Our story
Opened in a rented room in 2017 and still run by the people who started it
In 2016 a student in these hills watched travellers book the hills blind online while the drivers and guides who knew the roads waited for work, and began putting the two together. The company opened on 18 June 2017 from a rented room, and the family that started it still runs it.
The road so far
The whole story, with what changed in 2026
- 2016
- The idea, in college: put travellers in touch with the people who know the hills.
- 18 June 2017
- Darjeeling Trips opens.
- 2021
- The hundredth guest. The Trustpilot profile opens.
- 2022
- Beyond Darjeeling: Sikkim, Nepal and the road to Guwahati.
- 2023
- Estates, monasteries and family homes join the list we can call.
- 2026
- Relaunched as a private journey house for the Eastern Himalaya.
In full
Four things worth reading before you book
- Our storyHow the company began, what the 2026 relaunch changed about planning a journey, and what stayed exactly as it was.
- The people you will be speaking toWho answers at each stage of a journey, what the office does behind the plan, and what to expect from the drivers and guides.
- How we choose a houseThe questions asked of every house before it goes on a journey, three named examples with their faults, and when a house comes off the list.
- Leaving the hills betterSix practices kept on every journey, the reason behind each, and the journey where you can watch it happen.
Across the borders
Bhutan and Nepal: who is with you
Beyond India, the people beside you change at the border, because the rules and the roads do. The office does not: your plan stays with the designer who wrote it, and the same number answers 24x7, by phone or WhatsApp, in every country on the journey.
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In Bhutan, a licensed Bhutanese guide
Bhutan's Department of Tourism requires a certified guide with every tourist, Indian or not, at all times, and on a land crossing from the moment you go beyond the border town. Yours carries the permits and sees you back out at the end. On a road entry the land port needs the guide's registration 48 hours before you travel, so your border date is settled in advance rather than on the day.
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In Bhutan, a Bhutanese car and driver
Beyond the Rinchending checkpoint an Indian-registered car pays Nu 4,500 per vehicle per day in green tax, so at the gate your car from the hills hands over to a Bhutan-registered one, usually a Prado-class Land Cruiser with a Bhutanese driver, or a Hiace if you are five or six.
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In Nepal, a Nepali car and guide
Cars change at the Mechi bridge. A Nepal-registered car waits at Kakarbhitta, and a licensed Nepali guide travels with you in the Kathmandu valley. If you fly into Kathmandu instead, the Nepali car and guide meet you there.
The office
Where we work from
Our office is at Salbari, on Ambhadhura Road, in Darjeeling district near Siliguri. It stands in the plains at the foot of the hills, not in Darjeeling town, and there is no mountain outside the window.
What it has is position. Bagdogra airport is near Siliguri, and every road up starts from here: NH110 through Sukna, Tindharia and Kurseong to Darjeeling, the Rohini, Pankhabari and Mirik roads, and NH10 up the Teesta to Kalimpong and Sikkim. The Nepal border at Panitanki is 22 km from Bagdogra, and the road east through the Dooars reaches Jaigaon, the gate into Bhutan, about 162 km from the airport.
The hills are where the work is done. Our drivers and guides live up there, in the places they show you, and the contact page has the full address if you would like to meet us on your way through Siliguri.
The team
The people who plan it and the people who host it
Nobody here is a booking agent. Everyone below has driven the roads, slept in the houses and eaten at the tables we send you to.
Narendra Giri
Founder
Born in Darjeeling · started the company in 2017 from a rented room above the bazaar
Manish Giri
Co-founder & travel designer
Writes the field notes · designs most journeys personally
Gourav Giri
Co-founder & operations
Runs the drivers, houses and permits day to day
Purusottam Upadhaya
Co-founder & local experience lead
Monasteries, tea gardens and the walks between villages
Suman Barman
Chef
Cooks the Sikkimese and Nepali dinners we arrange in family homes
Guest words
What people say on the drive back
Every review below is on Trustpilot under the guest's own name, from guests who travelled with us before our 2026 relaunch. We have not edited them, only shortened a few.
As a girl I was a bit hesitant about my solo trip to somewhere in the hills, and then I came across Darjeeling Trips and decided to take a guided trip to explore Darjeeling and its offbeat locations. It was really fun getting to know Gourav, my guide, who had been extremely helpful.
What we went for was to seek peace and some time in nature, and that's what we totally got. The driver and guide Manish were very well behaved. Kudos to Darjeeling Trips for their great arrangements.
The whole tour has been a wonderful experience. I'm going to cherish all the lovely memories forever. A big thanks to Darjeeling Trips for arranging everything so nicely with such a genuine service.
Plan my journey
Tell us the month and we will do the rest
Four lines are enough to start: when, who, how to reach you, and the trip you picture.