DHR centered railway packages

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will introduce tourism packages centered around the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) with special focus on Kurseong and its surrounding areas.

“The packages have been designed after a survey of the region and its tourism trends,” said Lakeshwar Saikia, the regional manager of the IRCTC, a fully-owned subsidiary of the ministry of railways. “Bookings will open on Saturday.”

Saikia added: “Since Darjeeling is the most popular of the hill stations, tourism is centered around it, but our packages are designed in such a way that tourists get to stay in smaller towns like Kurseong, which, too, have a lot to offer. We have tied up with West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation for accommodation in its lodges.”

The six-day-seven-night packages, starting from and ending in Calcutta, will be available in three variants — tea, heritage and nature trails. Tours will usually start from Calcutta on Friday by the Darjeeling Mail, which leaves Sealdah station at 10pm. The return from New Jalpaiguri (NJP) station will be by the same train. The tourists will be back in Calcutta the next Friday.

“In the tea trail, tourists will be taken to gardens to enable them to observe the entire process from plucking to tasting tea,” Saikia said. Tourists can also go for picnics to spots. The package will cost Rs 7,462 per head in the deluxe category and Rs 9,924 in the classic category.

The heritage trail includes a ride on the DHR from NJP to Kurseong, visits to the Tindharia workshop, Elysia Building and other places of interest. The package will cost between Rs 7,552 (deluxe) and Rs 9,534 (classic) per person.

In the nature trail, tourists will be put up at special home-stays at Pokhriyatar and Mirik. The cost will be between Rs 6,621 (deluxe) and Rs 9,204 (classic) per person.

Local sight-seeing and visits to Darjeeling are included in all three packages.