A walk through Darjeeling’s tea gardens

It’s not always about the tea, is it? These are glimpses of life in the tea gardens in Darjeeling, taken on a walk one day:

Meena’s a tea plucker – as you can tell from the bamboo basket she’s carrying. On her way to work, she stopped by her friend Bimla’s house for a quick chat. They graciously let us take their pictures before resuming their conversation.

There’s no better season to enjoy Darjeeling than spring! And every house has a little garden, like this one. Here, the enterprising residents have also set up a little store that stocks everyday supplies.

This group had stopped to watch us take some pictures. And when we turned the camera onto them, the smiles came on readily.

We were a little worried about the car parked on the train tracks. But we were assured that the train passed only once a day and the car’s owner knew when to come out and move it for the train. No need to worry about the car or the chickens, we were told.

We didn’t want this post to be about the stunning landscape. But Darjeeling is beautiful, don’t you agree?

Chengo, Siddhant and the dog were watching a football game in progress. We managed to distract the dog but not the kids – they were hooked on the game.

The day’s work done, the baskets are returned to their places and the women have returned to their homes.

Photographs by Gautam Virprashad

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Originally published on Still Steeping, the Teabox blog, on March 3, 2017. Lightly edited for clarity in October 2026. Taste tea from the hills in these photos: explore our single-estate Darjeeling teas.