This Summer holidays we went off to the green and cool Darjeeling hills once again. But this time to an organic tea garden. Part of the Chamong Chiabari private limited, we tried booking the Chamong tea retreat, but that was booked out The travel agency in charge suggested we try another boutique property nearby, Tumsong tea retreat. With only four rooms its more like a visit to friends home than a hotel.

Is it a sign of growing older, smarter, or wiser, or is it a reflection of the crowds we face every day? We are forever looking for holiday options off the beaten track. Holidays with a child means, we want all the modern facilities, but we also want her to fall in love with nature. That’s why all our holiday destination is always aimed at wellness and rarely ever big-city destinations.

How to reach Tumsong Tea Retreat: Darjeeling tourism at its best!

We took a train to NJP from where the hotel arranged a pickup. You can also reach Bagdogra and travel to Tumsong. One super tip. Ask the Tumsong tea retreat for pickup services as their drivers no this road well, and there’s less chance of confusion. A few wrong updates in Google maps have made following the Google map tricky.

We reached around 3 pm driving past rolling green hills and a wintery fog at Ghoom. Ghoom is a beautiful stop on the way to Darjeeling and is characterized by those pillowy clouds which seem to start raining, even as you look. The visibility was only 5 feet in front of the car, and we drove slow. We had an experienced driver who knew the terrain well, and that gave us a lot of comforts. We stopped for tea once on the way, and it took us four hours to reach, taking into account the delays due to traffic and weather.

When we reached

It was way past lunchtime, but the manager had kindly kept arrangements ready, and we were quickly ushered into the dining room. We freshened up quickly and sat for a much-awaited lunch. The homestyle menus were perfect to satiate our hunger and made us refreshed.

We were shown to our rooms, and we love it. A huge room with a huge king-sized bed a divan were a child can sleep. The bath was huge and had an amazing view as well. The room had mesh-covered glass windows to keep out insects at night, and the view from the room was stunning. You could see the tea garden spreading far and wide and no habitation as far as eyes go. The soothing décor of this retreat is a pleasure. We went down quickly, go for a stroll in the front lawn and a walk. There were a carrom board, cards badminton, and cricket option plus a  library with books of a wide range.

What we did at the Tumsong Tea Retreat

We spent the evening playing carrom and drinking cups of fragrant Darjeeling tea, eating snacks and playing. Television and internet connectivity was both a problem. But that wasn’t missed much by anyone else expect me. Baby and hubby playing. Me and mom walking and reading, sitting and reading. We also had long adda sessions with the locals about politics, why BJP won and the state of West Bengal. It was a much-needed detox.

They have set time for lunch dinner breakfast and tea times, and the menu is also set. You can ask for your preferences or let them know in advance. But the place being remote instant gratification is not part of the deal. But if you are looking for a place like this its unlikely that you don’t know that. The silent nature gave us some of the best nights sleep.

Waking up to birds chirping re my absolute favorite sound In the four days we spent there no cars honking woke me up. Clean is great food and hikes in mountain trails there time a day kept us happy. On the second day, we went for a visit to the tea factory close by and got a first-hand look at the process. We undertook a tea tasting and came back happy.

The days nights and evenings were spent lazing reading writing playing and hiking eating and sipping on numerous cups os one of the most fragrant, beautiful hued second flush tea fro the Tumsong tea retreat.

We love carrying back souvenirs from holidays, this time we bought packet of beautiful Darjeeling tea. I also wanted to buy their silver tea strainer, unfortunately, it was an heirloom and not for sale!

Do you look for wellness holidays or shopping binge holidays?

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