Rows of tea bushes covering a rounded green hill at the Happy Valley Tea Estate under a cloudy sky, with prayer flags at the top

park11 min from Darjeeling

Happy Valley Tea Estate, Darjeeling — the town's second oldest tea garden

Happy Valley Tea Estate, Darjeeling: founded in 1854, 3 km from town at 2,100 m, the second oldest garden, with its old factory a museum since 2008.

What it is

The Happy Valley Tea Estate spreads over the slopes just north of Darjeeling, about 3 km from the town and about 11 minutes by road on our routing. Founded in 1854, it is the second oldest of Darjeeling's estates, and at about 2,100 m its factory is among the highest anywhere. It spreads over 177 hectares and employs more than 1,500 people.

Photos: Benoy (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Mr. Debapriya Hore (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.

Its story

An Englishman, David Wilson, started the garden as the Wilson Tea Estate and was growing tea by 1860. In 1903 it passed to Tarapada Banerjee, who in 1929 bought the Windsor Tea Estate next door and joined the two as Happy Valley. After the tea trade slumped, the estate lay nearly idle for some four years until new owners bought it in March 2007, built a new factory and turned to organic growing. It reopened to the public in 2008, with the first factory kept as a working museum.

Visiting

The bushes run down the hillside below the road, with the factory among the trees. We have no verified hours, tours or charges; ask in Darjeeling. Read our Darjeeling tea gardens guide for the wider story of the tea.

Combine it with

The three-day plan pairs it with the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and the zoo; the two-day plan ends the first day here. See things to do in Darjeeling.

Plans that include this

All 4 plans that stop here →

A red panda with russet fur curled asleep on a mossy tree branch among leaves at the Darjeeling zoo

Darjeeling with kids in two days — red pandas, a toy train and a tea garden

1 night · 2 days · families with children · family

Darjeeling with children in two easy days: red pandas at the zoo, the mountaineering museum, a bird museum, the toy train over Batasia Loop, a tea garden.

Best Apr–May · Sep–Nov

See the plan →

A blue Darjeeling Himalayan Railway train with blue carriages running beside a road between green forest and a stone drain

Two days in Darjeeling — the old town, the tea estate and the toy train

1 night · 2 days · First visit · Temples & heritage

A two-day Darjeeling plan: Chowrasta, the Mahakal temple, St Andrew's Church, the botanical garden and tea, then the toy train to Ghum, the loop and pagoda.

Best Mar–May · Oct–Nov

See the plan →

Darjeeling in three days — Tiger Hill and Senchal, the zoo and the tea, and the old town

2 nights · 3 days · Family · Classic

A three-day Darjeeling plan: Tiger Hill sunrise, Batasia Loop and Senchal Lake, the zoo and HMI, Happy Valley Tea Estate and the old town on foot. Copy it.

Best Mar–May · Oct–Nov

See the plan →

A tall stone obelisk and a soldier's statue on a green garden terrace under a bright sky with towering white clouds

Darjeeling and Gangtok in five days — the tea town, the toy-train ridge, then Sikkim

4 nights · 5 days · First visit · Multi-hub · starts in Darjeeling

A five-day Darjeeling and Gangtok plan: the old town and a tea estate, Tiger Hill and the Batasia Loop, then Gangtok's chorten, Rumtek and Tsomgo Lake. Copy it.

Best Mar–May · Oct–Nov

See the plan →

Nearby places

All of Darjeeling →

Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling — the school founded after Everest

museum · 1.2 km away

Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling — the high-altitude zoo

park · 1.2 km away

Lloyd's Botanical Garden, Darjeeling — the Himalayan plants below the town

monument · 1.2 km away

St Andrew's Church, Darjeeling — the town's oldest church

monument · 1.5 km away

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway — the toy train and its loops

monument · 1.6 km away

Chowrasta, Darjeeling — the town square on the Mall

area · 1.6 km away

Mahakal Temple, Darjeeling — the Shiva shrine on Observatory Hill

temple · 1.6 km away

Peace Pagoda, Darjeeling — the white Japanese stupa on Jalapahar

temple · 2.4 km away

Nearby destinations

All destinations →

The huge copper-coloured seated statue of Guru Padmasambhava on its painted base on Samdruptse hill under a grey sky

Namchi

17 km away · 2 itineraries · 3 places

A long snow-covered Kanchenjunga ridge in blue morning light above dark forested hills with a few wisps of cloud

Pelling

28 km away · 3 itineraries · 8 places

The seated golden and dark-blue Buddha statue on a stepped, richly painted base against a forested hillside and a cloudy sky

Ravangla

31 km away · 1 itineraries · 3 places

Gangtok

48 km away · 5 itineraries · 11 places

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Questions people ask

How old is the Happy Valley Tea Estate?

It was established in 1854, which Wikipedia says makes it Darjeeling's second oldest tea estate, after Steinthal in 1852. An Englishman, David Wilson, started it as the Wilson Tea Estate, and it took its present name in 1929, when a later owner merged it with the neighbouring Windsor Tea Estate.

How far is Happy Valley from the centre of Darjeeling?

About 3 km north of the town by Wikipedia's figure, and about 11 minutes by road on our routing. It sits at about 2,100 m, among the highest tea factories anywhere. Most people combine it with the zoo and the mountaineering institute on the same side of town.

Can visitors see tea being made at Happy Valley?

Wikipedia says the estate reopened to the public in 2008, after new owners built a new factory, and that the original factory was turned into a working museum with its old engines on show. We have no verified visiting hours or charges; ask in Darjeeling before you go.