☰Chowrasta and the Town Walk

Darjeeling's town centre is compact enough to explore on foot in half a day. Chowrasta — the four-road junction at the top of the ridge — is the social hub: a wide promenade with benches, pony rides, and the best mountain views in town on clear mornings. Mall Road circles the ridge and connects Chowrasta to the lower bazaar. The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park just below the Mall has snow leopards, red pandas, Himalayan black bears, and a separate snow leopard breeding centre. Next door, the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute has an excellent museum on the history of Himalayan expeditions, including Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's 1953 Everest climb. The Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Centre on Gandhi Road is worth visiting for its carpet weaving, woodwork, and leather workshops; the crafts are for sale. Several Buddhist monasteries — Bhutia Busty just below Chowrasta, and Yiga-Choling at Ghoom — are easy half-day outings.