Darjeeling

Famed throughout India and beyond for its verdant  beauty and its namesake railway, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Darjeeling perhaps needs little introduction. Lonely Planet’s top pick in India, this archetypal Himalayan town is dotted with colonial buildings, Buddhist monasteries, and temples, and is wrapped on all sides by tea-plantations. Darjeeling has a sizeable Buddhist population; hence Buddhist monasteries abound in this lush and invigorating hill-resort. So, when one is not marvelling at the beauty of the Mount Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world and the treat of Darjeeling, one can explore these monasteries and tea-plantations, watching the local women pick tea-leaves with perfect agility.  Darjeeling tea is internationally recognized and ranks among the most popular of aromatic black teas. Students will take short trips to all spots of interest including the Mountaineering Institute the Observatory Hill, the mall which is the town center and witness sunrise on Kangchenjunga, from the Tiger Hill. In addition to this we will take students to visit a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, an ancient temple and a renowned tea plantation watch the orthodox methods that are still employed to extract and process tea. The students will also have the opportunity to visit the Tibetan Refugee Self Help Center, a rehabilitation center for Tibetan refugees in Darjeeling.