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Wonderful Tea Plantations

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As difficult to believe as it may be, Darjeeling wasn’t always associated with tea. In 1835 the British acquired the 7,000ft high ridge on which it perches from the rulers of Sikkim as a sanatorium to revive colonial servants drained by the heat of the plains.

The retreat soon became a fashionable resort for British residents of Kolkata eager to gaze on Kanchenjunga, India’s highest peak. Tea arrived in the 1840s when Dr Campbell, a Scottish surgeon, planted bushes from China.

A flight to the east from Delhi brings you to Bagdogra the gateway to the Himalayas. The region is dotted with several gorgeous tea plantations where one can stay in beautiful, sympathetically restored bungalows. One of the most prominent ones is Glenburn Tea Estate. 

It’s an adventurous yet rewarding visit as you ascend even higher into the Himalayas to arrive a beautiful 150 year old working tea plantation. The road is rough but the scenery luscious – broadleaved teak trees, clumps of giant bamboo, neatly clipped tea bushes clinging to almost vertical slopes and waterfalls spilling down the hillside. Wild ginger and citronella scents the air.

In 1859 a Scottish tea company built the estate beside the river Rungeet beneath the five snowy peaks of the 28,000 foot Mount Kanchenjunga.  In recent years the Prakash tea planting family has lovingly restored the property recreating eight delightful suites in two colonial planters’ bungalows.

Staying here you feel that you have stepped back 100 years into the gentile world of a wealthy tea planter.  Stroll through the ornate french windows of your suite into a lovingly tended garden beside the river with breathtaking mountain views.  Each suite is uniquely decorated in pastel shades with white painted wood paneling, floral curtains and Toile de Jouy furnishing.

There are four poster beds made of Spanish mahogany, vases of fresh cut flowers, maps from the days of the East India Company and oriental rugs.  The chefs treat you to delicious Indian and European cuisine including treats from the family recipe book – chocolate brownies, tea leaf pakoras and Burmese Khow Suey.

The service is unobtrusive and impeccable, meal times are a delight – a mix of Nepali, essential Indian and continental flavoured with local grown herbs from their organic garden. You are treated to delectable fresh bakes including cakes, quiches and cookies spread over tea or picnic lunches.

Apart from the tea experience there are lots of activities on offer. Everything at Glenburn is unhurried and timed to perfection. A walk to the village Shikara Dura just below Glenburn is just an hour and half, a bird walk to the log cabin by the Rungeet River is 4 hours, a walk to the Majhitar Bridge from here is a 2 hour excursion. Even a short ride on the toy train can be arranged for you.

The 51-mile Darjeeling Himalayan Railway – nicknamed “the toy train” for its 2ft-wide gauge is pulled by blue Glasgow-built steam locomotives. Whistle blowing and soot and smoke billowing, the train rattles along at 6mph and though it is a familiar sight, children still run alongside and everyone, passengers and spectators alike, smile. It’s impossible not to.

 Yet none of this is to deter you from wanting to do your own thing, have a private meal, choose to avoid all activity and curl up by the verandah and read a book, opt for a late walk or request for a spa treatment. Everything is effortlessly co-ordination to suit your needs.


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As a guide, the cost of our extraordinary and utterly bespoke journeys tends to start from $1200 per person per day excluding international flights.

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