Glenburn Tea Estate Stay, 7 Nights

In short

Is One Estate, Seven Days right for you?

One Estate, Seven Days is a private seven-night stay at Glenburn Tea Estate, a working Darjeeling garden above the Rangeet, with nothing to pack until the last morning. The estate's own car brings you the three hours from Bagdogra (IXB), and one night of the week is spent in its log cabin by the river.

Made forcouples who want to stop moving, readers, walkers and birdwatchers, tea and food lovers, honeymooners who prefer one house to three and travellers ending a longer trip in India.

Not for you ifAnyone who wants a new view each day, Tiger Hill at dawn or a run of monasteries should choose The First Time or Kanchenjunga at First Light; if a week feels long, Two Nights on a Tea Estate is the short version.

Most itineraries in these hills are a sequence of check-outs. This one has a single check-in. Glenburn is a tea garden on a spur above two rivers, the Rangeet and the Rung Dung, with some 1,000 acres of its own forest. A Scottish company planted it in 1859, and the third and fourth generations of a Kolkata tea-planting family run it now. It has eight suites, a factory that works through the plucking season, a kitchen garden, a library, and forest running down to a log cabin at the water.

A week lets the estate stop being a visit. You learn which bend of the track the jeep waits at, which guide knows the birds, and what time the mailman brings the newspaper down from Darjeeling. The river is the heart of it: a picnic on the sand of the Rung Dung, a night by lantern where it meets the Rangeet, redstarts on the stones at seven. Between them come long lunches, a book by the fire, and nobody asking you to be anywhere at 06:00.

Designed in the Darjeeling hills by the Darjeeling Trips team · Updated September 2026

Length: 7 nights, 8 days
Starts and ends: Bagdogra airport to Bagdogra airport
Best months: October to December, February to April
Avoid: mid June to mid September (monsoon), although the estate stays open
Pace: Gentle
Longest drive: About 3.5 hours, 252 km in all
Highest point: Ghum, on the optional Darjeeling day, 2,258 m
Group: Private, 2 to 4 guests

The route

Glenburn Tea Estate, 7 nights

The order follows the estate's own rhythm. The factory comes first, on day 2, because the tour is held in the morning while the machines run, and it explains everything you see afterwards in the fields. The kitchen follows while you are still settling. The river night falls midweek, when your legs are used to the slopes and the walk down is a relaxed half day. The Ramitay Daara climb and the Darjeeling day come last, when you know the paths and can choose between them.

your bases, in orderby roadborders not drawn

Where the nights go

7Glenburn Tea Estate

Read the place guidesDarjeeling

The shape of the journey

From 126 m to 2,258 m, day by day

You sleep between 245 m and 985 m. The highest you go is 2,258 m, on day 7 at Ghum, on the optional Darjeeling day, and you come down again to sleep.

500 m1,000 m1,500 m2,000 m 1,370 m985 m2,258 m1,370 m

Arrive126 m
Day 1985 m
Day 2985 m
Day 3985 m
Day 4245 m
Day 5985 m
Day 6985 m
Day 7985 m
Day 8126 m

Built around

Glenburn Tea Estate at its best

Lunch on the sand of the Rung Dung at No. 10 Bamboo Grove, reached through a thicket of bamboo
A night by lantern in the estate's two-room log cabin on the Rangeet, 740 m below the bungalows
A cookery class at the open kitchen with herbs you picked, and a family recipe left behind
A picnic among the top tea fields at Ramitay Daara, facing the Kanchenjunga range
One optional day in Darjeeling, home by the jeep track past the open-eyed Buddha of Badamtam
Seven nights in one suite, and nothing to pack until the last morning

Day by day

Day by day in Glenburn Tea Estate

The longest drive is day 7, a round trip from Glenburn Tea Estate, about 3.5 hours with stops, and 2 days have no drive at all.

01
Day 1 · Bagdogra airport Glenburn Tea Estate

The estate car, a hamper tea, and the Rung Dung Suite
- 85 km, about 3 h
- High point 1,370 m
- Sleep at 985 m
- Easy
The estate sends its own car and driver to the arrivals exit at Bagdogra, since the transfer is part of Glenburn's rate; we give the office your flight number the evening before and track the landing ourselves. The road follows the Teesta up through the Sevoke gorge, then climbs the Peshok Road through tea before the estate's own stony track drops you towards the bungalows. On the way the driver pulls in at a viewpoint and pours tea from a picnic hamper, a stop the estate's week-long package builds in. You reach the Burra Bungalow around 15:30. Unpack everything, because nothing moves again for a week. Your suite is the Rung Dung, in the Water Lily Bungalow, with a day bed and a desk in its sit-out and Darjeeling on the ridge above. At 19:30, drinks by the Living Room fire, then dinner by candlelight at the long table with whoever else is staying.

