Darjeeling and Kalimpong, 22 to 26 December
Carols in Nepali, plum cake from Glenary's, fires in the rooms and the driest skies of the year: four nights over Christmas, two in Darjeeling and two in Kalimpong.
Photo: Soumyojit Sinha / Pexels
How it came
Christmas came up these hills with the British planters of the 1840s and the Scottish missionaries who followed from 1870, and it stayed. St Andrew's, the town's oldest church, dates from 1843 and finished its restoration in December 2025.
Photo: Amit Mondol / Unsplash
Chowrasta, 22 December
The Mall is strung with lights. On 22 December 2025 the district held its first carol festival on Chowrasta, with choirs from St Columba's, St Andrew's, the Cathedral Church and CNI Darjeeling. A 2026 edition is not yet announced.
Photo: Abhinav Kumar
Nehru Road
Glenary's, opened around 1885 as Vado, a confectioner's, steeps its Christmas plum cake in liquor for two months and sells it only over the counter in the season. Its currant loaf suits anyone too young for the liquor.
Photo: Krishnendu Biswas / Pexels
Kalimpong, Christmas Eve
St Teresa's at 8th Mile was drawn by a Swiss priest, Mgr Aurelius Gianora, and blessed in 1951. He carved the Last Supper and the altar himself, and a Buddhist craftsman carved its apostles in the robes of Tibetan monks.
Photo: Unsplash
Christmas morning
Macfarlane Memorial Church opened on 1 November 1891. The Christmas service is in Nepali and the carol tunes are ones you already know; the hour changes each year and is fixed with the church in early December.
Photo: Harsh Mangalam / Unsplash
At the table
Christian families in the hills fry sel roti beside the roast, and send tangerines, fried snacks and plum cake to neighbors of other faiths. Ask the hotel kitchen early, and a hill dish can join your Christmas lunch.
Photo: Anil Kumar / Pexels
Late December weather
Darjeeling nights run about 3 to 4 °C (37 to 39 °F) and days about 14 °C (57 °F), with frost possible at dawn. Kalimpong, at 1,247 m (4,090 ft), is milder, about 9 to 18 °C (48 to 64 °F). Snow in the towns is uncommon.
Photo: Ali Hasan Bin Gursain / Unsplash
When to be here
The towns stay calm until Christmas Day and fill in the week after, so the days just before are the ones to be here. The MAYFAIR in Kalimpong has only seven Heritage Rooms with fireplaces, which is reason enough to write early.
Photo: SUDARSHAN LOHAR / Unsplash