Enjoy a Superb View of the Sunrise from Tiger Hill at Darjeeling in India

India is lucky to have the Himalayan Mountains in the North. The mountains provide natural protection to the large Indo-Chinese border area. In addition to this, many beautiful hill stations are located in this region, providing tourists with the opportunity to enjoy the unique beauty of all these hill stations. Darjeeling is one such hill station. Located in the State of West Bengal, at an elavation of 6,500 feet from sea level, there are many site seeing spots at Darjeeling, but the most vital of them is the famous Tiger Hill. I was lucky to visit it during my stay at Darjeeling in the summer of 2005. I have covered the highlights of my visit to Tiger Hill in this article.

Darjeeling is well connected by the train, bus, and air. However, the best option is to reach here is by air up to Bagdogra airport, which is around 54 miles away from Darjeeling. There are daily regular flights for Bagdogra from Calcutta, Mumbai, and Delhi. Alternatively, you can also reach Darjeeling by train up to Siligudi railway station. The next part of the journey to Darjeeling is very enjoyable as it is to be completed in the beautiful toy train. This journey takes around 5 hours to reach Darjeeling. The entire railway line passes through the most beautiful surroundings and the tourists have wonderful time in this toy train. There are many luxurious hotels at Darjeeling for the tourists. My suggestion would be to stay at Hotel Sinclair, which is situated in the center of this beautiful town on one small hill. The nice double rooms with three star amenities are available here at the rate of Rs.3000 ($75) per day. It also offers a nice and attractive view of the Darjeeling town market. Once you are settled at some good hotel, you would start visiting sites seeing places of Darjeeling. The Tiger Hill is the first and foremost place to be visited.

You need to start from your hotel to visit Tiger Hill in the early morning hours at around 3.30 am in order not to miss the unique view of sunrise from this point. You can either hire a jeep all for you and your family or travel by the common jeep. I would suggest hiring a separate jeep for you and your family as jeep drivers sometimes load as many as 15 people in one jeep. The charges for the independent special jeep for your family are Rs.1200 ($30) for the to and fro visit to Tiger Hill. The common jeep charges around Rs.80 ($2.0) per passenger. The Tiger Hill is located around 7 miles away from the town of Darjeeling. However, it takes around forty-five minutes to reach to this highest summit of Darjeeling. Once you reach the tiger hill, all the unpleasant feelings of getting up early are vanished due to the most thrilling view of the Himalayan Mountains at this sunrise time. The highest peak of Mount Everest can be seen from this Tiger Hill along with the other vital summits like Kanchanjangha. This is the only spot in India from where the close view of the Mount Everest can be obtained. The entire North side uphill slope of Mount Everest can be viewed from here. However, you must be lucky to have a clear day. If there are heavy clouds or rain, you may not be able to get the clear view of these rare summits. Make sure to wear heavy woolen clothes with large overcoat, as it will be extremely cold here at the Tiger Hill. I would also suggest carrying a thermos flask full of hot tea along with you to enjoy it while having a gorgeous view of the sunrise from Tiger Hill. You may start your return journey at around 6 am after spending around two hours here at the Tiger Hill. You will be back to your hotel at the time of breakfast after this memorable visit to the Tiger Hill.

I have met many persons who did not visit the Tiger hill during their visit to Darjeeling due to slightly inconvenient time of starting from your hotel. They are not aware of what they have missed in their life.