The momentTea poured into porcelain cups from the estate's hamper at a roadside viewpoint, the Teesta green far below.

InsiderThe estate's mailman carries the newspaper down from Darjeeling every day except Sundays and holidays; it reaches the bungalow by late afternoon. Set your week by that.

If the weather turnsIf a slide closes NH10, the estate's driver takes the hill road instead: up through Kurseong beside the toy train track to Ghum, then down to the estate from above.

Tonight
Glenburn Tea Estate, Glenburn Tea Estate

Meals
Dinner
02
Day 2 · Glenburn Tea Estate

The factory by morning, the Rung Dung by noon
- 3 km, about 0.5 h
- High point 985 m
- Sleep at 985 m
- Moderate
Bed tea at 07:00 and breakfast at 07:45. At 08:30 the factory, an unhurried hour while the machines run, ending at the tasting table with the estate's four teas. Then the walk that is the point of the day. A guide leads you down through the sections, stopping wherever the pluckers are working, and on through the lower fields where springs seep across the path. Below the last bushes the track enters thick bamboo, dim and cool after the open slope, and comes out on a bank of pale sand beside the Rung Dung: No. 10 Bamboo Grove, the estate's own riverside picnic ground. Lunch is laid out on the sand, the river loud and cold beside it. Take your shoes off, find a rock pool, and stay as long as the afternoon allows; nobody is waiting for you anywhere. The jeep comes down for you at 15:00. From December until the first flush in late February there is no plucking on the way down, and the guide shows you pruning instead.

The momentYour feet in a rock pool of the Rung Dung at No. 10 Bamboo Grove, lunch on the sand and the bamboo thicket at your back.

InsiderWatercress grows in the springs of the lower fields, with small crabs under the stones. Pick a bunch on the way down and hand it to the guide for the kitchen.

If the weather turnsIf rain sets in, the jeep collects you from the fields and lunch is served in the Morning Room at the end of the Front Verandah.

Tonight
Glenburn Tea Estate, Glenburn Tea Estate

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
03
Day 3 · Glenburn Tea Estate

Herbs from the garden, a recipe left behind
- 4 km, about 0.5 h
- High point 985 m
- Sleep at 985 m
- Easy
A late start: breakfast whenever you like between 07:00 and 11:00. At 10:30 we have asked the gardener to walk you through the kitchen garden, where the Italian herbs and salad leaves for your meals grow, and you pick what goes into lunch. The cooks keep an open kitchen, so the class is simply a place at their counter: tea-leaf pakoras, Tibetan momos, and Burmese khow suey if you ask. Bring a family recipe; the estate cooks it, names it after you and serves it to guests who come later. After lunch, the Living Room: books on the birds and butterflies of the estate, and contour maps of Glenburn and Sikkim surveyed by the British in 1932. At 16:00 walk down to Shikari Dura village as the pickers come home, taste pickles at the village shop and watch a game of carom. A car waits at the bottom for the climb back.

The momentThe estate's cooks trying your family recipe at their counter, with a promise to put your name on it.

InsiderShikari Dura's government school is supported by the estate's welfare trust, and its after-school reading library welcomes books; pack one or two you have finished.

If the weather turnsIf it rains, the cookery class runs longer and the village walk becomes a board game on the Front Verandah, from the cabinet outside the Planters' Suite.

Tonight
Glenburn Tea Estate, Glenburn Tea Estate

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
04
Day 4 · Glenburn Tea Estate The Glenburn Lodge

Down through Simbong to a log cabin on the Rangeet
- High point 985 m
- Sleep at 245 m
- Moderate
Pack a small overnight bag after breakfast; the staff take it down by jeep. At 09:30 the naturalist leads you past the factory, through Bora Gaon village and into the Simbong Tea Division, past the Sim Jhora waterfall and down the forest track. It is all downhill, from 985 m at the bungalow to about 245 m at the river, and takes 1.5 to 4 hours depending on the route; a jeep is never far if knees complain. Lunch is by the cabin on the Rangeet. The afternoon belongs to the river: paddle in the one marked pool, play croquet on the sand, or fish for trout from October to March with a ghillie and the estate's tackle. At dusk a bonfire, then dinner by lantern on the netted verandah. The Glenburn Lodge is simple and says so: two rooms, cold running water, hot water by the bucket, kerosene lamps, a hot-water bottle in the bed.

