Children and three generations
Built for the youngest and the eldest
For families with children, grandparents or both: short drives, early suppers, rooms chosen for the ages in the car, and no bed higher than about 2,130 m.
- 7private journeys
In short
What is the best Darjeeling and Sikkim itinerary for families with children?
The Hills with Children, for most families: built for ages six to fourteen, sleeping in two towns no higher than 2,045 m, with each day shaped round one thing children point at. Three Generations suits a party with grandparents, or a child under six, and keeps its highest bed at about 1,480 m. For Sikkim and a high lake take Sikkim for Families, once every child is six or older.
Choose by the youngest and the oldest in the car, then by how much road you will accept. The five journeys in West Bengal sleep no higher than Darjeeling and need no permit of any kind. The two in Sikkim begin with about four and a half hours up the Teesta to Gangtok, and The First Time adds two high mornings, which is why we suggest it for children over eight.
Size decides the cars. Most of these journeys carry up to six guests in one car. Three Generations runs two cars for four to nine, and Christmas in the Hills puts a larger family in two.
Holidays set the month, and the calendar below matches each school break to a journey. Passports set the paperwork. In West Bengal an Indian visa is enough, and Bagdogra is an e-Visa arrival airport. For Sikkim, foreign and OCI guests need the state's permit, filed online through e-FRRO before reaching the state, about 30 days ahead; Tsomgo needs two or more foreign guests together, and Nathu La, on The First Time, is for Indian citizens only.
Food is rarely the difficulty it seems. Spice levels and allergies go to each kitchen in writing before you land, and vegetarian families do especially well on Sikkim for Families, whose Pelling house cooks only vegetarian.
What children remember
Red pandas, steam and a rhino
Red pandas at the Darjeeling zoo: go at the 08:30 opening, and never on a ThursdayMudit Agarwal / Unsplash The steam joy ride, which calls at the Batasia Loop: a child under five rides free on a lap 
A greater one-horned rhino on open grass: Jaldapara's open jeeps run between November and AprilRegan Dsouza / Pexels
Choose by
Seven journeys, side by side
| Starts in | Best months | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Toy Train Weekend | 3 | Kurseong | About 3 h | October to December, March to May | ₹85,000 |
| Christmas in the Hills | 4 | Darjeeling | About 3 h | 22 to 26 December | ₹90,000 |
| The First Time: Darjeeling and Sikkim | 8 | Gangtok | About 5 h | October to early December, March to May | ₹1,75,000 |
| The Hills with Children | 6 | Darjeeling | About 3 h | March to May, October to mid December | ₹1,10,000 |
| Three Generations | 7 | Kurseong (Makaibari) | About 3.5 h | October to mid December, March to April | ₹1,50,000 |
| Sikkim for Families | 6 | Gangtok | About 5.5 h | March to May, October to early December | ₹95,000 |
| Rhinos and Tea | 5 | Jaldapara (Dooars) | About 5 h | November to April | ₹90,000 |
Railway short break
3 nights
The Toy Train Weekend
Kurseong1Darjeeling2
Three nights on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway: Kurseong's morning train, then a steam train of your own.
Christmas journey
4 nights
Christmas in the Hills
Darjeeling2Kalimpong2
Carols in Nepali, plum cake from Glenary's, fires in the rooms and the clearest skies of the year.
Signature journey
8 nights
The First Time: Darjeeling and Sikkim
Gangtok3Pelling2Darjeeling3
Gangtok, Pelling, then Darjeeling: the high lake while you are fresh, the mountain close, the airport near.
Family journey
6 nights
The Hills with Children
Darjeeling3Kalimpong3
Red pandas at opening time, a steam engine and a cactus house: six nights, and no drive over three hours
Grandparents to grandchildren
7 nights
Three Generations
Kurseong (Makaibari)4Kalimpong3
Two warm, low bases, a lift and a briefed doctor, and one thing for every age to carry home
Family journey
6 nights
Sikkim for Families
Gangtok3Ravangla1Pelling2
Red pandas, a ropeway over a high lake, a tea garden and a copper Buddha, in days built around children.
Family wildlife journey
5 nights
Rhinos and Tea
Jaldapara (Dooars)2Kalimpong1Darjeeling2
One-horned rhinos at dawn in Jaldapara, then up through the tea to Kalimpong and Darjeeling
School holidays
Which school holiday, which journey
Four breaks, four answers. Festival dates are for 2026.
- Oct
- Dasara and the Puja breakDarjeeling, Kalimpong and Sikkim
The skies clear as the hills keep Dashain, from Ghatasthapana on 11 October to the Tika day on 21 October, with Durga Puja in the same weeks. The Hills with Children and Sikkim for Families both suit it. Railway seats open on IRCTC 60 days before the date of travel, at 08:00 IST, and Kurseong's first class goes in minutes in these weeks.
