Things to do in Darjeeling — sunrise, the toy train, monasteries and tea
Things to do in Darjeeling: Tiger Hill at sunrise, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Batasia Loop, monasteries, Chowrasta, the zoo and a tea estate.
ArticleVerified 2026-10-14
Best time to visit Darjeeling — month by month, from the rain figures
The best time to visit Darjeeling, month by month from the IMD normals: clear autumn, a mild spring, a very wet monsoon, and a cold dry winter with frost.
Darjeeling is cool all year because of its height, about 2,045 m, and the monsoon decides whether a visit is clear or grey. The figures below are the India Meteorological Department normals for 1991–2020, as Wikipedia prints them for a station at 2,128 m.
Month by month
- January and February. Cold and dry: January averages a high of 11.1 °C and a low of 1.7 °C, February 12.4 °C and 3.1 °C, with 10.8 mm and 11.4 mm of rain.
- March and April. Warming, with highs of 15.9 °C and 18.6 °C, lows of 6.0 °C and 9.0 °C, and rain rising from 26.4 mm to 89.0 mm.
- May. A high of 19.3 °C and a low of 10.8 °C, with 160.3 mm of rain as the pre-monsoon builds.
- June to September. The monsoon: 419.1 mm, 648.5 mm, 529.8 mm and 385.2 mm, with highs of about 19.5 to 19.9 °C. Wikipedia says landslides often disrupt road and rail links.
- October and November. Autumn: highs of 19.4 °C and 17.2 °C, lows of 9.9 °C and 6.2 °C, and rain down to 78.8 mm and then 11.2 mm.
- December. A high of 13.7 °C and a low of 3.5 °C, with only 2.8 mm of rain.
What it means for a trip
Wikipedia names September to November and April to May as the two peak tourist seasons. The view of the peaks from Chowrasta is clearest in October and November, so that is the best window for the Tiger Hill sunrise. The article gives two annual rain figures, a text estimate of about 3,100 mm and a table total of 2,373.3 mm; either way, about four-fifths of the rain falls from June to September. The table's record extremes are 28.5 °C and 7.2 degrees below freezing.
Next reads
Read things to do in Darjeeling and how to reach Darjeeling, and copy the one-day plan or the two days with the toy train.
Places around Darjeeling
The Darjeeling guide →
St Andrew's Church, Darjeeling — the town's oldest church
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway — the toy train and its loops
Lloyd's Botanical Garden, Darjeeling — the Himalayan plants below the town
Chowrasta, Darjeeling — the town square on the Mall
Mahakal Temple, Darjeeling — the Shiva shrine on Observatory Hill
Peace Pagoda, Darjeeling — the white Japanese stupa on Jalapahar
Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling — the high-altitude zoo
Batasia Loop, Darjeeling — the spiral of the toy train and the Gorkha memorial
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Questions people ask
What is the best time to visit Darjeeling?
Autumn and spring. Wikipedia names September to November and April to May as the two peak seasons, and says the view from the Mall is clearest in October and November. Autumn is dry: the IMD normals give 78.8 mm of rain in October, 11.2 mm in November, against 648.5 mm in July.
How cold does Darjeeling get?
Cold in winter. The IMD normals give a January high of 11.1 °C and a low of 1.7 °C; February is 12.4 °C and 3.1 °C. The table's record low is 7.2 degrees below freezing. The cold is dry, with about 3 per cent of the year's rain from December to March.
When does it rain most in Darjeeling?
In the monsoon. The normals give 419.1 mm in June, 648.5 mm in July, 529.8 mm in August and 385.2 mm in September, with an annual total of 2,373.3 mm in the table. Wikipedia says eighty per cent of the rain falls between June and September, and landslides often disrupt road and rail.