Sunrise at Tiger Hill Darjeeling

If your journey takes you to India on the most beautiful days of the year in September-October, a visit to Tiger Hill is a must. On your tour, you can visit the attraction of Darjeeling in West Bengal and climb the special mountain. Enveloped by fields of clouds and romantic serpentines, you can admire unique sunrise from Tiger Hill. And you can also catch a glimpse of Mount Everest. Experience fantastic views of the Kanchendzonga massif and enjoy the beautiful nature.

Dorje-ling – the “thunderbolt place” – is the name given to this place by the lamas of the Bhutia Busty monastery who settled near the Observatory hill in 1879, by phonetic assimilation with the name Taaji-lung used to designate the place by the indigenous Lepcha population.

Even if you arrive by the winding road or have taken the famous toy train to your destination, you will be awestruck by the splendor of nature. From the humid plains, you suddenly fill your tired lungs with the fresh mountain air. The streams gurgle and in spring, the mountains look as if they are on fire as they are covered with rhododendrons (flowers). The ethnic population is friendly and the influence of Buddhism is strong. Past the Batasia loop, the Buddhist 'Ghoom' monastery, along the lush tea gardens, you finally arrive at a quaint town with slanting red roofs between the recent blaze of concrete, peeping at you from behind tall pine trees.

Tiger Hill is 11 km south of Darjeeling. Tiger Hill is the highest point in Darjeeling. If you are visiting the area in summer/monsoon months, don't go there because you won't see anything. If you go on other dates, from here you can see Everest (8,848 m), Janu (7,710 m), Lhotse (8,501 m) and Makalu (8,475 m), just like that, at a glance.

The best time to go on the excursion is at dawn. You can book the trip with a local agency or arrange with a taxi driver to take you there. However, seeing the sunrise here is a matter of luck. Because it is sometimes cloudy and sometimes foggy.

Mufflers, scarves, woolen caps, monkey caps, heavy jackets and shivering people huddled together, patiently waiting for the first rays of the sun to emerge, is a common sight. Watching the sunrise on the horizon from Darjeeling will leave memories in your heart that will last forever. With the beautiful orange color of the rising sun, you can also see a panoramic picture of the majestic Kanchenjunga.

Many tourists go there to enjoy the view and you can also meet many locals like newlywed couples who come to have a photo shoot in an extraordinary setting. It must be said, this hill has something to amaze more than one. Located 13 km from Darjeeling at an altitude of 2590 m, Tiger Hill offers an exceptional panorama of Kanchenjunga and the magnificent mountains of the eastern Himalayas . You can even see Mount Everest ! We recommend going there at dusk or sunset.

Early in the morning we go up to Tiger Hill to watch the sunrise over the mountains. There is no one on the road and even up there there are only us, enjoying in silence a great spectacle of nature that is difficult to tear yourself away from, really.

I have read many stories about sunrise at Tiger Hill in many novels. The picture of Darjeeling city was also painted in this way.

According to experts, visiting Agra and not seeing the Taj Mahal is as much a crime as Darjeeling and not seeing the sunrise at Tiger Hill. So we climbed into the car somehow giving a shivering thumb to the bone-chilling early morning cold. It was ten to four before we were ready. After getting into the car, the car ran through the darkness, fog and cold. The driver said that many people rushed towards Tiger Hill with the car before 3:30. I understand that whenever the sun rises, there is a system to watch the sunrise on a first-come, first-served basis.

We ran towards Tiger Hill. Reached there saw rows of cars. Our car was parked long before the specified point. We quickly headed for the high point, from where the sunrise could be seen. I went there and saw that there was no place. In this crowd we stood in the north-west corner. Most of the audience is Bengali and they are carrying camera-mobiles with a suspicious look. It's not sunrise, it's like a tiger will come. Everyone is ready to see who will see the scene first.

Excitement started after seeing the light in the sky. Many people tried to push forward with mobile cameras. At first we saw no beauty except the heads of people. Later, however, we also took the place by force. At the moment of sunrise we focused on the peak of Kanchenjunga. It is an indescribable sight.

