Question

letter about your experience watching sunrise from hilly area

Answer 1

While we always talk about the sweeping views of sunrise from Tiger Hill and the view of the colossal Kanchenjunga with many other snow clad eastern Himalayan peaks from here, but we hardly talk about the summit of Tiger Hill itself.  True that the blaze of rapidly changing colors of the snow peaks as the sun strikes is an awesome view, but Tiger Hill is great even otherwise. It's a destination by itself offering not just great views during sunrise, it's a place where you can soak yourself with Himalayan beauty anytime during the day.While I have been to Tiger Hill many times to experience the sunrise, I have also been there several times during the day and enjoyed as much. However, you must go there during the right season so that all the peaks are visible and there is no mist or fog cover around.  Tiger Hill is located 11km (6.8 miles) from Darjeeling town and above Ghoom. It's the highest point in Darjeeling hills at an altitude of 8482 feet (or 2590 meters). The best season to see the dazzling snow covered peaks as the sun rises is between Mid October to December. March to April is also a good time.  For sunrise, you will need to start by 3:30am in the morning so that you reach by 4.15am. Some taxi drivers will insist that you start even earlier. There is a reason why. As you reach close to the summit, particularly during the high season there would be a huge queue of cars lined up. Hundreds of tourists come here everyday for the sunrise view during this time. As a result, you may have to walk uphill quite a bit as your vehicle may be parked much below the top. And if the tower-house and the terrace next to it from where people watch the sunrise get full by the time you reach, then you will probably need to watch the sunrise standing on a meadow little below the summit.  Remember, Darjeeling's weather can change anytime. The fog and the mist play a mystical game here all the time. They can come from nowhere and put a white blanket all around. You can't predict that. In fact, looking at the weather and the sky from Darjeeling Town is almost no indication of how the weather might be at Tiger Hill. Cloud and fog in this area lie at various levels of the mountains, some times they may be above you, other times you may be above them. So no one can guarantee a perfect sunrise view from Tiger Hill or for that matter from anywhere in Darjeeling.