Darjeeling can be seen picking tea leaves on a moonlit night from the toy train! The big gift for tourists is the Himalayan Railway

Want to take a train tour along the mountain under the moonlit night! Want to see tea leaves? Not bad at all. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) has arranged such fancy romantic itineraries to attract tourists. The project is named ‘Maharani Great Escape’ in memory of Maharani Indira Devi of Cooch Behar. The luxury chartered service will meet every full moon night from March.

According to DHR sources, in 1920, Maharani Indira Devi, wife of Maharaja Jitendra Narayan of Cooch Behar, went to attend a function at the Windmere Hotel in Shailshahr. She was the daughter of Sayajirao Gaikwad III, the Maharaja of Baroda. But want to get out of boredom in the event organized in the hill. Sneak out of there with the help of the then General Manager of DHR. RG Edis was the manager of DHR at that time. Then Maharani organized her own party on the toy train at Jyotsnara and came down to the plane without letting anyone know. The 106-year-old history is coming back again with the ‘Maharani Great Escape’ service.

In 1920, Maharani Indira Devi, wife of Maharaja Jitendra Narayan of Cooch Behar, went to attend a function at the Windmere Hotel in Shailshahr. The 106-year-old history is coming back again with the ‘Maharani Great Escape’ service.

Tourists can enjoy it from March. Every full moon night will have fancy nostalgic service. According to DHR sources, the specific train will start from Darjeeling at 5:30 pm. Tourists will be given an opportunity to visit Tindhariya workshop during the journey. Tourists will get a chance to sip a cup of Tibetan tea on the train. The journey will end at Gulma via Sukna from Rangtong. There will be folk music and dance performances. There will also be a royal dinner If Barat is good, tourists will get the opportunity to enjoy the scene of picking tea leaves in Jyotsna on a moonlit night.

In fact, there are many exciting things waiting for those who plan to visit Darjeeling this summer vacation. Along with the toy train journey, there will also be activities like trekking, hiking, eating and dancing by the Gorkha people in collaboration with the forest department. DHR authorities claim that such a novel initiative is the first in the country. The already 145-year-old Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fun of moving slowly down the hill to the sound of ‘koo zhik zhik’ is different. DHR Director Rishabh Chowdhury said, “Heritage Toytrain is a plan to allow tourists to connect with the culture, tradition and environment here.”

Apart from the ‘Maharani Great Escape’ there will be Bagheera Jungle Trail and Tea Timber Trail. This chartered service is already played by DHR The charter project is running in joint venture with Karshiang Forest Department. The Baghira Jungle Trail runs from Tung to Karshiang Tourists gather at Dowhill at 10 am From there it is a two-hour trekking with the forest workers Trekking includes visiting the Forest Museum, Heaven View Point and centuries-old Buddhist monastery. After that, the tourists reached Karshiang railway station. From there, the toy train was taken to Gidda Hills via Mahanadi. Tourists visit the Netaji Museum there. From there return to Karshiang.

The Baghira Jungle Trail runs from Tung to Karshiang Tourists gather at Dowhill at 10 am From there it is a two-hour trekking with the forest workers Trekking includes visiting the Forest Museum, Heaven View Point and centuries-old Buddhist monastery.

The Tea Timber Trail will bring tourists closer to the nature of the hills and the tea plantations. DHR has contracted with Sipahidhura Tea Garden Authority for that service It will run from Sukna to Tindharia A chartered toytrain will depart from Sukna in the morning At Rangtong, the train will stop near the sepoys’ tea garden Tourists will get a chance to see tea picking, tea factory, tea tasting center there You can also buy local village food and goods Karshiang Forest Division DFO Debesh Pandey said, “Tourists will see dense forests, orchid gardens. There will be forest staff and guides for their safety.”