Tiger Hill, Darjeeling is famous for stunning sunrise show over the Himalaya. Tiger Hill is the highest hill in the immediate surroundings.It is 8500 ft high from sea level. It is 11 km from town of Darjeeling and can be reached either by jeep or by foot through Chowrasta, Alubari (incidentally the oldest tea plantation in Darjeeling) Jore Bungla and then the incline up to the summit, which takes about 2 hours on an easy gait.
The first rays of the sun shoot ahead and shed light upon the twin peaks of Kangchenjunga painting it pink and then bathing it in a beautiful orange colour. From Tiger Hill, Mount Everest (29,002′) is just visible, peeping out through two other peaks standing by its side. Makalu (27,799′) looks higher than Mt. Everest, owing to the curve in the horizon, as it is several miles closer than Everest. The distance in straight line from Tiger Hill to Everest is 107 miles.
On a clear day, Kurseong is visible to the south and in the distance, Teesta River, Mahanady River, Balasun River and Mechi River, meandering down to the south. Chumal Rhi mountain of Tibet, 84 miles away as the crow flies, looks like a great rounded mass over the snowy Chola Range. One comes face to face with this peak of superb beauty from Phari Jong which is 129 miles away from Darjeeling.
While at Tiger Hill, you can also visit Senchel sanctuary, which offers great picnic spots, and its two artificial lakes serve as a reservoir for supply of water to Darjeeling town.
Tiger Hill – Ideal to visit early morning when the first rays of the sun kiss the Mt Kanchenjunga and give it a golden color. To visit the hill, one needs to get up at 3:00AM in the morning. You can taste some excellent tea on your way to the hill, which will provide much needed warmth on cold Darjeeling mornings. When getting into a taxi at 4AM keep in mind that they are shared taxis and your driver might wait around in vain for others to join your taxi causing you to miss the sunrise! Those travelling alone or as a couple might want to squeeze into an already occupied jeep to insure full viewing pleasure. Though it has executive lounge (Rs.40/- per person) and special lounge (Rs.30/- per person), nothing beats having view from open area as you can have a full paranomic view from outside avoiding crowd in the lounge.
