Travel style · Darjeeling & Kalimpong
Wildlife and birds in Darjeeling & Kalimpong
Snow leopards, red pandas and black-necked cranes
Winter snow leopard trips in Ladakh and Spiti, red pandas in Singalila, cranes in Bhutan's Phobjikha and Arunachal, hornbills in Namdapha and the birding ridges of Kumaon. Timed to the season, with trackers who live there.
Photo: Pinakpani · CC BY 4.0 · CommonsMountain wildlife is shy and seasonal. Snow leopards come down to lower valleys in February and March, cranes arrive in Phobjikha around late October, and the Kumaon forests are loudest with birds in spring.
Darjeeling and Kalimpong are the West Bengal hills between Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan, 1,200 to 3,636 m high. Go March to May or October to November for clear views of Kangchenjunga. Plan 5 to 7 nights: Darjeeling for tea and the toy train, Kalimpong for nurseries and monasteries, Sandakphu for the high ridge.
Trips
Wildlife and birds trips in Darjeeling & Kalimpong
Photo: Auli Raha (অলি রাহা) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Sittong, Takdah and Kalimpong villages
Private car with driver
Photo: Arne Hückelheim 2010-09-21 12:41:53 This is a … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Lava by shared jeep
Shared jeeps, one short reserved car
4 places
Where to go
Photo: Pinakpani · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Lava
Misty forest village at the gate of Neora Valley
Photo: SubrataEmfluence · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Lepchajagat
A forest hamlet on the Ghum–Mirik road
Photo: solarshakti · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Sandakphu and Singalila
West Bengal's highest point, with Everest on the skyline
Photo: Auli Raha (অলি রাহা) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Sittong
Orange orchards and homestays in the Riyang valley
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Sandipanjalpaiguri · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Neora Valley National Park forest day
Enter Neora Valley National Park from Lava with a forest permit and guide for a day in one of eastern India's least dis…
Photo: Joydeep · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Morning prayers at Lava's Kagyu monastery
Walk up from Lava bazaar at dawn to Kagyu Thekchen Ling, the monastery on the hill, for morning chanting, butter lamps …
Photo: Sandipanjalpaiguri · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Changey Falls and Kolakham day trip
A half-day drive from Lava to Changey Falls, a tall forest waterfall reached by steps from the road, and on to Kolakham…
Photo: YUVRAJ ANAND · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Dawn forest walk and Kangchenjunga view
Leave your Lepchajagat homestay before dawn and walk through pine and cryptomeria forest to a clearing facing Kangchenj…
Photo: Arne Hückelheim 2010-09-21 12:41:53 This is a … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Jorepokhri lakes and the Himalayan newt
Visit Jorepokhri, a small twin lake in forest near Lepchajagat that is protected as a breeding site of the endangered H…
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Ghum Monastery and its Maitreya Buddha
Visit Yiga Choeling, the Gelug monastery at Ghum founded in 1850, about 10 km from Lepchajagat, to see its 15 ft statue…
Photo: Alexkom000 · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Sunrise on Everest and the Sleeping Buddha
Wake before dawn on Sandakphu, the highest point in West Bengal, and watch first light reach Kangchenjunga's Sleeping B…
Photo: Dreamplexx · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Land Rover ride up the Singalila Ridge
Ride from Manebhanjan to Sandakphu in one of the vintage Land Rovers that still serve the ridge road, crossing between …
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Wildlife and birds elsewhere