The momentDinner by kerosene lantern on the Lodge verandah, the Rangeet loud in the dark and Sikkim a black shape on the far bank.

InsiderThere are no mosquitoes up at the bungalows, but midges bite by the river at some times of year; put repellent in the overnight bag before you leave, not after.

If the weather turnsIf the Lodge is taken, the river rises or you would rather not rough it, you spend the day at the river and the jeep brings you up to the bungalow for dinner.

Tonight
The Glenburn Lodge, Glenburn Tea Estate, Glenburn Tea Estate

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
05
Day 5 · The Glenburn Lodge Glenburn Tea Estate

Redstarts at seven, a green tea soak by three
- 12 km, about 1 h
- High point 985 m
- Sleep at 985 m
- Easy
Tea is brought to your bed at first light, and the river is the only sound. At 07:00 walk the bank with the naturalist: cormorants drying their wings on the rocks, plumbeous water redstarts flicking from stone to stone, wild geese in some seasons and, with luck, a hornbill crossing the valley. A hot breakfast at the campsite at 08:30, and a last paddle if the morning is warm. At 10:30 you follow the flat forest track for 20 minutes to the Glenburn-Badamtam bridge, where tea and nimboo pani are waiting, and the jeep climbs back to the Burra Bungalow by noon. The afternoon is for recovery. At 15:00 comes the estate's green tea oil massage, then reflexology, your feet first soaked in fresh mint and chamomile. Dinner away from the long table if you prefer, and an early night under the electric blanket.

The momentA plumbeous water redstart flicking from stone to stone at 07:00, and the Rangeet the only other thing moving.

InsiderThe staff mark one safe stretch of water at the far left of the camp; beyond it the current is strong and there is quicksand, so stay inside their line.

If the weather turnsIf the river runs high or cold, breakfast moves onto the Lodge verandah and the jeep collects you at the cabin, skipping the forest walk.

Tonight
Glenburn Tea Estate, Glenburn Tea Estate

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
06
Day 6 · Glenburn Tea Estate

Ramitay Daara: a school, two villages and the range
- High point 1,200 m
- Sleep at 985 m
- Moderate
At 08:45 set off on foot past the factory and up the main street of Bora Gaon village, timed to reach the Glenburn Primary School for morning assembly at 09:00; guest gifts to the estate's welfare programme repaired its roof, and visitors are welcome. The track climbs on, never steeply, through Bhalukop village, where many of the bungalow staff live, past a small Catholic church and out into the top tea fields. At about 10:30 you reach Ramitay Daara, and a sit-down picnic is laid among the bushes, facing the Kanchenjunga range with the bungalows far below. Stay as long as you like. The guide offers a different path down, about 45 minutes, or a jeep waits five minutes' walk from the site. The afternoon is empty on purpose: the Front Verandah, a novel from the library, and tea whenever you ask for it.

The momentLunch laid out between the tea bushes at Ramitay Daara, the snows standing above the valley and your bungalow small and far below.

InsiderThe school keeps its own term calendar, and in holidays there is no assembly; we check dates with the estate before we set the 08:45 start.

If the weather turnsIf cloud hides the range, we keep the school and the villages, bring lunch back to the bungalow and try the top fields again on the morning of day 7.

Tonight
Glenburn Tea Estate, Glenburn Tea Estate

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
07
Day 7 · Glenburn Tea Estate

The one day out: Darjeeling, and home by Badamtam
- 63 km, about 3.5 h
- High point 2,258 m
- Sleep at 985 m
- Easy
Only if you want it. At 09:00 the estate car climbs 28 km to Darjeeling in about 75 minutes, with an expert town guide whom the estate charges separately and we book. First the joy ride from Darjeeling to Ghum, at 2,258 m, and back, about two hours in first class, steam if the railway has an engine on the late-morning path. Then, after a week with the estate's bird list, the Bengal Natural History Museum, founded in 1903 and now in the grounds of the zoo: specimens of more than 400 species of birds, 110 of their eggs, and over 600 butterflies and moths. Lunch at Glenary's at 13:30. At 15:00 the estate's jeep takes the back way home through the Ging and Badamtam gardens, stopping at the Buddha of Badamtam, 14 feet of metal with its eyes open to the snows. Home by 18:00 for a bath and a last dinner at the long table.