I saw the sunrise at Tiger Hill, so clear I can't even imagine now. Because the sun doesn't always rise like that, I was lucky enough to see it. As the sun rose little by little, it seemed as if it had suddenly leaped to perfection. Just like a ball of fire, shaking randomly and it looked like someone was playing with the ball of fire. It looked like someone was trying to shape it round. There is no comparison to the gentle form of that ray of light.

The images are taken in sequence, from the moment before sunrise to the moment after. One thing that was not captured in the frame was that Kanchanjunga was visible on the other side. And its beauty after the golden glow of the sun falls on its peak. It's a matter of luck to see something so beautiful!

It is good to mention here that a warmth spread in the midst of severe winter as soon as the sun appeared, who will take a picture first and it is an ultimate do-or-die situation. As the sun's rays touched the summit of Kanchanjunga, the crowd hooted in unison, the shrill sound filling the dawn hills. Almost everyone screamed, tears pouring from the eyes of some madmen like me. Everyone is busy taking selfies.

Don't forget the moment before the sun rises, everyone is watching and waiting. Miraculously peeped out, I have no words to describe the expression of people at that time.

When the sun's light fell on the peak of Kanchajungha, it was filled with red glow. Slowly the white snow mountains turned into golden mountains. Numerous worshipers began to pay obeisance to the rising sun god on the top of the hill. Many people were busy using binoculars to see Kanchenjunga, Himalayas, Sikkim, Nepal border and other mountains from Tiger Hill for just 30 rupees.

Don't forget the moment before the sun rises, everyone is watching and waiting. Miraculously peeked, the language to describe the expression of people at that time is really unknown to me! I have read many stories about sunrise at Tiger Hill in many novels. Now I witnessed it myself. We were lucky to see such a clear sunrise. As the sun rose little by little, it seemed as if it had suddenly leaped to perfection. Just like a ball of fire, shaking randomly and it looked like someone was playing with the ball of fire. It looked like someone was trying to shape it round. There is no comparison to the gentle form of that ray of light.

In the midst of this commotion, the eyes fell on the northern corner of the hill. No one is looking back. On one side of the mountain there is great commotion and the joy of seeing the sun, the other side is quiet and lonely. I stood there and looked down - the sunlight was entering a small mountain village far away.

A few huts, some small fields - that's all the existence of the village. Maybe a gathering of less than a hundred inhabitants. There is no rush, no competition, just quiet, relaxed being. There is also a sunrise, but that sunrise has no popularity, no fame, no celebration.

Here anyone can watch the sunrise from that little village – no planning, no pre-planning, no waiting required. Perhaps the light of a camera's flash had never been directed towards him. What is the name of the village? No one asked. Its name is not known. Along with the golden glow of sunlight in Kanchenjunga, I could witness the dawn of an unnamed hill village.

Near the village that stands just opposite to fame and light, I left the worth of waking up with the alarm in the morning, I left an album of hidden sighs!

Photos are plentiful up here, alone and in groups. And we will take even more on the Toy Train, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), a UNESCO heritage site, where we are about to board.

When you walk up and down its narrow streets, explore its tea fields, visit its temples, take the legendary train for a ride of a couple of hours and taste several of its magnificent teas, you will want to stay in this pleasant city for several days. But if one day, you set your alarm for 5 in the morning, take a hot milky tea to the roof of your hotel, and watch the first rays of sunlight illuminate the summit of Kangchenjunga, with its 8,598 meters the third highest mountain on earth, then, at that moment, my friend, you will fall in love with Darjeeling for life.

The mountain is very mysterious. A little while ago we were walking in the bright sun. Suddenly the surroundings became dark. Suddenly, a group of black clouds appeared with a signal of danger. The cold wind started blowing.

Please note: for all hiking and trekking enthusiasts, the town of Darjeeling is an excellent starting point for venturing towards the first peaks of the Himalayas!