On 29th Apr, 2017 me with two of my friends boarded in “Darjeeling mail” at Sealdah station for a trip to “Tinchuley”.The word Tinchuley stands for three chullas (chulla means oven), and this is represented by three prominent hill tops that resembles the three chullas. We were very excited this time as we categorized this tour as “special interest tourism”.

Activities to do on Tinchuley Darjeeling trip

Geography & History of Tinchuley 

• This tourist spot is a remote hamlet located close to Darjeeling which can be reached through a drive of 32 kilometers. It is at a distance of 80 kilometers from Siliguri, 35 kilometers from Kalimpong and 88 kilometers from Gangtok. It is one of the hidden treasures of Dooars indeed. We got down at NJP station on 30^th Apr from where; our journey started finally.

• Tinchuley is situated at a distance of 3 km from Takdah The literary meaning of the word “Takdah” means “always covered.” The original name was pronounced as ‘Tukdah’, which is a Lepcha word meaning mist or fog. In spite of apparent insignificance the place is enriched with historical value and heritage. The Cantonment had been established in British era. It was a favorite location for many high ranking British officials from all over India before independence. We can still find many beautiful bungalows and tea gardens built by Britishers. From Takdah Cantonment, it is a 10 minutes drive to Tinchuley, via Takling road. This offbeat stay is just opposite to Kalimpong hills.

The major viewpoints: Explore the local village & monastery trail 

• It was an initiative of the residents of Tinchuley, collaborating with WWF (World Wild Fund for Nature) to convert their village into self sustained Eco- Urban village. Floriculture, forest nursery, by-compost and vermin-compost manure projects are developing gradually. We visited village and met the local people that was amazing experience.

• We visited the ‘Buddhist monastery’ also which is adjacent to ‘Gurung Guest house’ where we stayed. We find the Buddhist monastery the largest number in India. It was a dusky afternoon covered with mist when we slowly strolled down towards our way to monastery and reached there. It was heard that a LAMA meditated in Tinchuley monastery for 17 long years. Long line of prayer wheels can be seen inside the monetary blessed with serene atmosphere along with mild aroma of incense sticks. I assume this monastery follows Vajrayana tradition as architecture of temple and the sign of Buddha idol shows likewise.

Morning Walk, day out and awesome food

• We visited sunrise point of Tinchuley also to see the sunrise. It was really an overwhelmed moment when the rays of sun shined and suddenly the entire snow peaks of kanchanjangha range sparkled around.

• We did our sightseeing also. We visited Lamahatta road side garden, a newly established tourist spot, formed by the inhabitants and forest protection team with the help of govt. of west Bengal. It was a wonderful place with colorful flowers, windbreaks with path within it, seating arrangements, gazebo (place of meditation) etc. There is watchtower also from where you can have a panoramic view of the entire surroundings .Tinchuley is enclosed by 6 tea gardens; we were able to visit only 2 of them, Peshak & RangliRangliot due to time constraint where we had experienced the entire operations from plucking to factory processing. These are the oldest tea gardens of Darjeeling district. In between the tea gardens there is one viewpoint named ‘Durpin Dara’. From there we had watched the mesmerizing view of mountains range, forests, and some part of Sikkim. Teesta river can be viewed also in one frame. We had also gone to orange orchard of Nirmal’s which is 8 km drive from Tinchuley. We have seen the years old traditional orchid center in Takdah. Wide ranges of orchid including Himalayan orchid collections are restored over there. Once it was considered as largest orchid center in Asia. We have also seen hanging bridge in Takdah forest which had been setup by British army during Second World War to pass through their cavalry in such high altitude. To be precise anyone can fix up their itinerary in this order- stay at Tinchuley a calm and quite thinly populated romantic place, make a day trip to visit Lamahatta , Takdah , Ghum and Derjeeling .

One thing I must admit we had enjoyed excellent food and service in “Gurung guest house”. Their cozy hospitality proves the punch line “Home away from Home” run by a nice family at an exotic location.Lastly I can say it’s a  most popular tourist destination with budget tour packages.

Notable features of offbeat tourists destinations?

Offbeat tourist destinations offer a refreshing and unconventional experience for travelers seeking to escape the beaten path. These hidden gems provide unique cultural, historical, and natural wonders that are often overshadowed by mainstream tourist hotspots. I have another blog about offbeat tourist destination. You may like

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