Darjeeling,  Destinations,  India,  West Bengal

One of the best places to visit in Darjeeling — Shrubbery Nightingale Park

All over the world, Darjeeling is quite synonymous with tea and tea gardens; yet in this Darjeeling trip we hadn’t visited one single tea plantation. We had seen in Google maps that even the nearest tea garden is quite some distance away, a distance which cannot be travelled on foot in a limited time. Exploring one of the offbeat places to visit in Darjeeling was not on my mind then.

I decided — to hell with logic, and set off on foot to visit the nearest tea garden and return to the main city within a couple of hours (since I had a train to catch)! I took the logical husband along.

Places to visit in Darjeeling 5- Guitar House-The Azure Sky Follows - Tania Mukherjee
The House With The Giant Guitar!

Sometimes I am so awed at how Sayan handles all my craziness.

I gave up after a few minutes of uphill walk and a brisk talk with a local tea seller. The day before a dishonest cabbie in the taxi stand told us the Shrubbery Nightingale Park had shut down and is no longer operational. The local shopkeeper however informed us, that not only is it fully operational, but also easily accessible on foot! The kind lad even showed us the way.

Places to visit in Darjeeling 6- The Azure Sky Follows - Tania Mukherjee
No Idea What Mr.Husband Was Upto!

Now we know where we were heading to!

Shrubbery Nightingale Park — One of the offbeat places to visit in Darjeeling

We reached the park at around 10 AM. The entry price cost us INR 10. Apart from us, there were around 10 more travellers in the park. The giant space, beautiful decorations, a cafeteria and several park staff working on beautifying the area ensured it is fully functional.

Places to visit in Darjeeling Nightingale's Park 4- Darjeeling- The Azure Sky Follows - Tania Mukherjee
Shrubbery Nightingale Park
Places to visit in Darjeeling Nightingale's Park 10- Darjeeling- The Azure Sky Follows - Tania Mukherjee
The Nursery At Shrubbery Nightingale Park
Places to visit in Darjeeling Nightingale's Park 7- Darjeeling- The Azure Sky Follows - Tania Mukherjee
View From Shrubbery Nightingale Park

Mount Kanchenjunga was clearly visible from the park. The clear blue sky and the pleasant sunshine encouraged us to try out ‘photography skills’.

Places to visit in Darjeeling Nightingale's Park 3- Darjeeling- The Azure Sky Follows - Tania Mukherjee
I am Sure The Park Is In Full Bloom While In Spring

We meandered around the centre of the park with occasional photo-stops until it was too late. We hurried back to our Darjeeling nest and checked out of the hotel bidding adieu to one of the best hosts we have come across.

The Jeep Full Of Locals

A traffic personnel helped us get on a shared jeep to Siliguri from Darjeeling town. The jeep was jam-packed with locals. We got two back seats.

We whooshed passed the houses, the Darjeeling railway station, the unfinished Buddhist learning centre, Batasia Loop, Ghoom. “Shit! We are indeed leaving the Himalayas” kept crossing my mind.

Places to visit in Darjeeling 2- The Azure Sky Follows - Tania Mukherjee

Places to visit in Darjeeling 3- The Azure Sky Follows - Tania Mukherjee
The Buddhist learning Centre

Places to visit in Darjeeling 4- The Azure Sky Follows - Tania MukherjeePlaces to visit in Darjeeling 7- The Azure Sky Follows - Tania Mukherjee

An aged co-passenger boarded off the jeep; the gap was soon filled by a beautiful young girl. Unfortunately, the girl didn’t have the best time since another oldie with oily hair almost sat on top of her.

The locals merely paid something in the range of INR 10- 20 to get off at point-to-point locations. The jeep provided regular shuttle service for them.

Places to visit in Darjeeling 8- The Azure Sky Follows - Tania Mukherjee

The vehicle dropped us off at Siliguri for INR 125 each seat. We got into a modified autorickshaw to get to the New Jalpaiguri Station. Just a matter of around 20-30 more bucks per head.

Waiting for the train in the station we thought to ourselves, “Though we aspire to travel the world, including the Polar Regions, it doesn’t matter how far we go, how luxuriously we travel, this Darjeeling trip will be the most special trip of our lifetime forever.”

Places to visit in darjeeling - Nightingale's Park 11- Darjeeling- Dry Leaves- The Azure Sky Follows - Tania Mukherjee
What Was Wrong With My Other Leg?!

*****

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Tania is a freelance writer based in India who tinkers with words here and there but mostly focused on travel, food, arts and crafts. She writes for several Indian dailies and magazines.

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