East India Tourism

Toy Train Journey to Beautiful Hill Station Darjeeling

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Foot of hill Journey(Toy Train)

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is lovingly called the "Toy Train". The Toy Train ride is a romantic approach to the Himalayas, a mysterious region

This joy ride begins at New Jalpaiguri, a busy railway station in the plains.

Leaving New Jalpaiguri station the train passes through the outskirts of Siliguri town and reaches Siliguri station. After a short halt the train leaves Siliguri station and crosses the Mahanadi bridge over the Mahanadi river which flows from the Himalayan foothills.

After six miles train reaches Sukna station from where the real ascent begins. Here the train normally stops for the engine to take water.

From here the blue mountain ranges of the foothills are visible and the train quickly rises from the plain passing through tea gardens and forest of teak and sal.

The train now passes through Rangtang station (1404 ft/430 m) and a little further away the train may stop for water again. From here the view of wooded mountains is really beautiful. The train moves on with the view of tea gardens, tea factories and forests. It then passes Chunbhati. Before the railway line was built, there was a bungalow here where the travellers in palki (palanquin) used to rest for the day. The train is now fairly among the mountains and a panoramic view of the deep valley and higher range of mountains is visible. Then the train passes the Tindharia Railway workshop to reach Tindharia station (2,822 feet/860m).

Tindharia, in the old times, was the spot where travellers used to stop for tea. From here one can get an extensive view of the hills. Leaving Tindharia one can see the jagged rock-faced mountains up ahead called Giddapahar (Eagle's Craig) which the train later has to pass through. Using "zig-zag reverses" the train leaves Gayabari station (3,400 feet/1040m).

After this station the train stops for water near Pagla Jhora (Mad Torrent). During the monsoon this small stream swells up and is big enough to wash away the road and railway line. Shortly after this the train reaches Mahanadi Bazar station (4,000 ft/1,225m). Just near this town is the source of the Mahanadi river which the train had earlier crossed shortly after leaving Siliguri. Leaving Mahanadi the train travels west through Gidhapahar (Eagle's Craig) with an excellent view of the valley, the hills and tea gardens and reaches Kurseong station (4,864 feet/1485m).

Kurseong is a thriving little hill station. Here one can get the first glimpse of a hill town and the hill people. Leaving Kurseong the train passes through Kurseong bazar and goes on in its journey. The sight of Tibetan prayer flags as the train passes over Hussel (whistle) khola (stream) makes the traveller feel that he is now truly in the mountains. The train passes through small forests of maple, chestnut, pear, cherry, criptomeria (introduced from Japan), etc. and cardamom plants.

Now the train reaches Tung (5656 ft/1725m) which gives us an excellent view of the Kurseong ridge. As the train passes along the road, one may notice by now that through the journey from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling there are over 100 road crossings and most of the time the train runs along parallel with the cars and other vehicles.

The journey new leads through Sonada (6552 ft. /2000m). As the train passes through Sonada bazar, one can get a glimpse of Tibetan chorten (stupa) on the way. Now the train passes through Senchel Reserve forest with oaks, chestnuts, walnuts, magnolias, rhododendrons, etc. During spring one can see the bright blooms of rhododendrons, cream magnolias and orchids in this moss-laden forest. On top of this hill is a famous tourist spot Tiger Hill with a unique view of the Himalayas and also of the sunrise. This forest region is well known worldwide for bird-watching.

The train now passes through a small town called Jorebunglow. The road here is very narrow and often there are traffic jams since all the traffic in and out of Darjeeling pass this point. This must be the only place where the train may have to stop for a while in case of a traffic jam or have to back up a bit to ease the traffic. The train now reaches Ghoom (7407 ft/2260 m) the highest point of the journey.

On the way the train passes through Batasia Loop with its memorial to the Gorkha soldiers. From the Batasia Loop you can get a spectacular view of Darjeeling town with the Kanchenjunga and other snowy mountains in the back-drop. From now onwards up till Darjeeling, the snowy peaks are in full view for the travellers' eyes. Finally the train enters the Darjeelins Station, the destination of the journey.

Darjeeling Gallery

Darjeeling Map

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Darjeeling Map

Map of Darjeeling

History of Darjeeling

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Old Darjeeling

The name Darjeeling is a composition of 'dorje' meaning 'thunderbolt' and 'ling' meaning 'place' ... 'the Land of Thunderbolt'. The Nepalese had marched till the east of Sikkim in 1780 as far as Tista river. Due to a disagreement with Nepal, the British declared war against Nepal at the end of 1813. In 1816 by a treaty signed at Seagoulie, Nepal ceded 4000 sq. miles of territory and by the treaty of Titalya in 1817 the Rajah (king) of Sikkim was reinstated.

In 1828 two British officers, Capt. C. A. Lloyd and Mr. J. W. Grant, after settling the internal factions between Nepal and Sikkim, found their way to a place called Chungtong to the west of Darjeeling and were very impressed with what they saw and thought of making this place a sanatorium. Other British officers also reported favorably on the situation of the hill of Darjeeling.

The East India Company then directed its officers to start a negotiation with the Rajah of Sikkim for the cessation of the hill either for an equivalent in money or land. This transfer was successfully done in 1835 for an allowance of Rs. 3,000/- per annum. The Rajah of Sikkim's revenue from this tract of land had never exceeded Rs. 20/- per annum. Later this allowance was raised to Rs. 6000/- per annum. In 1849 the relation of the British and Sikkim worsened with the imprisonment of two British officers by Sikkim authorities. Eventually they were released but as a punishment the British stopped the annual allowance and annexed this territory.

By 1860s peace was restored in the borders and the march of progress began. Roads and important construction were done, Loreto Convent in 1847, St. Paul's School in 1864, Planters' Club in 1868, Lloyd's Botanical Garden in 1878, St. Joseph's School in 1888, Railway Station in 1891, Town Hall (present Municipality Building) in 1921

Tea Plantations started developing all around Darjeeling. During this time immigrants flooded in to work in construction sites, the Tea Gardens and other agricultural works. The population of Darjeeling was barely 100 in 1835 and was about 94,712 in 1871-72, 155,179 in 1881 and 249,117 in 1901.
With India attaining independence on 15th August 1947, the district of Darjeeling remained in the partitioned section of Bengal (West Bengal) and therefore in the Indian union. With the district's sub-Himalayan and geographical condition, it occupied an unique status in the state. The only remaining industry, that is the Tea industry, continued to play a major role in the economy of the area and the country as well. The other natural wealth forests have been adversely affected by the ever growing population, now estimated to be around 1,200,000. In the years since independence, much has been done for the area's education, communication, attention to cash crops like orange, potato, cardamom, ginger, etc.

New Darjeeling

On 29th May 1953 two men set foot on Mount Everest for the first time in history and one of them was Tenzing Norgay, from Darjeeling. Subsequently, this historical event led to the formation of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling. Of the old heritage the Toy Train (Darjeeling Himalayan Railway) is now listed under UNESCO's world heritage.

Visit here:Tourist Spot of Darjeeling

Tourist Spot

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In the world map of tourist spots, India adorns a prominent place. There are so many tourist spots in India that offer to fulfill everyone's expectation. Whether it is hill stations , gardens, monuments, shrines, historical places or pilgrimage centers, India has it all, there are too many wonderful places in India, the memory of which you would like to cherish even after a long time.