Photo: Spattadar · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Darjeeling · Sikkim · Bhutan · Dooars
The hills, planned well and priced fairly
From the plains at Siliguri to the snowline: shared jeep or private car, homestay or heritage hotel, every trip priced three ways. And the stories behind each stop, told by people who know them.
- Packages from ₹6,000
- No payment to start
- Reply within 1 working day
- Permits arranged
Seven lands, one line up
Choose your station
Each land has its own altitude, its own season and its own price. The yellow board tells you how high you will sleep.
The affordable way up
Same hills, smaller bill
Most of the cost of a hill trip sits in four places: the car, the room, the week you travel and the number of times you move. Here is how we bring each one down without making the trip worse.
- Share the jeep on transfer daysA seat in a shared jeep costs a fraction of a reserved car on the same road. We tell you which stand, which time and which seat.
- Travel in the shoulder weeksRates fall sharply outside the Puja holidays, Christmas week and April to June. Late November and February are clear and cheaper.
- Sleep in a villageFamily homestays usually include dinner and breakfast and cost less than a town hotel plus meals.
- Move lessTwo or three bases mean fewer car days, the single biggest line in most quotes.
Fares from Siliguriindicative, 2026
- Shared jeep or bus Siliguri → Lataguri₹100–200 a seat, indicative 2026
- Reserved car Siliguri → Lataguri₹2,800–3,800, indicative 2026
- Gorumara jeep safari with watchtower₹2,500–3,500 per jeep (up to 6), indicative 2026
- Jaldapara jeep safari₹2,800–4,000 per jeep (up to 6), indicative 2026
- Forest or tourism lodge room₹1,500–4,000 a night, indicative 2026
- Day hire of a car for local sightseeing₹2,500–3,500, indicative 2026
- Thali in a roadside hotel₹100–200, indicative 2026
- Kanchankanya Express, Sealdah → New Mal (sleeper)₹400–550, indicative 2026
Fares and fees change with fuel prices, season and local union rates. Check current rates before you travel.
Tour packages
Tickets to ride
One route from each land, priced from the budget fare. Every package also shows a comfort and a premium price, so you can see what each step up buys.
per person, twin₹13,000
per person, twin₹15,000
per person, twin₹16,000
per person, twin₹13,500
per person, twin₹13,000
per person, twin₹36,500
per person, twin₹13,500
per person, twin₹12,000 Build your own route Tell us your dates, who is coming and what you want to see. We draw the route and price it three ways. Start Working to a budget? Give us a number per person. We will tell you honestly what it buys, and where to save. Start Ask someone who has been A first plan and price within one working day. No payment to start. Start
Told in the hills
Stories the brochures skip
Every land page opens with a story: how a place got its name, who was here first, what the old trade carried. True, sourced, and told plainly.
Before the British, these hills were Lepcha country, part of the kingdom of Sikkim. In the late eighteenth century the Gorkha armies of Nepal overran much of the area. After the Anglo-Nepalese War, the Treaty of Sugauli of 1816 and the Treaty …
Until 1865 the ridge where Kalimpong now stands belonged to Bhutan. After the Duar War of 1864–65, Bhutan signed the Treaty of Sinchula on 11 November 1865 and ceded the hill tract east of the Teesta, together with the plains Duars, to …
Sikkim's royal line began in 1642, when Phuntsog Namgyal was consecrated as the first Chogyal, or dharma king, at Yuksom in the west. The capital moved from Yuksom to Rabdentse and then Tumlong. In 1861 the Treaty of Tumlong made Sikkim a …
Pinned to the board
Did you know
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
Kalimpong was part of Bhutan until the Treaty of Sinchula of 11 November 1865, which ended the Duar War.
Gangtok has been Sikkim's capital only since 1894, when Thutob Namgyal moved the royal court there from Tumlong.
Gurudongmar Lake sits at 5,430 m according to the Government of Sikkim, which makes it one of the highest lakes in the world that tourists can drive to.
Yuksom was Sikkim's first capital from 1642, and in 1670 the second Chogyal, Tensung Namgyal, moved the court to Rabdentse, whose ruins stand near Pelling.
At their best in November
Go now
Places our almanac rates best for November, across all seven lands.
Tea, toy trains and Kangchenjunga from the Mall
India's highest railway station, Batasia Loop and an old monastery
Tea gardens, Netaji's house and the train in the bazaar
A lake, a monastery and orange orchards near the Nepal border
Tagore's hill retreat among the cinchona plantations
West Bengal's highest point, with Everest on the skyline
Orange orchards and hornbill forest below Kurseong
Sunrise on Kangchenjunga from the top of Senchal
Build your own route Tell us your dates, who is coming and what you want to see. We draw the route and price it three ways. Start Working to a budget? Give us a number per person. We will tell you honestly what it buys, and where to save. Start Ask someone who has been A first plan and price within one working day. No payment to start. StartThe almanac
Which land, which month
Yellow means our best months, striped means good. Click a land for its month-by-month notes, with weather and what rates do.
| Land | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darjeeling Hills | ||||||||||||
| Kalimpong and Neora | ||||||||||||
| Gangtok and East Sikkim | ||||||||||||
| North Sikkim | ||||||||||||
| West and South Sikkim | ||||||||||||
| Bhutan | ||||||||||||
| Dooars and the Terai |
Trip styles
Travel the way you like
Lowest fare per night
Good trips under a tight budget
per person, twin₹6,500
per person, twin₹14,000
per person, twin₹17,500
per person, twin₹21,000 Build your own route Tell us your dates, who is coming and what you want to see. We draw the route and price it three ways. Start Working to a budget? Give us a number per person. We will tell you honestly what it buys, and where to save. Start Ask someone who has been A first plan and price within one working day. No payment to start. Start
Read before you go
Guides and festivals
Shared jeeps are how the Darjeeling hills move. Ten seats, a fixed fare per seat and a departure when full: ₹250–400 from …
historyDarjeeling The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway storyThe Darjeeling Himalayan Railway climbs about 88 km from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling on 2 ft (610 mm) track, topping out at …
budgetDarjeeling Darjeeling on a budget: a good trip for lessA careful traveller can do Darjeeling for about ₹1,800–3,000 a person a day, indicative 2026. The savings come from shared jeeps instead …
Stories
From the hill post
Indians can reach Bhutan by road from Siliguri in 4–5 hours, crossing at Jaigaon into Phuentsholing. You need a free Entry Permit, shown with …
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is a 2-foot-gauge line of about 88 km from Siliguri to Darjeeling, opened in stages from 1880 and to Darjeeling …
Take a shared jeep for point-to-point transfers between towns when you travel light and in a group of one to three. Take a reserved …