Darjeeling or Kalimpong
Two hill towns face each other across the Teesta, 55 km and about 2.5 hours apart by road. They suit different trips, and the difference starts with about 800 m (2,620 ft) of altitude.
Photo: Mriganshu Pal / Pexels
Darjeeling, 2,045 m (6,710 ft)
Darjeeling has the tea estates, the steam railway and Kanchenjunga, 8,586 m (28,170 ft), over the rooftops on a clear morning. It also has the crowds that come with them, colder nights in older rooms, and a famous sunrise that asks for a 04:00 start.
Photo: Ali Hasan Bin Gursain / Unsplash
Kalimpong, 1,247 m (4,090 ft)
Kalimpong's history is Bhutanese, Tibetan, Scottish and Swiss rather than British planter. Monasteries, nurseries, a market day and two missions' churches: nothing here asks for a pre-dawn start or a queue.
Photo: Mosharraf Hossain / Unsplash
January nights
January nights average about 7 °C (45 °F) in Kalimpong and about 2 °C (36 °F) on the Darjeeling ridge, where many older buildings have no central heating. For parents who feel the cold, that gap matters more than any view.
Photo: Nilendra Jyoti Halder / Pexels
Slopes and stairs
Darjeeling's Chowrasta is closed to all vehicles and the Mall rises from every car stop. Kalimpong is gentler, though its old houses have stairs and few elevators: ask for ground-floor rooms and outings the car can reach close to the door.
Photo: Soumalya Halder / Pexels
How long
Darjeeling is about 70 km and 3 hours from Bagdogra (IXB) and wants 3 to 4 nights; Kalimpong is about 80 km and 3 hours away and wants 2 to 3. Both are clearest from October to December, with March and April for tea and gardens.
Photo: Unsplash
Our answer
The two ridges face each other, so most weeks take both: Darjeeling first while everyone is fresh, then Kalimpong, warmer and slower, for the end. With three or four nights, let the coldest traveler and the wish for tea and steam decide.
Photo: Boudhayan Bardhan / Unsplash