- Dasara and the Puja breakDarjeeling, Kalimpong and Sikkim
- Nov
- Diwali, kept in the hills as TiharDarjeeling and Kalimpong
Tihar falls from 7 to 11 November, with Laxmi Puja on 8 November. Of these seven journeys, The Hills with Children and Three Generations both run through it, and November is the driest month on the Kalimpong ridge, averaging under 5 mm. These are the fullest weeks of the year in the hill towns, so write early.
- Diwali, kept in the hills as TiharDarjeeling and Kalimpong
- Dec
- ChristmasDarjeeling and Kalimpong
Only one of these journeys runs to fixed dates, and it is Christmas in the Hills, 22 to 26 December, so the flights come before anything else. Three Generations and The Hills with Children both run to mid December for families who would rather miss the festive week. After that we would keep young children out of Sikkim until March.
- ChristmasDarjeeling and Kalimpong
- May
- Summer holidaysDarjeeling, Kalimpong and Sikkim
Warmer and hazier, and the Indian school holidays fill the hill towns from May. The Hills with Children, Sikkim for Families and The Toy Train Weekend all run to the end of May; Rhinos and Tea ends in April, when the parks close. None of these journeys runs from mid June to mid September.
- Summer holidaysDarjeeling, Kalimpong and Sikkim
Before you book
Stairs, heights and car seats
Hill cars carry no car seats: bring a light booster, or ask us to find one in Siliguri. Permits for Tsomgo and North Sikkim are issued only to children above five, so a child of five or younger stays in Gangtok with one adult that morning.
| Journey | Highest bed | Highest point by day | Built for | Steps and rooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Toy Train Weekend | Darjeeling, 2,045 m | Ghum, 2,258 m | Children of five and over, and grandparents | Small first-class coaches; the car follows the train, so anyone tired can leave at a station |
| The Hills with Children | Darjeeling, 2,045 m | Ghum, 2,258 m | Ages six to fourteen | The zoo climbs a steep hillside; each house has one Family Room with joined bedrooms |
| Christmas in the Hills | The Windamere, about 2,130 m | Ghum, 2,258 m | Young children and three generations | A Superior room is what we book: the Windamere's Preferred rooms take no extra bed |
| Three Generations | Kurseong, about 1,480 m | Ghum, 2,258 m, for part of one day | Grandparents from their late sixties to their eighties | Rooms on one floor near the lift at Taj Chia Kutir; cottages on the main grounds in Kalimpong |
| Rhinos and Tea | Darjeeling, 2,045 m | Ghum, 2,258 m | Children over five | Two nights at 103 m in the Dooars first; open jeeps from 06:00, and no safaris on Thursdays |
| Sikkim for Families | Ravangla, about 2,000 m | Tsomgo Lake, 3,753 m | Ages six to fourteen | A torch for the garden paths at Barfung; the Pelling duplex sleeps six |
| The First Time | The Windamere, about 2,130 m | Tsomgo, 3,753 m; Nathu La, 4,310 m, Indian passports only | Children over eight | Monastery steps; a main-building room at Pelling if the cottage path is too steep |
Questions
Three questions about family journeys
Darjeeling or Sikkim for a first family trip?
Darjeeling and Kalimpong, if it is the children's first time in the hills. The Hills with Children keeps every drive inside three hours, needs no permit for any passport, and drops about 800 m to Kalimpong for a warmer, slower second half. Sikkim for Families adds Gangtok's ropeways, Pelling's glass skywalk and a morning at Tsomgo Lake, but its first and last days are its longest on the road, and the lake is closed to children of five and under. Choose it when every child is six or older.
Which family journey works with a child under five?
Christmas in the Hills or Three Generations. The first asks for no dawn start unless you want one, stays in West Bengal, and the Windamere charges nothing for children up to five in their parents' room. The second sets no age floor at all, keeps no drive over 3.5 hours, and has a lift or a level room in both houses. On any of these roads children under three find the hairpins and cold nights hard, and the two Sikkim journeys are out for a child of five or younger.
Which journey suits a grandparent and a young child together?
Three Generations, for most such families. Its highest bed is the lowest of these journeys, at Kurseong, about 1,480 m; it asks every house for a room near a lift or at ground level, carries a folding wheelchair on request, and briefs a doctor in each town on your family's notes. In December, Christmas in the Hills is the gentler choice, with Kalimpong's milder nights. We would not choose The First Time for anyone unsteady on their feet: its high mornings reach 3,753 m, and 4,310 m for Indian passports.
Plan my journey
Which of these seven fits your dates?
Four lines are enough to start: when, who, how to reach you, and the trip you picture.
- Journeys
- 7
- Length
- 3 to 8 nights
- From
- ₹85,000 per person