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TINCHULEY

Tinchuley (also known as Tinchulay) is a small mountain village, rather to say a hamlet of Darjeeling sub division in Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India. The name Tinchuley is derived from ‘Teen Chullas’ or ‘three ovens’ (chulla means oven), that represents three prominent hill tops those resembles to three chullas. Tinchuley has a glorious past that set a milestone in the tourism sector in India especially in terms of reinforcing the advent of homestay concept in small unknown places throughout the hills. Tinchuley is set at an altitude of 5800 feet and surrounding the hamlet of Tinchuley there are vast stretches of mountains, winding tea gardens and lush green pastoral landscape. Tinchuley is mostly inhabited by Gurung, Rai, Tamang, Bhutia and the like communities. Agro-farming and cattle rising was the main source of livelihood for the native habitants of Tinchuley. Even few years back Tinchuley was unknown to the outside world for its remoteness, but at the end of the 90s with the support of WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and the local communities of Tinchuley village few eco-based sustainable projects was initiated, among these projects the most notable one is to convert the village of Tinchuley in to a ‘Community Based Eco-Village Tourism’. Some of the local families of Tinchuley showed their keen interests in developing modern farming techniques and with the help from WWF they developed floriculture, bio-compost manure projects, vermin-compost projects and organic farming. Later WWF declared Tinchuley as a model village in sustaining the improvement of the environment of Darjeeling and its adjoining areas. With the passage of time Tinchuley grew as a popular tourist destination and number of homestays and guest houses became operation for accommodating tourists. Two notable rivers namely Teesta and Rangeet intersect nearby Tinchuley making the village a popular and remarkable geographical landmark. On a clear day Tinchuley offers stunning view of the snow-capped Himalayan ranges of Mt. Kanchenjunga (Khangchendzonga) which is clearly visible.

Places to visit in and around Tinchuley:
Tinchuley being an off-beat tourist destination of Darjeeling hills offers tourists with some of the popular yet exciting places to visit located nearby.

  1. Takdah: Takdah is an old cantonment area during the British reign in India and is located at a distance of 3.9 km away from Tinchuley. Takdah is well known for its Old Heritage Bungalows, lush green tea gardens and stunning sunrise and sunset view.
  2. Lamahatta: Lamahatta is another scenic village of Darjeeling hills located at a distance of 07 km away from Tinchuley. Lamahatta is well known for its park, Lamahatta Lake and stunning view of the snow-capped Himalayan ranges.
  3. Baramangwa: Baramangwa is a popular village and a fast growing tourist destination located at a distance of 10.5 km away from Tinchuley via Takling Road. Baramangwa is popular for the view of River Teesta flowing between the valleys along with long stretches of mountains, orange orchards and lush greenery.
  4. Chotamangwa: Chotamangwa is a fast growing off-bit tourist spot of Darjeeling hills located at a distance of 10.6 km away from Tinchuley via Takling road. Chotamangwa is well known for the majestic view of the snow-capped Himalayan ranges, lush greenery and numerous orange orchards.
  5. Lover’s Meet View Point: Lover’s Meet View Point (Lover’s Point) is a well-known spot located around 10.5 km away from Tinchuley via Tinchuley Lopchu Road and Peshoke road. Lover’s Point is the intersecting spot of two rivers namely Teesta and Rangeet with long stretches of mountains at the backdrop.
  6. Sunrise View Point: The Sunrise View Point (also known as Tinchuley View Point) is an excellent view point overlooking the Teesta Valley and offers stunning view of the morning sunrise at the back drop of the snow-capped Himalayan ranges. In this viewpoint a watch tower is built that offers the clear view of Kalimpong Hills, eastern and western part of Sikkim and Latpanchar.
  7. Gumbadara: Gumbadara is another excellent viewpoint located at a distance of 1.5 km away from Tinchuley. The word Gumbadara is an amalgamation of two different word Gumba – Monastery and Dara – Hilltop. The hill top of Gumbadara is also home to many exotic flowers and beautiful landscapes. Apart from that at Gumbadara one can also witness numerous Buddhist prayer flags.
  8. Tinchuley Monastery: Tinchuley Monastery is again a notable tourist spot set amidst forested land. A walk from Tinchuley main village through the forested area leads upto the monastery. It is believed that a Lama meditated here for 17 long years and the monastery belongs to Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
  9. Other Notable Places: From Tinchuley in a day trip tourists can opt to visit the few notable tourist places namely Darjeeling (32 km), Kalimpong (35 km), Lepchajagat (28 km) and Ghoom (24 km).
  10. Tea Estates: Surrounding Tinchuley there are few important tea estates located which are worth visiting, these are namely Peshoke Tea Estate (5.5 km), Runglee Rungliot Tea Estate (5.4 km), Teesta Valley Tea Estate (11.7 km), Namring Tea Garden (6.9 km), Pumong Tea Garden (8.4 km) are the most noteworthy.

