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Home » Destinations » Asia » India

Mt. Kanchenjunga, A Tea Plantation, And The Snow Leopard

Published: May 22, 2008 by Dave Lee |

Himalaya of northern India

At 8,586 meters, Mt. Kanchenjunga is the world's third highest mountain, and only 10-20 meters behind K2 in Pakistan for second place. Spending additional time in the shadow of the Himalaya was a big reason for my decision to enter India via Darjeeling.

Mt. Kanchenjunga - 3rd highest mountain in the world

On my second morning, I awoke around 5:30am, saw blue skies out of my window, and trucked it to the viewpoint on Observatory Hill, hoping to get my first glimpse of Mt. Kanchenjunga. As I walked, I noticed I was heading opposite most of the Tibetans and joggers on the path. I realized they were up early to circumambulate the stupas at the top of the hill. My motivation was reward with a fairly clear view of the Himalayan range. I enjoyed the view for a half hour or so, found a small cafe, and dined on porridge and Darjeeling tea before returning to my room for more quality time in bed.

Happy Valley tea plantation in Darjeeling

I met Viet (American) later in the morning and we shared a taxi to the nearby Happy Vally tea plantation. We received a short tour of the factory, and had the opportunity to view some of the workers picking the leaves in the fields. To my surprise, we couldn't taste the tea, however I didn't let that stop me from buying a souvenir bag.

Indian tiger

The next day I went to the zoo, which according to the map, while small (about 70 acres) is at the highest altitude in the world (about 7,000 feet). Before it rained, I caught a glimpse of a sneezing Indian tiger, and the elusive snow leopard.

Snow leopard

The latter cat being well worth the price of admission. I was especially excited to see it after having read Peter Mathiessen's "The Snow Leopard" in Nepal. Normally the cats are lying around during the day, however the snow leopard put on a real show for us both before and after the rain shower. He was eating grass, jumping around, and practically posing in regal form for the cameras. It's a beautiful animal.

Snow leopard

The zoo also had cloud leopards, black bears, Tibetan wolves, jackals, and yaks. While the variety of animals was small, they were all native to the Himalaya and therefore new to me.

Himalayan black bear - up close and personal

 

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About Dave Lee

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 68 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.

Comments

  1. Stu says

    May 22, 2008 at 11:47 am

    mmmmmm tea. darjeeling first flush is out (and as usual is expensive). sigh., way out of the range of what I would pay for a 1/4lb bag of first flush (estate depending).

  2. Stu says

    May 22, 2008 at 6:47 am

    mmmmmm tea. darjeeling first flush is out (and as usual is expensive). sigh., way out of the range of what I would pay for a 1/4lb bag of first flush (estate depending).

  3. Debo Hobo says

    May 23, 2008 at 10:51 am

    That is really cool, I see commercials on TV of Tea Pickers but to actually see a real photo of it is too cool.

  4. Debo Hobo says

    May 23, 2008 at 3:51 pm

    That is really cool, I see commercials on TV of Tea Pickers but to actually see a real photo of it is too cool.

  5. nomadic mat says

    May 24, 2008 at 6:59 pm

    its yogi!!!

  6. nomadic mat says

    May 24, 2008 at 1:59 pm

    its yogi!!!

  7. Kantoborgy says

    December 10, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    Poor animals.

  8. Kantoborgy says

    December 10, 2008 at 9:16 am

    Poor animals.

  9. BillARunion says

    September 18, 2009 at 6:12 am

    Right, if necessary, buy a new broom, or a new hockey stick than to Best snow blower explain why they do not need a hand.

  10. drvsingh says

    November 23, 2009 at 11:47 pm

    interesting post

  11. drvsingh says

    November 24, 2009 at 5:47 am

    interesting post

  12. Luigi Fulk says

    October 29, 2010 at 5:30 am

    To start earning money with your blog, initially use Google Adsense but gradually as your traffic increases, keep adding more and more money making programs to your site.

Dave at Ahu Ko Te Riku on Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile.

Hi, I'm Dave

Editor in Chief

I've been writing about adventure travel on Go Backpacking since 2007. I've visited 68 countries.

Read more about Dave.

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