Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Scenic Kurseong
On a sunny March morning, my car inched towards Kurseong, a picturesque hill town in the Indian state of West Bengal. A cool breeze mesmerized my senses. “Do you see the hill there? That’s Kurseong. I will take you slowly,” the driver said to me, mindful of my entreaty to go carefully on circuitous roads. Kurseong is a 16-mile drive from the Sukna forest bungalow in Siliguri, where I stayed.
Growing up, I had heard about Kurseong from my parents. Situated at an elevation of about 4,900 feet, Kurseong is famous for its Toy Train (Darjeeling Himalayan Railway). The train winds its way up to Darjeeling city and the allegedly spooky Dow Hill, where two heritage schools – Victoria Boys’ School and Dow Hill Girls’ School– date back to 1879.
I knew that, being part of the state’s picturesque northern Darjeeling district, Kurseong would be worth visiting. So, on the spur of the moment, I planned a day-long trip to Kurseong.
Colonial history over a cuppa
Whenever I have a few hours to spare at a place I visit, I hunt for a good café or a tea shop where I can relax, read my favorite book for a short while and reflect on life. On the day of my visit, I had a hankering for a cuppa at Margaret’s Deck Tea Lounge, run by the Goodricke Teapot in Kurseong. I had read rave reviews of the place the night before.
I was not, however, ready for the crowd when I reached my destination. Couples jostled for space and squeezed in wherever they could for photos. When I remarked on this, Goodricke’s hospitality manager, Joya Allay, admitted that it was difficult to accommodate a huge crowd now, but an expansion was on the cards. On average, the place attracts 200 visitors daily due to its scenic location.
The hanging deck
A sunny day is perfect for taking photos of the surrounding tea garden from the hanging deck, which is shaped like a ship’s bow and attracts a lot of tourists. According to Ruben Chhetry, the manager at Margaret’s Deck, the deck is supported by columns from below. It took five years of thorough soil and engineering research to build the deck.
From the deck I could see one of the largest gardens in Darjeeling and the surrounding mountainous landscape. Besides Margaret’s Hope, Goodricke owns Castleton, Thurgo, Barnsbeg and Badamtam gardens, all set in picture-perfect locations.
“While the deck is great for photos, the tea served at Margaret’s Deck is wonderful. Export quality tea sells at ₹1,400-₹6,900 for 100 grams. Here, a cup costs just ₹170-200. I recommend Vintage. It was the hot-selling tea of 2024,” Ruben Chhetry said.
While at Margaret’s Deck, I took a good look all around. To avoid the crowd on the deck, I visited the room where a blue and white teapot is kept inside a glass case. It reminded me of Jane Austen novels that describe tea parties in intimate detail.
I learned about the Toy Train. It was built between 1879 and 1881 to transport superior quality tea leaves from the eastern Himalayan foothills to various parts of the world, according to a wall board at Margaret’s Deck. Allay told me that in future there’s a plan to make the train stop at Margaret’s Deck so travelers could enjoy a hot cup of tea. The train now stops at the Tung railway station, about a mile ahead.
Tea with colonial ghosts
There is so much romance in the three-letter word, “tea”. India’s tea history is intertwined with its colonial legacy. Many intriguing stories about the place have been passed down through generations. The Margaret’s Deck Tea Lounge, situated in the Margaret’s Hope Tea Estate and established in 1864, offers one such story.
The tale goes that the estate was earlier known as Bara Rington. It derived its present name from Margaret, the daughter of the garden manager Mr Cruikshank. Margaret arrived in Kurseong from England and fell in love with the place. She wanted to return, but died on a ship on the way back to her country. Mr Cruikshank then renamed the estate in his daughter’s memory.
“The garden was named Margaret’s Hope to honor her memory. As Margaret died on a ship, the logo of the same is present at the tea shop’s entrance,” said Allay, Goodricke’s hospitality manager.
A Kurseong native, Allay tells me that some people have felt Margaret’s presence in the manager’s bungalow.
The Maharani Bungalow, an old tea bungalow, is being converted into a commercial accommodation to attract more tourists. The bungalow stands in the Maharani tea garden, now a division of Margaret’s Hope. As it was once owned by the Maharani of Cooch Behar, a princely state in pre-independence India, the garden was named Maharani. During summer, the Maharani would visit the bungalow, which served as her retreat.
The bungalow reportedly housed several strong-minded women. One legend describes an Irish woman who was in charge of the garden and resided in the bungalow. She was infamous for her night soirees.
Spooky tales on Dow Hill
In the afternoon, I visited Dow Hill. While photographing the eerie pine trees, I was reminded of Ruskin Bond’s A face in the Dark and Other Hauntings. The story goes that Mr Oliver, a school teacher, had a spooky encounter while walking through a pine forest in Shimla. According to Ruben Chhetry, the manager at Margaret’s Deck, Victoria Boys’ school in Spooky Down Hill could be haunted; or, he said, it just might be a marketing gimmick. Due to the pine trees, the area remains dark and eerie. Cold weather, mist and fog create a feel of the supernatural.
The veracity of these stories is difficult to ascertain, as these were passed down orally by workers and old planters.
Allay, Goodricke’s hospitality manager, said that once Darjeeling had wonderful ghost stories. “Where are these now, I wonder? As a child, I heard so many spooky tales.”
A perfect cup of tea
One of the best ways to enjoy a spring-summer day in Kurseong is to enjoy hot beverages and fresh bakes. Margaret’s Deck, in operation since 2017, has a bakery. As I ordered mouth-watering scones and hot chocolate, I called Binod Chettri, who works in the forest department, to join me. I was glad that he found time to drive me around.
Apart from Margaret’s Deck in Kurseong, Goodricke owns Teapots serving tea in the small, Darjeeling town of Mirik, Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), and, of course, in Darjeeling city. Opened in 2010, the Teapot in Bhopal is the first and oldest.
Allay has been looking after all the Teapots since 2019. To get the most flavorful Darjeeling tea, the leaves must be brewed in a specific manner. The tea is best enjoyed without milk. “As some people like milk tea, milk is served on the side. But the tea is never brewed with milk,” Allay explained.
Conserving a delicate ecosystem
Besides Margaret’s Deck, the beautiful houses of Kurseong, Darjeeling, and Gangtok, adorned with rows of potted flower plants, took my breath away. The next time I am here, I want to stroll in Margaret’s Hope tea garden, where I hope to spot Himalayan salamanders. The species inhabits a natural lake in the garden. As part of Project SERVE (1996-2022) – under which WWF-India planted trees across the Darjeeling district – 1,25,000 saplings were planted in Margaret Hope’s garden area.
WWF-India’s Deependra Sunar says the Himalayan salamander is a rare species. “The restoration effort from 2001-2006, as part of which native trees were planted in the tea garden on 25 hectares of land, led to its protection,” he said. Goodricke’s Darjeeling tea gardens have achieved the status of zero carbon emissions; this is good news for environmental conservation in a fragile ecosystem.