The momentThe Buddha of Badamtam, eyes open to the snows, as the jeep turns for home through the late tea.

InsiderThe sculptor left the Badamtam Buddha's eyes open, reasoning that anyone enlightened in a place this beautiful would look up; ask the guide how it was carried there.

If the weather turnsIf you would rather stay, the estate takes you to the Cluny Sisters' convent school and orange orchard, then Gorkhay Daara viewpoint, back for lunch. The zoo grounds close on Thursdays, so the museum never falls on one.

Tonight
Glenburn Tea Estate, Glenburn Tea Estate

Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
08
Day 8 · Glenburn Tea Estate Bagdogra airport

One more cup on the balcony, then the road down
- 85 km, about 3 h
- High point 1,370 m
- Easy
A final bed tea at 07:00 on your balcony, facing the range if the sky has held. Breakfast at 07:30, with toast and the estate's fine-cut orange marmalade. Only the bar bill is left to settle, because we have already paid the massages, the fishing and the train. Buy tea and marmalade at the Glenburn Shop the evening before, so nothing is rushed this morning. The estate car leaves at 08:30, up the rough track and down the Peshok Road to the Teesta, and reaches Bagdogra around 11:30 for flights after 13:00. At 06:30 our team in the hills checks NH10 and tells your driver which way to go before you sit down to breakfast. There is no check-out hour to race: the estate works to your transfer time. If the week has done its work, you will not look at your phone until Sevoke.

The momentThe last cup on the balcony at 07:00, and one more long look at the range before the car comes round.

InsiderThe Rung Dung Suite's balconies face Darjeeling on its ridge. Look out from one on your last evening, when the town's lights may be coming on across the valley.

If the weather turnsIf NH10 is shut below Teesta Bazaar, the car leaves at 07:30 and descends by Ghum and Kurseong instead; we tell you at dinner the night before.

Tonight
Homeward

Meals
Breakfast

Where you will stay

Where you sleep, one house

Glenburn Tea Estate. Prefer a different house on any night? Say which and we re-price it.

The Burra Bungalow at Glenburn, with the lawn laid for tea.A. J. T. Johnsingh, WWF-India and NCF, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

7 nights
Glenburn Tea Estate

Glenburn Tea Estate (Darjeeling district)

A working estate of 1859 with only eight suites, all meals and estate guides included, and enough forest, river and village for a week.

Ask for The Rung Dung Suite, Water Lily Bungalow, for six nights, and one night at The Glenburn Lodge by the river
- WarmthTwo of the four suites in the Burra Bungalow have fireplaces.
- BathroomThree of the four Burra Bungalow bathrooms have free standing bathtubs and all four have a walk in rain shower; the Water Lily Bungalow bathrooms have antique free standing bathtubs.

Price and what it covers

from₹2,65,000

per person, twin share. How our prices are built

About £2,070 or US$2,760 at the rates of 19 September 2026.

Price my dates

Less time?Tea and Snow: A Winter Honeymoon5 nights

Included

Seven nights at Glenburn Tea Estate in the Rung Dung Suite, one of them at The Glenburn Lodge on the Rangeet, with all meals, picnics and barbecues
Tea, coffee, fresh juice, soft drinks and filtered water all day, plus laundry, shoe polishing and sewing
The estate's chauffeured car from Bagdogra and back, with the picnic tea stop on the way up
The tea tour: the estate film, the factory, a tasting of black, green, oolong and white teas, and time with the pluckers in season
Estate walking guides and the naturalist for every walk: the river, Shikari Dura, Ramitay Daara and the Badamtam track
A kitchen-garden walk and a cookery class at the open kitchen
Two treatments each: a green tea oil massage with a green tea soak, and reflexology with a mint and chamomile foot soak
Trout fishing on the Rangeet with tackle and a ghillie, October to March
The Darjeeling day: the estate car and jeep, an expert town guide we book, the joy ride to Ghum and lunch at Glenary's
All taxes (GST) on the estate's rate, and 24x7 support from our team in the hills

Not included

Flights to and from Bagdogra
Alcohol and packaged mineral water, which the estate charges separately
Travel insurance
Tips for the estate staff, guides and drivers
Further spa treatments, facials, manicures and pedicures
Festive-season supplements over Christmas and New Year, if the estate sets any
The add-ons below

Make it more Arranged on request, priced in your quote

The River Rung Dung hikeA full, tough day down the riverbed with knee-deep crossings, mid November to May only, ending at the campsite by teatime.
Kalimpong on a market daySwap Darjeeling for Kalimpong, about two hours away, on a Wednesday or a Saturday, when the Haat Bazaar fills with what the hill farms have brought down that morning.
Uphill to Darjeeling by Dawai PaniFour to six hours uphill through Tukdah and Dawai Pani to Lebong, over a bridge built in 1858; the car meets you in town.
Mahseer on the Rangeet in springFrom April to early June the estate's ghillie takes you after mahseer in the river pools instead of trout, with tackle provided.

