Singalila Magic Tour

Arrive Calcutta Clear immigration and customs. Your representative will be waiting for you outside the arrival hall, holding a "Groups Name" placard. Transfer to hotel. morning at leisure.

Transfer to domestic airport to board flight for Bagdogra. Met upon arrival and transferred to the picturesque town of Darjeeling, (2134mts, ) with Kanchenjunga presiding over it A-3 hr drive into the mountains. Overnight at hotel.

Morning at leisure. Half day sightseeing around this beautiful hill station built during the days of the British Raj. The mighty Kanchenjunga, third highest mountain in the world, towers above this charming town like a gigantic ship floating upon a sea of clouds. In the distance, Mt.Everest retains its aloofness. The town itself is a typical Indian "hill-station", catering mainly to a large influx of plains people escaping the summer heat. There is "The Mall", of course, a promenade with `fashionable' stores alongside and Kanchenjunga playing hide seek in the skies above. The lower regions of the town are teeming with colorful tribesmen working or trading on seasonal basis. All around the town are picturesque tea-plantations and a visit to them is a must. On the way you might encounter the famous "toy-train" huffing up the hills from Siliguri.

Activities : Hill Stations & Valleys

Drive by jeep / coach to Batasi (2098mts ). After distributing loads among the porters who shall accompany the trek, we commence with a 10 km climb up through forested hills to Dhotrey,(2438mts). After lunch at Dhotrey, trek down hill all the way through forests and across streams, via Palmajua (2210mts), and then along a level trail for about 1 hr to Barahatta (1774mts) where we camp for the night. The days walk is about 4 hrs.

Activities : Hill Stations & Valleys

Meals & Drinks : Lunch

Descend down the road to a stream at Lodomarkola. From here a steep climb all the way to Rimbick through dense forests.Camp in the gardens of a picturesque forest rest house. This is a 5 hr walk(about 15kms). on a clear day Darjeeling town is visible in the distance.

Activities : Hill Stations & Valleys

A 6 hr 19 km walk through beautiful forest with interesting bird life. The first hour descends steeply through thick forest to river bed, from where we climb steadily to Ramam, with occasional level stretches enroute. At Ramam too there is a rest house, and we can use its grounds to camp for the night.

Activities : Hill Stations & Valleys

We may wake up in the morning to our first close view of the magnificent Kanchenjunga (8598 mts) massif. A steep 4 hr ascent through a gradually thinning jungle to Molle (3359 mts), the top of the Singalila ridge. A windy camp on an open stretch.

Activities : Hill Stations & Valleys

A 6 hrs return excursion along the ridge to Phalut (3600 mts) leaving the tree line behind. Phalut is on the tri - junction of Sikkim/Nepal and West Bengal. From this day onwards the entire Kanchenjunga range shall constantly tower above us till we reach Tonglu.

Activities : Hill Stations & Valleys

A 16 km 6 hr level walk through rhododendron forest along another arm of the Singalila ridge, with Everest and other Mountains of Nepal constantly on our horizon to the right.

Activities : Hill Stations & Valleys

Wake up before dawn to watch the sun rise over the entire eastern - Nepal Himalayas and the Sikkim Himalayas, from Everest in Nepal and Kanchenjunga in Sikkim to Chomolhari in Bhutan. After breakfast, a steady descent along the trail (which passes through Nepal) to Tonglu, a distance of nearly 22 Kms.

Activities : Hill Stations & Valleys

A sharp descent down a cobbled track to Manebhanjang. On arrival at Manebhanjang, we shall board our jeeps which shall take us back to Darjeeling in about 2 hrs. Over night in hotel.

Activities : Hill Stations & Valleys

Transfer to Bagdogra Airport to board the flight for Calcutta. Met upon arrival and transfer to hotel. Rest of day at leisure.

Activities : Hill Stations & Valleys

AM : Proceed for full day guided sight seeing of city. At first sight, this is a bewildering,overwhelming city of over seven million. A veritable dynamo, it is inhabited for the most part by Bengalis, an emotional and artistic people who have been called the Irish of India. Large sections of the city are still Victorian in appearance, and there are several reminders of the British Raj. Calcutta was the British capital of India till 1911. The Victoria Memorial is a mammoth pile of white marble in which European and Mughal influences have merged. The 'Writer's Building' was built in 1780 by the East India Company to house its clerks, and is still used today for the same purpose by the West Bengal government. The 'Raj Bhavan'-originally 'Government House'- is a replica of Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire,and the High Court is an exact copy of the Town Hall of Ypres! Some of the few really Indian landmarks are the early 19th century Kali Temple and the Parasnath Jain Temples, elaborately decorated and almost Burmese in design.Perhaps the most interesting part of our tour shall be the drives between each place of visit, as we inch along the seemingly total chaos and confusion of Calcutta's streets.

At first sight, this is a bewildering, overwhelming city of over seven million. A veritable dynamo, it is inhabited for the most part by Bengalis, an emotional and artistic people who have been called the Irish of India. Large sections of the city are still Victorian in appearance, and there are several reminders of the British Raj. Calcutta was the British capital of India till 1911. The Victoria Memorial is a mammoth pile of white marble in which European and Mughal influences have merged. The 'Writer's Building' was built in 1780 by the East India Company to house its clerks, and is still used today for the same purpose by the West Bengal government. The 'Raj Bhavan'-originally 'Government House'- is a replica of Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire,and the High Court is an exact copy of the Town Hall of Ypres! Some of the few really Indian landmarks are the early 19th century Kali Temple and the Parasnath Jain Temples, elaborately decorated and almost Burmese in design.Perhaps the most interesting part of our tour shall be the drives between each place of visit, as we inch along the seemingly total chaos and confusion of Calcutta's streets.

Evening transfer to International airport to board the flight for onward destination.

Activities : Hill Stations & Valleys