Mirik | Best Tourist Destination in Darjeeling | Darjeeling trip
On 10th March 2024, after visiting the India-Nepal border, and Goaldhara tea estate, we finally moved towards Mirik Lake, which is one of the most tourist attraction places in Darjeeling. The sight of the Mount Kanchenjunga is directly visible from Mirik Lake, if weather remains good. Mirik is approximately 1500 meters above sea level and it is popular for its unparalleled climatic conditions, weather, and the natural scenic beauty all around. Mirik is also approximately 60 kilometers away from Darjeeling town. Since Mirik is at a lower level as compared to Darjeeling town, the weather is also comparably less cooler than Darjeeling.
So, after travelling nearly 15 kilometers from India-Nepal border, we reached Mirik, and it's a beautiful place with the gorgeous lake surrounded by pine forest on one side and a small land area with many resturants (you can find many bengali resturants also). There is a small connecting walking bridge (Indreni Pull) between the two ends of the Mirik Lake. One of the most tourist attraction activities carried out in Mirik, is boating. Usually the boating activity is carried out for thirty minutes and it may charges ranging from Rs. 250 - 700/- depending on the type of boats you prefer (paddle/motor). However, we were charged Rs. 300/- for the paddle boat, and it was a wonderful experience. We were a total of 5 persons and my son who is 3 years old. Other than boating activity, you can also opt for horse riding in Mirik Lake, which charges Rs. 160/- per person. Just beside the Mirik Lake, you will find the gordeous "Barsee Homestay & Resturant" from where you can clearly get the view of Mount Kanchenjunga.
There are many resturants available in Mirik Lake park, where you can opt for chinese, and bengali thali. If you are a Bengali, you will find many bengali resturants like "The Park Hotel & Resturant", "Gautam Hotel & Resturant", "Pradhan Hotel", etc. However, we took our lunch from "The Park Hotel & Resturant", and it was more or less good. Since, the Bengalis love to eat fish, you will not get that kind of taste in Mirik. Another thing I would like to say about toilet facilities in Mirik. There is no such place where men can do toilet in open roads, as there are strict rules. You will find toilet facilities in Mirik with the price of Rs. 10/- per person (both for male or female).
Now, there are some homestays which you can opt for for staying in Mirik, like, "Pradhan Homestay", "Sunrise Homestay", "Pandafoody Homestay", "Aayushman homestay", "Goldelux", "Addahut". You can also search for other homestays, but, according to me, the above mentioned homestays can be good fit for you, where, you can avail almost all the facilities like free Wifi, laundry, car parking, hotels & resturants, and many more. Now there are some of the most visiting viewpoints (suggested by me) near Mirik, that you can go for, are, Tingling View Point, Orchid Nursery (Orange Orchids), Bokar Monastery (It is said to be the highest point of Mirik of about 1700 meters above sea level), and Pashupati Nagar. You can also go for shopping in Mirik market, as well as go to the nearest Pashupati market, where, you can buy various attires, perfumes, bags, and other necessary things. There is a well known church, Don Bosco Church, where you can go and take the prayer.
Finally at around 4 pm, we left Mirik to set forth our journey back to NRS Norling Retreat hotel in Darjeeling. As we were going upwards from Mirik towards Darjeeling, the temperature was also decreasing gradually. Sun was gradually setting down, and cool breeze was prevailing around. I would suggest you to carry ear cover and wear some warm dresses. We went for the Darjeeling trip in the month of March, and March is considered as the starting season of visiting Darjeeling. As we reached Darjeeling, the temperature was chilled. Just imagine, that, when we were in Mirik, the temperature was somewhat between 20-25 degree celcius, and when we came to Darjeeling, it was 7-10 degree. You can imagine such a drop of temperature from Mirik to Darjeeling. We took 2 heaters in ourhotel room, but still we were shivering in that temperature. Thus, we ended our entire day journey visiting Lepchajagat, India-Nepal border, Gopaldhara tea estate, and Mirik. I had never thought of completing the above 4 visiting spots within a single day, but, the weather was so pleaent and the natural scenic beauty around, stimulated us to enjoy the entire trip.
However, Mirik is approximately 60 kilometers away from Darjeeling and 47 kilometers away from Siliguri town. You can take either transport facilities (train/flight) to reach Mirik, where, NJP might be the nearest railway station and Bagdogra might be the nearest airport.