Before you go

Before you go on this route

Choose another journey ifAnyone who wants a new view each day, Tiger Hill at dawn or a run of monasteries should choose The First Time or Kanchenjunga at First Light; if a week feels long, Two Nights on a Tea Estate is the short version.

Papers: the week never leaves West Bengal, so there is no permit to arrange. Indian guests carry photo ID, foreign guests an Indian visa; the details are at /plan/permits-and-visas/.
Clothing: expect warm days of 21 to 26 °C on the estate from October to December and nights near 8 °C by December, milder down at the river. Bring layers, a fleece for dinner, a sun hat and sunglasses.
Shoes: bring two pairs. Walking shoes with grip for steep and sometimes wet tracks, and river sandals or old trainers for the rocks at the camp.
The Lodge night: pack a head torch, insect repellent for the midges and a small overnight bag; hot water comes by the bucket.
Signal: there is no television anywhere, and Wi-Fi reaches only parts of the bungalows and is unreliable, but mobile reception is good, even down at the river.
Cash: the estate bills alcohol at the end; carry cash for tips and the village shop. There is no ATM on the estate, and the nearest are in Darjeeling, 75 minutes away.
Health: the bungalows sit at 985 m, so altitude is not a concern, but the paths are steep. Tell us about knees, hearts or diets and we ask the estate for jeep back-up on every walk and brief its kitchen.
Tipping: we suggest one envelope for the estate staff at the end of the week; guide figures are at /plan/before-you-travel/#tipping.

Questions

Six questions about One Estate, Seven Days

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Is a week on one estate too long?

Not if you want the estate to feel lived in rather than visited. Two nights give one full day, which is what Two Nights on a Tea Estate is built around. A week adds what a short stay has no room for: a night by lantern at the river lodge, the cookery class, the redstarts on the Rangeet at 07:00, the walk up to Ramitay Daara, and afternoons left empty on purpose.

What is included in Glenburn's rate?

The estate's nightly rate covers the suite, all meals including picnics and barbecues, soft drinks, tea and coffee all day, laundry, the tea tour and tasting, guided walks and estate transport, the car from Bagdogra and back, and day trips to Darjeeling and Kalimpong with a local guide. Alcohol, bottled water, massages, fishing and the toy train cost extra; this journey includes the last three.

Can we leave the estate for a day?

Yes, once, and only if you want to. Day seven is set aside for Darjeeling, 28 km and about 75 minutes away: the steam joy ride to Ghum, the Bengal Natural History Museum and lunch in town, then home by the Badamtam jeep track. Kalimpong, about two hours away, can replace it on a Wednesday or Saturday for the Haat Bazaar. If you would rather stay, the estate walks you to the Cluny Sisters' school and orchard instead.

Which months suit a week at Glenburn?

October to December gives the clearest views of Kanchenjunga, with warm days on the estate and cool nights. February to April is greener and warmer, though the peaks grow hazy from April. December and January are bright, with nights the estate's own figures put at 6 to 8 °C. It stays open in the monsoon, from mid June to mid September, but landslides can delay the road and cloud hides the range.

One Estate, Seven Days or The Planter's Week?

Both stay at Glenburn. The Planter's Week gives it two nights between Makaibari and the Windamere, for guests who want to follow tea from the slope to the merchant, with Tiger Hill at the end. This week gives Glenburn all seven nights, one suite and one unpacking, and trades the town for the river lodge, the kitchen and the forest walks. Choose it if staying still is the point.

Which suite is best for a week?

We book the Rung Dung Suite in the Water Lily Bungalow: it looks straight at the Kanchenjunga range, with a sit-out holding a day bed and a desk, and two balconies facing Darjeeling on its ridge. The Water Lily suites are reached by a stone staircase, so for anyone who avoids steps we book a Burra Bungalow suite instead, which opens onto the main verandah and sees the mountains from there.

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