Things to do in and around Tinchuley:
The model village of Tinchuley offers tourists with numbers of activities to try and experience in and around the village.

  1. As Tinchuley offers stunning view of the snow-capped Himalayan ranges of Mt. Kanchenjunga and other peaks, hence tourists can opt to sit back and enjoy the surrounding landscape of Tinchuley along with the virgin nature.
  2. Tourists with an adventurous bend of mind can opt to plan for day treks from Tinchuley through the narrow trails of Pine forests or lush green tea gardens.
  3. Tinchuley offers ampule options of birding especially during winter and spring time when most of the migratory birds of higher altitude comes to Tinchuley.
  4. Tourists can go for shopping from Tinchuley to the nearby Teesta Bazaar and opt to buy some home decorative items or the organic pickles and other products from the locals.
  5. Visiting the sunrise point in the early morning near Tinchuley is a must try activity as this is the best time to witness the changing colours of the sun at the backdrop of the mountain peaks.
  6. Tourists can opt for river camping or river rafting in Teesta River form Tinchuley.
  7. Tourists can visit the nearby orange orchards at Tinchuley and walk through the clusters of Orange trees. One can also taste some fresh orange juice from the local inhabitants. There is an orange processing factory located nearby where tourist will get to know the making process of different edible products from these organic oranges.
  8. Walk around the village of Tinchuley and meet the local people to get a deep insight of their daily lifestyle.
  9. Tinchuley is also an ideal spot for landscape photographers, as the surrounding landscapes of Tinchuley offers ampule options for photography. Along with that the night view of the glittering lights of distant Kalimpong town and the shinning numerous stars of the galaxy offers photographers with excellent night mode photography options.
  10. Tourists can also lay hand in hand with the local villagers of Tinchuley in their organic farming which is an activity worth enjoying.

How to reach:

By Air: Bagdogra Airport is the nearest airport to Tinchuley located at a distance of 73 km away. Bagdogra Airport is well connected by regular flight services with Kolkata, Guwahati and Delhi. From Bagdogra Airport tourists will get hired vehicles to reach Tinchuley.

By Train: New Jalpaiguri railway station (NJP) is the nearest rail head to Tinchuley located at a distance of 70 km away. NJP railway station is well connected by regular train services with Kolkata and other major cities of India. From NJP railway station tourists will get hired vehicle service to reach Tinchuley.

By Road: Tinchuley is well connected with almost all parts of both Kalimpong and Darjeeling district via NH10 and NH110. From almost all parts of Kalimpong and Darjeeling districts tourists will get reserved vehicles to reach upto Tinchuley. But shared vehicles are very rare in Tinchuley, hence tourists are advised to reserved cars from Bagdogra or Siliguri (65 km) to reach Tinchuley. From NJP, Bagdogra and Siliguri the best possible route to Tinchuley is via Sevoke, Kalijhora, Teesta Bazaar and Peshoke Tea Estate.

Best time to visit Tinchuley:
Though Tinchuley can be visited throughout the year, but it is advisable to avoid the monsoon season due to heavy rains and messy road condition. Winters are best for the stunning view of the snow-capped Himalayan peaks and bird watching. Apart from that winters are also best to witness the blooming oranges at Tinchuley. Summers are quite comfortable and ideal to escape the scorching heat of the plains.

NORLA HOMESTAY

Norla Homestay is another new emerging accommodation at Tinchuley. Norla Homestay Offers very well furnished standard rooms with all the basis amenities available. From wooden furnished rooms, with attached bath rooms, geyser facility in each and every bathrooms. Restaurant facility. There are only 4 rooms at Norla Homestay available as of now for the tourists, and few more rooms are yet to be established. The homestay offers very good view from the its balcony. Arrangement of cars are done from the homestay for the local sight tour like Baramangwa, Chotamangwa, Lamahatta, Takdah.

Rooms Tariffs:
INR @ 1500/- per day per person (both food and lodging only).
Meals includes: Morning tea, breakfast, lunch, evening tea, snacks and dinner.
Service charge @ 10% on the above rooms tariff.

HOW TO BOOK: Call us at 9831311606 , 9830381306 to get the current availability status or use the query form furnished below with all you travel queries and submit, we will call/ contact you directly.
Or, you may also directly book from our Kolkata office at: 8C Shanti Ghosh Street, Kolkata – 700003. Nearest Landmark: Manindra Chandra College and Shyambazar Metro Railway Station (Gate No: 3)
Distant Booking can also be done either by phone or by mail. You need to drop all your queries to the above mentioned number(s) by whats app. Accordingly we will share the Bank A/C details where you need to deposit an advance in order to confirm your booking. The booking confirmation receipt will be shared with you by mail directly.