Darjeeling Part 3: Sunrise At Tiger Hill But Where's The Sun?

What? Waking up at 3am just to see sunrise? That is something I would not normally do except for once perhaps. We were in the deserts of Egypt then, and had to wake up at 1am, rode the camel for one and a half hours and hiked another one and a half hours to witness sunrise on the peak of Mount Sinai (the mountain where Moses received the 10 commandments). No regrets then as that experience was an out of the world experience for us.
But what is so spectacular about sunrise on Tiger Hill? After some deliberation we decided to go for it as we would probably not be coming back to Darjeeling again.
Tiger Hill which is about 12 km from Darjeeling town stands at 8482 feet above sea level. This is the highest point in Darjeeling. Barely recovering from nausea the day before, I had to go through another very nauseous journey up Tiger Hill, albeit a shorter one. The road up is narrow, very winding and in pretty bad shape.

We had to pay a nominal entrance fee to go up the summit. It was 10Rs per vehicle and 10Rs per person if you are not entering the observation tower but 30Rs per person if you are viewing from the tower. (10Rs = RM0.50). It was freaking cold - close to 0 degree celsius so we paid to seek shelter from the cold at least until the sun makes its debut for the day. The picture above was taken in the observation tower.

Many opted to watch the sunrise in the open-air which actually gives a better unobstructed view.

As we waited patiently, the first streak of colors appeared on the horizon. 

We waited in anticipation to see the sun appearing on the horizon but the sun never appeared. Instead we saw the moon. The multi-colored hues were splendid to watch but it could have been better if the sun had made its entry majestically. We blamed it on the mist, the foggy skies and everything else.

It turned bright too soon.

Tiger Hill is a view point not only for sunrise but for the peaks of the Himalayas. We 

saw the snow-clad peaks of Mount Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world. I heard on rare occasion Mount Everest could even be sighted from Tiger Hill.

A zoomed view of Mount Kanchenjunga.

Tiger Hill actually gives a 360 degree panaroma including that of Darjeeling town below.

The layers of mountains miles and miles beyond is a sight to behold.

For some, it is a good opportunity to make money - like these ladies who were selling hot coffee from thermo flasks.

We were among the first to leave the summit but our car was stuck on the way down because vehicles were wantonly parked all over. 

Related Posts:
Darjeeling Travel Part 1: The Nauseous Journey From Bagdogra To Darjeeling
Darjeeling Travel Part 2: Elgin Darjeeling , A Choice Hotel

Darjeeling Travel Part 4: A Brief Stop At Samten Choling Buddhist Monastery

Darjeeling Travel Part 5: Batasia Loop, The Famous Railway Loop In Darjeeling

Darjeeling Travel Part 6: Tibetan Self-Help Centre

Darjeeling Travel Part 7: Visiting A Tea Garden

Darjeeling travel Part 8: A Visit To The Himalayan Zoological Park And The Mountaineering 

Darjeeling Travel Part 9: The Toy Train Is Not A Toy Train

Darjeeling Travel Part 10: Glimpses Of Darjeeling