, Ghoom and many more!

But in these fast days, no one wants to spend a day in this train. But I suggest and recommend that you travel to Darjeeling by this Toy Train , you will not only be able to see locals, take pictures, get the breathtaking views of the hills and mountains but it will also acclimatise your body to a great extent. You can return by road, which runs parallel.

The fare would be around Rs120/- or about US$3 in second class, but this is just nothing compared to what you get in return.

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This train is awarded world heritage by UNESCO in 2000.
It's running between Darjeeling to New Jalpaiguri (NJP).
However at the time we were there in Dec 2010, it was only running from Darjeeling up to Kurseong because of a landslide.

You can book the ticket from these websites:
- http://irctc.co.in/ (Official Indian Railway website, but apparently more confusing to book)
- http://www.cleartrip.com/ (Easier to book tickets from this website)

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Taxis in Darjeeling and in fact in most North Bengal region are Jeeps.
They will have a board on their windshield showing where they're headed.
Fare will depends on the destination, but not fixed, so there's room for bargaining.
For instance from Darjeeling to Siliguri should be between 80 rs to 130 rs.
Typically the jeep will wait until they have around 8-10 passengers before they start the journey.

If you are in Paro and if you want to drive to Darjeeling, you have to drive down to Phuntsholing, which is the Bhutanese border town. This will be your transit point for stepping into India. The adjacent Indian town is Naigaon, which is in the West Bengal state of India. You will have to proceed to Siliguri by road and then change to Toy train/Jeeps that will take you to Darjeeling. In all, it will take you more than 10 hours from Paro to Darjeeling via Phuntsholing.
The two hotels (Windamere and Mayfair) in Darjeeling are among the good Hotels there. Worth staying there. You get a very colonial feel.

To see the Dargiling by Jeep car or toyota car is really nice but by the steam engine narrow gauge train is really great experience.
You will get this train from Siligudi . To and fro travell u can do by this train and this train is the world heritage now as it is only steam engine which is running ....!

You can take either a toy train if you have enough time if not catch a shared jeep or hire a van from new Jalpaiguri in case reaching by train ...if by flight to Bagdogra then have to hire a taxi...in and around mostly you can go around by foot as most part of darjeeling taxi's are not allowed otherwise you get shared jeeps avaliable....