Lovers Meet viewpoint and the Peshok climb

The road from Teesta Bazaar to Darjeeling crosses the Teesta and climbs west in tight bends through the Peshok tea gardens. A few kilometres up, roadside viewpoints look down on the place where the Rangeet flows into the Teesta. Locals call the view Lovers Meet, after the two rivers coming together. On a clear morning you see both valleys and the hills of Sikkim beyond.

There is little at the viewpoints beyond railings, a few tea stalls and space to park, so plan 15–20 minutes at each. The tea gardens around Peshok are working estates; you can stop at the roadside for photographs, but do not walk into the bushes or pick leaves. Further up, the road reaches Lamahatta and then Ghum and Darjeeling. Tea stalls at the viewpoints sell milk tea and packaged Darjeeling tea, but buy from a proper estate outlet if you want good leaf.

If you are travelling from Kalimpong to Darjeeling, this costs nothing extra; just ask your driver to stop. As a return trip from Teesta Bazaar it takes under two hours. Mornings are clearest. In the monsoon the viewpoints are often in cloud and the road can be hit by landslides, so check current status before you travel. Shared jeeps between Kalimpong and Darjeeling use this road too, but will not stop for photographs, so a reserved car is better here.