What's on in Darjeeling, India through the year

Busy — Winter break in India, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Rule

  Toy train runs and monsoon gaps

  1 Jan – 31 DecBook earlyClosures

  The steam joyrides to Ghum book out weeks ahead in season, and the full line from the plains is suspended for weeks at a time when the monsoon takes the track out. Check before you plan the arrival around it. Source ↗

Still on: Winter quiet on the ridge (15 Dec – 20 Feb (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Festival

  Losar

  5 Feb – 10 Mar · usuallyLunar New Year

  The Tibetan and Sherpa new year is marked at the Ghoom and Bhutia Busty monasteries with masked dances and a week of family visiting. Quiet compared to the town's Hindu festivals, and in the empty part of the year. Source ↗

Still on: Toy train runs and monsoon gaps (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Winter quiet on the ridge (15 Dec – 20 Feb (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Nature

  First flush tea

  10 Mar – 30 Apr · usuallyHarvest

  The first plucking after the winter dormancy, from about the third week of March, is the year's most valuable tea and the estates run tours and tastings around it. Rooms in the garden bungalows go early.

• Nature

  Rhododendron and magnolia

  15 Mar – 30 Apr · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  The ridge above Ghoom and the Singalila road towards Sandakphu flower through spring, magnolia first and rhododendron behind it. It is also the second-clearest stretch for the mountain.

Still on: Toy train runs and monsoon gaps (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Losar (5 Feb – 10 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Hill-station summer season, Summer vacation (Kerala / far south) in India

• Season

  Hill-station summer season

  15 Apr – 15 Jun · usuallySchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  Kolkata and the plains come up to escape the heat and the Mall, the toy train and the Tiger Hill jeeps are all booked out. Prices peak here rather than in autumn, and the mountain is often hazed over anyway.

Still on: Toy train runs and monsoon gaps (1 Jan – 31 Dec), First flush tea (10 Mar – 30 Apr (usually)), Rhododendron and magnolia (15 Mar – 30 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, Hill-station summer season

• Nature

  Second flush tea

  1 May – 20 Jun · usuallyHarvest

  The muscatel picking, and the one the auction houses actually pay for. The gardens run tours in the same weeks, and it is worth going out to one rather than buying on Mall Road. Source ↗

Still on: Toy train runs and monsoon gaps (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Hill-station summer season (15 Apr – 15 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — Hill-station summer season, Summer vacation (north & east) in India

• Hazard

  Monsoon and landslide season

  15 Jun – 20 Sep · usuallyClosures

  The eastern Himalaya takes some of the heaviest rain in India, and slips regularly close NH-10 up from Siliguri and the Rohini road, sometimes for days. The town keeps working; getting to it is the problem. Source ↗

Still on: Toy train runs and monsoon gaps (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Hill-station summer season (15 Apr – 15 Jun (usually)), Second flush tea (1 May – 20 Jun (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Toy train runs and monsoon gaps (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Monsoon and landslide season (15 Jun – 20 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Toy train runs and monsoon gaps (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Monsoon and landslide season (15 Jun – 20 Sep (usually))

Busy — Durga Puja and Dashain, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Durga Puja and Dashain

  25 Sep – 25 Oct · usuallySchool holidaysCrowdedBook earlyClosures

  Bengal's biggest holiday and the Nepali Dashain fall together, and the whole of Kolkata seems to come up the hill. It is the busiest fortnight of the Darjeeling year and the one to book months ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Toy train runs and monsoon gaps (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Monsoon and landslide season (15 Jun – 20 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Durga Puja and Dashain, Tiger Hill sunrise queue

• Season

  Tiger Hill sunrise queue

  10 Oct – 10 Dec · usuallyDay-tripper crushCrowded

  The clear autumn weeks are when everyone drives up before dawn for the Kanchenjunga sunrise, and cars queue nose to tail on the single hill road in the dark to reach the viewpoint for first light. Source ↗

• Season

  Clear season for Kanchenjunga

  15 Oct – 10 Dec · usuallyDry season

  The weeks after the monsoon clears are the most reliable of the year for the mountain: cold, dry mornings, Tiger Hill sunrises that actually deliver, and the Singalila trek at its best.

Still on: Toy train runs and monsoon gaps (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Durga Puja and Dashain (25 Sep – 25 Oct (usually))

Busy — Tiger Hill sunrise queue

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Toy train runs and monsoon gaps (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Tiger Hill sunrise queue (10 Oct – 10 Dec (usually)), Clear season for Kanchenjunga (15 Oct – 10 Dec (usually))

Peak crowds — Tiger Hill sunrise queue, Winter break in India

• Season

  Winter quiet on the ridge

  15 Dec – 20 Feb · usuallyOff-season shutdown

  Cold, dry and largely empty; the hotels heat with a bar fire and a bucket of hot water, and half of Chowrasta is shut. The mountain views are the best of the year on the days it is clear. Source ↗

Still on: Toy train runs and monsoon gaps (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Tiger Hill sunrise queue (10 Oct – 10 Dec (usually)), Clear season for Kanchenjunga (15 Oct – 10 Dec (usually))